To say that the final race of the 2022 South African Rally-Raid Championship was difficult is an understatement. However, the Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Castrol Team managed to conquer the muddy conditions for first place on the podium.
If you have ever heard of or are a fan of the Dakar rally, you should know about the annual SARRC or South African Rally-Raid Championship that takes place locally. The rally is open to a wide variety of vehicle types, however, a popular class is the FIA T1+ category, which sees a variety of teams competing, including Neil Woolridge Motorsport Ford Castrol Team.
The NWM Ford Castrol team utilize heavily modified Ford Ranger vehicles. The 2022 NWM T1+ EcoBoost Ford Ranger (EFR) which complies with the T1+ regulations that were introduced for the 2022 Dakar Rally, is much wider than the previous iteration, now measuring 2.3 meters wide. This change was to accommodate the wider wheel track and the 37-inch tyres on larger-diameter 17-inch wheels.
The wide arches also allow the suspension system to travel up to 350mm. Interesting to know is that each of the four shock absorbers in the NWM Ford Castrol vehicle will set you back around R 110 000. But you might wonder, what is motivating the 2 000 kg models? It is none other than a twin-turbocharged, 3.5-litre V6 EcoBoost engine that produces 300 kW and 600 Nm.
However, even with all these modifications, the seventh and final round of the 2022 SARRC which was held in Parys in the Free State province, proved very difficult for all teams with the relentless rain.
Final rounds
The final two rounds of the 2022 South African Rally-Raid Championship took place on Friday and Saturday in Parys and surrounds. However, due to the rain, much of the scheduled 700 km of race route could not be completed. In fact, a mere 180 km was completed over the weekend. For the NWM Ford Castrol team, Friday proved more difficult as pilot Gareth Woolridge and navigator Boyd Dreyer managed sixth place.
However, Saturday which still proved challenging at best did bring in a positive result for Gareth and Boyd as for the first time they managed to secure a victory in their respective class. This was after they dominated the 12 km qualifying sprint in the morning.
“We are thrilled with the win, as Boyd and I have been trying to secure our first win for at least 10 years. I’m really glad to finally pull it together in the most difficult conditions we’ve ever raced in. It has been a difficult year, with some small technical issues that have let us down, despite Boyd and I having one of our cleanest seasons yet. We’ve taken big strides forward with our T1+ Ranger, as we proved at the previous event and this weekend in Parys. So for next year, I think we’re in good shape for even bigger and better things.” Gareth Woolridge, NWM Ford Castrol team, Driver.
For vehicle #234 piloted by Lance Woolridge with his navigator Elvéne Vonk, Friday proved to be the better day out of the weekend as they managed to place fifth overall. And although Saturday saw them qualifying fourth, due to the conditions worsening and getting stuck in the mud, they managed to secure fifth place for their class and 14th overall.
“I didn’t think the conditions could get worse than yesterday, but it was manic out there today. It was so slippery that we had to start braking from 600 to 700 metres away from a turn and then just tiptoe around the corner. We got stuck in a ploughed field that the two Toyotas ahead of us had already gone through, and when I got out of the car I sank right down to my knees in the mud. Elvéne and I didn’t want to slow the top teams down so we let them all past, then Eben and Leander, who had won their class championship on Friday, stopped and pulled us out, and we had a clean run to the end.” Lance Woolridge, NWM Ford Castrol team, Driver.
Ryno FourieRyno started his career capturing press images of the latest and greatest vehicles which have subsequently adorned the covers and pages of prominent motoring titles locally and internationally. After a short stint as a photography lecturer, he once again joined the automotive industry as a sub-editor and photographer for a local publication, however, currently, you will find him spending most of his time in the studio creating written, video, and photography content as part of the AutoTrader content team.View News & Reviews
Keyword: Ford shines bright in the rain