information supplied by: Cross Country Commission (Media) 31 July 2012
Tough Outing for Team Ford Racing

• Team Ford Racing charges through the field on a tough event
• Visser and Badenhorst finish fourth
• Woolridge and Huxtable finish seventh

PRETORIA, South Africa, 30 July, 2012 - Team Ford Racing concluded this weekend’s Sun City 400 with a fourth and a seventh place in the Absa Off Road Championship’s premier SP class.

Chris Visser and Japie Badenhorst finished tenth in Friday’s prologue session. This left them with lots of ground to make up during Saturday’s race. Nevertheless the pair was up for the challenge. They fought their way up to fourth place in the first loop but then lost ground again when they stopped as a result of a puncture. Once again the pair fought their way through the field, eventually finishing in fourth place.

“Unfortunately we didn’t have a good run during the prologue on Friday. This left us with a lot of work to do on Saturday and with the dry dusty conditions overtaking was a challenge. All things considered fourth place was a good result,” said Visser.

Lance Woolridge and Ward Huxtable in the sister Ford Ranger finished in seventh place, a result not indicative of their true pace on the event. Woolridge finished fifth in Friday’s prologue session and was confident ahead of the race.

The duo moved up to second place in the first loop and were looking good for a podium position when a dislodged power steering pipe halted their charge. Woolridge and Huxtable managed to repair the problem but found themselves at the back of the field. They put in a sterling performance gaining around 30 positions in their charge through the field to seventh place.

“We were going at a fantastic pace,” explained navigator Huxtable. “Lance has really come into his own as a young driver. Looking at the times, I would love to know what the outcome would have been if we hadn’t needed to stop to repair the power steering.”

Louw De Bruin, a privateer, in a V8 Ford Ranger also developed by Neil Woolridge came third in the SP class, adding to our manufacturer points.

The event proved to be a hit with spectators and driver’s alike despite the dry and dusty atmosphere.

“Overall it was a great event,” explained Team Manager Neil Woolridge. “The organisers pulled out all the stops to ensure the spectators enjoyed a fantastic show. It’s a tough sport that we compete in, where you are punished for small mistakes. It’s a pity because the Rangers were really fast this weekend and we had the measure of our rivals. Things didn’t really go our way but we still enjoyed ourselves and most importantly the fans enjoyed a great day’s racing.”

Team Ford Racing’s efforts would not be possible without the support of its dedicated sponsors BP, Castrol, Innovation Group, Motorvia, Sign Solutions and Time Freight.