• Lance Woolridge and Elvéne Vonk (334) are second overall in Production Vehicle championship and in the premier FIA-class after victory at round five in Free State
• Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer (377) have moved up to fifth in FIA-class and sixth overall following third and fourth-place finishes in previous two races
• Ford NWM Development Team of Bapi Rubuluza and Fanifani Meyiwa (T49) given new confidence after scoring first podium finish at last race
• Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Ranger privateers occupy top three places in Class T, led by Malcolm and Frans Kock (T4)

PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa, 22 October 2021 – The Castrol Ford Cross Country Team is looking forward to resuming its challenge for the 2021 South African Cross Country Series (SACCS) title when the sixth and penultimate round of the championship takes place at the Vryburg 400, on 29 and 30 October 2021.

Coming off a superb victory at the double-header 4x4 Mega World 400 in the Free State, Lance Woolridge (334) is currently placed second in the overall Production Vehicle and premier FIA-class standings, just seven points and two points adrift of Toyota’s Henk Lategan, respectively. Co-driver Elvéne Vonk is comfortably second in the overall and FIA-class points tables.

Team-mates Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer (377) made up significant ground on their rivals following third and fourth-place finishes at the Free State events in their Ford Castrol Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) Ranger. Gareth moved up from ninth to sixth place in the overall Production Vehicle championship and from eighth to fifth in the FIA-class, while Boyd is now ranked sixth and fourth, respectively.

“The two-race 4x4 Mega World 400 was a great weekend for us, giving the team another podium finish and our second win from five events this year,” says Neil Woolridge, Ford Castrol NWM team principal. “What is really important for me is that we were very competitive against Toyota. They aren’t the world champions and Dakar Rally winners for nothing, and to take them on and beat them is a great achievement for our EcoBoost-powered Ford Ranger.

“We are still learning a lot about the new turbocharged petrol engines and doing extensive testing and development to further improve the Ranger,” Woolridge says. “We introduced additional cooling enhancements for the last event, which worked well. At each race we find other areas where we can make further improvements to ensure we are as competitive as possible, so we are looking forward to the Vryburg 400.

“It’s great that spectators will now finally be allowed to return to watch the cars competing due to the relaxed COVID-19 restrictions. We have a legion of fans, particularly in the Vryburg area and many from much further afield, who are desperate to see our new cars in action, which hasn’t been possible since we launched our new FIA-class EcoBoost Ranger in March,” Woolridge adds.

Class T

The Neil Woolridge Motorsport-supported privateers are the class of the field in Class T, competing in the V8-powered Ford Rangers. The father-and-son pairing of Malcolm and Frans Kock (T4) added to their impressive tally of podium finishes this year by winning their second race of the season at round five in the Free State. They currently top the Class T standings, 27 points ahead of second-placed Wors Prinsloo and Andre Vermeulen (T41) who claimed the win at round four.

Christo Rose and Arno Olivier (T58) are enjoying an impressive debut season in the NWM Ford Ranger, and are third in the rankings, just four points adrift of Prinsloo/Vermeulen. Bernard Johnstone and Jan Harm Hugo (T22) are fifth in class after finishing runners-up at round four, but unfortunately retired from the next race.

The Ford NWM Development Team of Bapi Rubuluza and co-driver Fanifani Meyiwa (T49) had their best race to date at the second heat of the 4x4 Mega World 400, claiming a second-place finish in the Ford Ranger V8. They are looking forward to continuing this form at the Vryburg 400.

Race schedule

The event will be based at the Vryburg Motor Club. Friday 29 October will see the teams completing a 42km qualifying sprint, setting off at 13:00, to determine the starting order for the main race. Saturday’s programme comprises two loops of 179km each, starting at 08:00.

Although access to the designated service park (DSP) will remain restricted in compliance with the current COVID-19 regulations, there will be plenty of opportunities to watch the cars racing during Friday’s qualifying sprint, and on the two loops that make up the main race on Saturday.

Fans can follow all the action and track the position of the crews using the RallySafe app which can be downloaded free of charge for iOS and Android devices. Also, be sure to follow the Ford Performance SA social media channels, listed below, for regular race updates.

                                                                                               # # #

Ford and Neil Woolridge Motorsport are proud to be supported by the following sponsors and partners: Castrol, Ford Credit, BF Goodrich Tyres, Mastercraft, Wűrth, Bosch, Sparco, Sign Solutions, Tiger Wheel & Tyre, Ironman 4x4 and Shatterprufe.

                                                                                                # # #

Follow the team’s updates and progress on the following social media channels:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/FordPerformanceSA 

Instagram: instagram.com/fordperformancesa 

Twitter: twitter.com/FordPerformanc3