Changes to off-road racing calendar

Author: Arthur Abraham

Crews then have a four-week break to rebuild their cars before tackling the deceptively tough Sun City 400 in the Pilanesberg on July 1 and 2.

Off-Road SA's Adri Roets promises to again present a tough and extremely spectator friendly route.

Five weeks later the championship moves to the Mountain Kingdom of Lesotho where the Lesotho Off Road Association's Lesotho Sun 400 will be held from August 5 to 6.

Last year's event proved to be one of the toughest challenges encountered by competitors in recent years with only a handful of the Special Vehicles making it the finish.

The Mafikeng 500 will take place in the North West Province on September 9 and 10 and the Mafeking Motor Club is already hard at work searching for new sections to add spice to what is traditionally a very fast event.

The Toyota Dealer 400 won the 2004 Event of the Year Award, which is a fitting reward for the efforts of organisers SA Motorsportklub, who also organise the Sasol Rally, and the team from Lydenburg Toyota who ably supported the event.

The organisers intend adding new sections to the route and crews can expect an even tougher test on October 14 and 15.

The season finale will again be the Carnival City 400 in Gauteng on November 18 and 19.

The Koepel-organised event features a spectacular stadium course at Carnival City as well as fast open sections and a rocky mountain section, which crews compared to parts of the Lesotho Sun 400 route.

2005 SA Off Road Championship