PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa, 19 June 2023 – The South African Rally Raid Championship (SARRC) shall be heading cross-border for the primary time since 2019 as the sequence returns to Botswana for the longest and hardest race of the 12 months – and it’s one which the Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) Ford Castrol Team is trying ahead to.
Over the previous three years, the Desert Race has taken place in Upington within the Northern Cape as a results of journey and logistics restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. For 2023, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race (TGR 1000) heads again to the diamond mining city of Jwaneng, which hosted the occasion for a number of years earlier than it was moved to Selebi-Phikwe in 2019.
NWM Ford Castrol Team heads to Botswana
As spherical three of the 2023 SARRC, the Desert Race takes place from Friday 23 to Sunday 25 June 2023, and is ready to as soon as once more function as Botswana’s largest sporting occasion of the 12 months. Its distinctive standing as a three-day marathon occasion sees the motion start on Friday with a brief 61km qualifying loop to decide the beginning order for the principle race. The prime 10 opponents then draw their beginning positions, with the technique concerning street place for the opening loop being a key consideration.
On Saturday the opponents will full two 220km loops to the east of Jwaneng, separated by a compulsory 30-minute service cease on the designated service park (DSP), positioned on the Jwaneng Sports Complex which additionally serves as the race headquarters.
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Sunday sees the groups sort out two runs by way of a 214km race loop west of Jwaneng, with a 30-minute service cease in between. The general instances for the weekend will decide the ultimate outcomes.
“The Desert Race is extremely popular in Botswana. We have a loyal and enthusiastic following in the country, and we know the fans are eager to see the SARRC return this year.”
Neil Woolridge, staff principal of the NWM Ford Castrol squad
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“We have enjoyed good results at the Desert Race, and our team has been buoyed by last week’s announcement that we will be competing at the 2024 Dakar Rally with our T1+ Ranger, along with Ford Performance and M-Sport. Over the past year, we have conducted a series of in-depth tests with M-Sport to further develop our T1+ Ranger for the Dakar Rally, and our results in the opening rounds of the 2023 season have shown that all of this hard work is paying off.”
Neil Woolridge, staff principal of the NWM Ford Castrol squad
Gareth Woolridge and co-driver Boyd Dreyer are the main NWM Ford Castrol contenders of their #277 T1+ EcoBoost V6-powered Ranger, having scored back-to-back podium finishes on the season-opening Nkomazi 400 in Malalane and the Sugarbelt 400 in Eston. Accordingly, they’re at present tied for second place within the Production Vehicle championship, together with the Toyota crew of Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy.
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“Gareth and Boyd are busy with another test session in Morocco currently and will arrive in Botswana on Thursday, having had the benefit of thousands of kilometres of testing over the past couple of months. So they will be very well prepared to go for it the moment the flag drops in Jwaneng.”
Neil Woolridge, staff principal of the NWM Ford Castrol squad
Lance Woolridge and co-driver Kenny Gilbert (#234) have had a troublesome begin to their first season collectively, however have proven spectacular tempo on a number of events. They are at present eighth general within the championship, and are aiming to maximize their factors haul at this significant occasion – particularly with the prospect of 45 factors up for grabs for the category win, rather than the traditional 30 factors for the shorter occasions.
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The NWM-supported privateer staff of Wors Prinsloo and Andre Vermeulen (#241) is raring to get again within the motion of their T1+ Ranger after lacking the earlier spherical. They are at present 13th general within the standings, having completed a formidable seventh on the opening spherical of the season.
Fans can comply with all of the motion and monitor the place of the crews all through every of the 2023 season’s seven races utilizing the RallyProtected app, which will be downloaded freed from cost for iOS and Android gadgets from the related app shops.
2024 Dakar Rally
Ford Performance is ready to broaden its world motorsports effort by competing within the legendary Dakar Rally, one of many hardest off-road competitions on Earth.
A purpose-built, race-ready Ford Ranger T1+ will compete within the 2024 Dakar Rally in Saudi Arabia within the Rally Raid T1+ class. Ford Performance is collaborating in a complete take a look at and improvement program with M-Sport and Neil Woolridge Motorsport to put together for what is predicted to be an especially robust problem come January 2024.
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For extra information in regards to the South African Rally Raid Championship, comply with our motorsport web page.
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