[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he ATS Motorsport Young Guns, Richard Leeke and Henry Kohne, will take to the cross-country battlefield again on May 12 and 13 when they line up for the Battlefields 400, the second round of the South African Cross Country Series (SACCS).
Based around Dundee in the heartland of KZN, they’re confident that they’ll have a better run than they did in opening round in Lichtenburg a month ago. Their Cross Country debut, while it held promise, was inauspicious and they retired with a broken rear axle on the ATS Motorsport Ford Ranger at an early stage.
But up to that point they were running at a pace that was encouraging and with the suspension repaired and further improvements made to the Ranger, the team is confident heading to the opposite end of the country.
A brief test confirmed that the developments have taken the team in the right direction and also gave Leeke and Kohne the opportunity to spend more time honing their in-car communication.
“Lichtenberg was frustratingly short, but we learnt a lot, which will enhance our performance in KZN,” explained Kohne, who when not navigating a Ranger (or a Fiesta rally car) through the rough, sells them at Action Ford – one of the team’s sponsors. “Once again our objective will be to get as much mileage as possible under our belt.”
Dundee, and more specifically the Battlefield Country Lodge and Sports Resort just outside the quaint Midlands town, is the nerve centre of the event and where the start/finish, service park and the event HQ is. A number of spectator points on the route will give great viewing opportunities and race fans can keep abreast of things via the free RallySafe app for Apple and Android devices.
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