Current points report 2001-07-25

2001 MSA National Off-Road Car Championship

Shumie Regains Production Vehicle Category Lead
Czepeks Tighten Grip On Special Vehicle Category

Shumie van Vuuren (class D Castrol Toyota Land Cruiser) has regained his position as the leading driver in the Production Vehicle category of the 2001 MSA National Off-Road Car Championship following the recent O'Hagan's / Kopanong Hotel 500 in North West Province.

He trailed Buks Carolin (class T Mitsubishi Pajero) by two points going into the fifth round of the championship (previously known as the Mafikeng 500) and his fourth place in the Production Vehicle category and second in Class D with co-driver Fanie Kotze put Van Vuuren back at the top of the drivers' championship with 141 points. Carolin, who finished 12th overall and fifth in class, is now second with 129 points. Third is Giniel de Villiers, winner of the O'Hagan's / Kopanong 500 in his class T Nissan Hardbody, with 97 points.

Van Vuuren leads Class D with 87 points, followed by Piet Haasbroek (Castrol Land Cruiser) with 59 and Mark Corbett (Petronas Isuzu KB) with 57 points.

Carolin, the reigning Special Vehicle co-drivers' champion, leads class T with 73 points from Giniel de Villiers, winner of the O'Hagan's / Kopanong event in his Nissan Hardbody Double Cab, with 60 points and reigning Production Vehicle champion Neil Woolridge (Ford Ranger) with 54 points.

Carolin's co-driver Hennie ter Stege leads the overall co-drivers' championship with 129 points from Kotze, who missed the Mitsubishi Barberspan 500, on 109 points. Third is De Villiers' co-driver Francois Jordaan with 97 points.

Ter Stege leads the class T co-drivers' competition with 73 points from Jordaan (60 points) and Woolridge's co-driver and reigning champion Kenny Skjoldhammer (54 points).

Kotze is the leading co-driver in class D with 67 points, followed by Christo Bosch (59) and Juan Mohr (57).

Coetzee Labuschagne and Piet Heunis (Toyota Hilux) lead the closely contested class E by just five points from Manfred Schroder/Jack Peckham (Ford Ranger) and brothers Andrew and Chris Birkin (Castrol Toyota Hilux), the reigning champions, on 57 points.

The experienced father and son pairing of Franz Czepek senior and junior are just four points away from a fifth national Special Vehicle title after winning all five of the rounds completed so far. Their dream unbeaten run this season in their class A Vee Motors Chenowth has given them a full house score of 175 points in the overall championship and 100 in class A.

Second overall in the drivers' championship is reigning class B champion Giel Nel in his class B single seater Luk Africa Truggy with 125 points. Third is John Weir-Smith (class A O'Hagan's / Kopanong Hotel Jimco) with 80 points.

Weir-Smith's co-driver Geoff Minnitt is second overall in the co-drivers' championship with 80 points, followed by Boy Stone and Zaheer Bodhanya on 62 points each.

Weir-Smith is second in the class A drivers' championship with 43 points, followed by John Moore with 39 points. Minnitt is second in the co-drivers' competition with 43 points from Stone and Bodhanya on 34 points each.

Nel leads class B with 80 points from Gavan Gray (37) and Bes Bezuidenhout (30). Top co-driver in class B is Deon Bezuidenhout with 30 points, followed by four on 20 points. They are Johan van Jaarsveld, Ashley Thorne, Carla Erichsen and Renier Jooste.

Reigning Special Vehicle drivers' champion Shameer Variawa and co-driver Bodhanya had their best result of the season on the O'Hagan's / Kopanong Hotel 500, bringing their Cornbake Foods Jimco home second after leading for over 250 km. Variawa is now equal fifth in the overall drivers' championship, out of reach of Czepek but mathematically within reach of second-placed Nel.

-MSA-