A fine hometown performance by former national off-road racing champions Neil Woolridge and Kenny Skjoldhammer in a Ford Ranger V6 saw Nissan's four-year reign as champions of the Nissan Sugarbelt 400 come to an end in the Eston area of Pietermaritzburg on Saturday afternoon (March 19). Woolridge and Skjoldhammer won the opening round of the 2005 ABSA SA Off Road Championship by just 17 seconds after 420 km of one of the most closely contested national championship races in recent years.
Second was reigning champion Hannes Grobler and co-driver Francois Jordaan in their Proudly South African Nissan Hardbody after a race-long battle with the Ford, which saw the Nissan pair lead the event before stopping to change a flat tyre.

Local hero Alfie Cox, in his first appearance in the Proudly South African Nissan Hardbody V6, was quickest in Friday's 31-km prologue, which established the starting order for Saturday's race, and led the event for the first hour and a half, to the delight of the thousands of KwaZulu Natal enthusiasts who watched the event from the numerous spectator points.

Grobler, who was second quickest in qualifying ahead of Woolridge, took over the lead and looked set to take his third successive Nissan Sugarbelt 400 with co-driver Francois Jordaan. But a puncture delayed him, allowing Woolridge to head the field.

Grobler launched one of his trade-mark fight backs and closed to within 15 seconds of the Ford before stopping at the designated service point at the Beaumont Eston farmer's club for a replacement wheel and he started the next loop 1 min 12 sec behind Woolridge.

Within five sections the Nissan driver made up 52 seconds and with five sections to go the Nissan team piled on the pressure. Maintaining a 15 to 16 second 'dust gap' - "as close as you can safely get under these conditions" said Grobler - the reigning champion waited for an opportunity to pass or for Woolridge to make a rare mistake.

But the day was Ford's and Woolridge's. They crossed the finish line at the Beaumont Eston farmers' club with a time of 7 hr 17m 51 sec to record a popular win for the local crew.

Cox, thoroughly enjoying his first race at the wheel of the Proudly South African Nissan racing pickup that has dominated off-road racing for the past four years, was second until his car failed to restart after a decontrol section while lying second, 20 seconds ahead of Woolridge. They push-started the Nissan, losing two and a half minutes to Woolridge in the process and losing second place.

They stopped at the designated service point where the Nissan Motorsport service crew replaced the starter motor as well as the battery, which turned out to be the real problem, and lost a further three minutes.

They were eventually forced to retire from the race when the rear propshaft broke, destroying the gearbox oil cooler pump.

Nissan privateers did not have a good day, with all five retiring with a variety of mechanical problems.

Class D was won by Manfred Schroder and Alec Harris in a Ford Ranger, who were third overall, while the class E winners were reigning class E champions Hugo and Jaap de Bruyn in a Toyota Hilux), who finished sixth overall.

18-19 March, 2005 - KAWAZULU NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA