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Surprise win for Vos, Weiss

Rustenburg crew Willem Vos and Werner Weiss produced the shock of the season when they won the production vehicle category at the Atlas Copco Gold 400.

The event was the final round of theRustenburg crew Willem Vos and Werner Weiss produced the shock of the season when they won the production vehicle category at the Atlas Copco Gold 400.

The event was the final round of the 2013 Donaldson Cross Country Championship and only the second appearance of the season in the BMW X3 for Vos/Weiss. The pair also overcame a five minute penalty – for a qualifying race start infringement – to complete an unlikely win.

FIGHTING FOR FIRST

Vos/Weiss eventually held a 1min39second advantage over newly-crowned South African champions Anthony Taylor and Dennis Murphy in the Toyota Hilux.

Vos said at the finish: “It was totally unexpected, but it feels great. We were a bit disappointed with the penalty, but just drove our own race and it all fell into place.”

Taylor/ Murphy, who clinched the title last time out, had an adventurous day. They completed the first of the two 170km loops that made up the race without a windscreen, and were then hampered by a puncture.

Taylor said: “We were also held up by one of the Special Vehicles which did not help. It was a tough weekend.”

The podium was completed by Gary Bertholdt/Siegfried Rousseau. It was their first podium finish in the Nissan Navara after finishing second on the Nkomazi 400 in a Toyota Hilux earlier in the 2013 season.

Fourth and fifth went to outgoing South African champions Duncan Vos/ Rob Howie, in the second Hilux, and Deon Venter/Ian Palmer ( Hilux) who produced their best result of the season. For multiple champion Vos it was a disappointing end to what is likely to have been his last race for the Toyota team.

PUNCTURE MAYHEM

When Vos/Howie led at the halfway stage it looked as though Vos’s Toyota career would end on a high. On the second loop, however, the pair was hit by two punctures.

There was further disappointment for Vos/Howie and the Toyota squad when Ford Racing pair Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst fought some action to finish sixth. It was enough to give Visser/Badenhorst second in the overall championship ahead of Vos and Howie – although the Ford crew missed out on an eighth successive podium finish.

The Horns came in comfortably ahead of Dana Vos/ Hendrik de Kock in the Hilux with former champions Jack and Sarel Oosthuizen third in the Land Rover Defender. The win, however, was not enough to give the Horns the Class D title ahead of Jason Venter and Vincent van Allermann who wrapped up the title on the previous event.

Down in Class E there was a maiden national win for Johan Pretorius and Gesina Dauth. The Class E championship was settled earlier in the season with Dirk Putter and Koos Claasens taking back to back titles in a Ford ranger.
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