Bridgestone 4×4 Club Challenge 2014 Episode 6: McCarthy 4×4 Club

Bridgestone 4×4 Club Challenge 2014 Episode 6: McCarthy 4×4 Club
The battlefield was the sixth round of the 2014 Bridgestone 4×4 Club Challenge, and with almost 30 crews lining up for the test, the organisers were ready and waiting with one tough day at the 4×4 office.
Tough, because not only did the teams have to contend with tough 4×4 obstacles, but they also had to complete the track as close to an ideal time – set by the organisers – as possible. And, they had to look out for any environmental conundrums… like picking up litter, left on purpose by the organisers, lying about in the veld.
At 9am the event got underway proper as the first teams headed out the first of seven obstacles. But it wasn’t as easy as just driving to obstacle one. The teams had all been given route schedules which they had to follow. And it wasn’t long before a few incorrect turns were made. However, as the teams eventually made their way to the first obstacle, it was clear that scoring lots of points was, well, just not going to happen.
A steep climb on a slippery slope, between some narrow gates, was followed by a steep, axle twisting descent with a tight turn, also between some narrow gates. Only one team would eventually score full marks here, but at least most teams scored some points.
The same could not be said for the second obstacle. This test comprised some mud, some precision driving and to cap it off, just when the teams had thought they had it made, another steep, axle-twisting climb through some narrow gates. The vast majority of teams scored zero here – and the highest score proved to be a paltry 50.
Obstacle three was, well, more of the same difficulty. Zero points were again the going rate, with some seemingly impossible-to-navigate gates. Obstacle four was slightly easier and comprised a climb through some gates, and then some side-slip action on loose gravel. Most teams did well here, and the marshals at this obstacle used a lot more ink than the ones at the first three obstacles as they wrote down the scores.
To Rhino Park’s famous sand pit the teams went, to set a time on a slalom course on the sand. Suffice to say that it was a bit like watching an episode of the soapie Days of Our Lives, as communication and direction in 4×4 cabins went out the window, and teams got lost and found on the sand. In the end the burly Jeep Wrangler Rubicons, with their powerful V6 petrol engines, proved to be the fastest of the lot here.
The last two obstacles of the day were set in Rhino Park’s infamous Die walle… This quarry features some hectic climbs, mud and axle twisters. But by this stage the Bridgestone teams were in the groove, and on the last two obstacles, as intimidating as they seemed, most of the teams bagged some valuable points.
All that was left was to navigate themselves – using the challenging route schedule – back to the McCarthy 4×4 clubhouse – and here each team’s arrival time was recorded. This was then used to calculate an overall time for each team – and compared to the “ideal time”, set by the organisers.
And so, to the results: Bagging the environmental prize were Shaun Niemand and Dominique Cholewka in a Jeep Wrangler. The team had spotted some strategically placed litter, and had collected it. They won a R2000 reward from Bridgestone.
In third position overall – and the first of three McCarthy 4×4 Club teams to qualify for the Club Challenge Final in November – and winning an Opposite Lock snatch kit were Henry Barns and Bert van der Merwe in a Suzuki Jimny.
Second place belonged to Heinz and Blanche Kusel, in a beautiful Range Rover Classic V8. The team also qualifies for the final, and won a set of Opposite Lock spotlights.
And the winning team? Well, it proved to be one of those Toyota days for the Jeep team of Shaun Niemand and Dominique Cholewka – everything just kept on going right. Bagging both environmental prize and overall honours, the team also won a R10 000 tyre voucher from Bridgestone South Africa. They also booked their spot in the final, where the grand prize will be a Conqueror off-road trailer to the value of R50 000.
More information: www.bridgestone.co.za