RUNDLE AND MOHR PUNCTURED OUT OF CARNIVAL CITY

Off road racing is a cruel mistress and when the dice doesn’t roll in your favour, you have to take it like a man.  So it was for Thomas Rundle and Juan Mohr (Barden Tyre Services Racing Nissan Navara) in the 4x4 Mega World 400, round five of the Absa Off Road Car Championship, which took place over the weekend near Carnival City.
 

Following their fine third place overall in the recent Sun City 400, a result that resuscitated their season after two disappointing non-finishes in their first season together in the ex-factory Nissan, the Barden Tyre Services pair was confident of building on that performance.
 
Rundle and former national champion off road racing co-driver Juan Mohr got their weekend off to a great start in Friday’s 67-km Donaldson prologue, which determined the start order for Saturday’s 356-km race, with the third fastest time among the production vehicles behind the factory Toyota Hiluxes of Duncan Vos and Anthony Taylor.
 
“We had a great run in the prologue and had high hopes for the race,” said a Rundle.  “It’s all been coming together nicely and we were heartened by our third place overall in the recent Sun City 400.  But for the two punctures we would have come very close to winning the event.
 
“We started Saturday’s race well and were lying second in the production vehicle category after 100 km behind Duncan Vos and Rob Howie in the factory Toyota.  Then we had to stop after another 50 km to put oil in the engine when the oil pressure dropped, losing us about four places. We dropped even further back when we had to stop again as the engine was overheating and we had to add water.
 
“At the start of the second of the two 178 km loops that made up the race distance we realised that with continued low oil pressure and high water temperature we were running the risk of damaging the engine, so we returned to the halfway service point after 10 km.
 
“It was a great disappointment.  But we’ll be back for the Toyota Desert Race next month.”
 
The event was won by Vos and Howie from Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst (Toyota Hilux) and Hannes Grobler/Hennie ter Stege (BMW X3).
 
While Barden Tyre Services is the principal sponsor, the team also enjoys a mutually beneficial relationship with other partners and suppliers like Dunlop tyres, Autozone, Hausberger and Associates, Maxwell Design and Advertising, Willard batteries and Cedar Chem.





STORY BY PETER BURROUGHES COMMUNICATIONS