Eston, Saturday 9 May – Local driver Lance Trethewey and Geoff Minnitt romped to a Special Vehicle victory on the Sugarbelt 450, round two of the Donaldson Cross Country Championship, which ended here today.
Trethewey and Minnitt, in the LT Earthworks BAT Venom, came home ahead of former South African champions Evan Hutchison and Danie Stassen (Motorite BAT Viper) with the two crews tied at the top of the championship after a win and a second apiece. Hutchison and Stassen won the season opening RFS Endurance ahead of Trethewey/Minnitt, with the two crews once again in dominant form.
“It has been a near perfect weekend with a second in the qualifying race, and a win today,” said Minnitt who lives in Plettenberg Bay and works in Johannesburg. “We had a trouble free run and Lance was always on the pace. The route and the organisation were out of the top drawer and we enjoyed ourselves.”
A popular result saw Brett Parker and VZ van Zyl finish third in the Sizanani Plastics Jimco. It was Parker’s maiden podium finish and van Zyl’s first in 13 years, with the pair recovering from a coming together with a tree on the first of the two 160 kilometre loops that made up the race.
Adventure was also the name of the game for KwaZulu-Natal crew Bryant Meyer and Hugh Hedgcock making their national series debut in a BAT. They managed to roll the car in the qualifying race, but bounced back to be the last of the seven classified finishers among the Special Vehicles.
The next outing on the Donaldson calendar is the Toyota 1000 Desert Race in Botswana from June 26 to 28, with the race the only marathon event in the national series.
Follow the Donaldson Cross Country Championship action on:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Donaldson-Cross-Country-Motor-Racing-Championship/355722134547784
https://twitter.com/Donaldsonracing
Source: https://meanderchronicle.co.za/tretheweyminnitt-romp-to-sugarbelt-450-victory/
