Bridgestone 4×4 Club Challenge 2014 Episode 4: Isuzu Off-road Club

Bridgestone 4×4 Club Challenge 2014 Episode 4: Isuzu Off-road Club
It’s round four of the Bridgestone South Africa 4×4 Club Challenge, and it was the turn of the Isuzu Off-Road club’s members to duke it out for top honours, and the chance to compete in the series final in November.
The field of 30 teams consisted mainly of Isuzu 4x4s of various shapes, sizes and ages, as well as a few Bridgestone Club challenge regulars in a selection of Jeeps, Toyotas and Suzukis. Although the few non-Isuzu teams could enter the competition, they were not eligible to qualify for the final event – only the top three Isuzu crews would earn that right.
The action got underway with things hanging in the, well… balance. Teams had to drive their 4x4s up a precarious see-saw contraption, and then balance the vehicle in the middle for five seconds. Sounds easy, right?
Well, it was a lot of things, but easy wasn’t one of them! Teams could either score big here, or score nothing at all. For some the option of taking the easy way out, and banking a guaranteed 25 points instead of risking losing all their points here was the better option. In the end a few teams came tantalisingly close to scoring full marks, but none did in the end. The scene was well and truly set for a tough day in the African bush!
Obstacle two was a different test altogether. Here speed and accuracy were the order of the day, as the teams competed in what is often referred to as a Tour de Blompot in rally circles. Or Tour de Traffic Cones, in this case.
The next obstacle was the first traditional 4×4 test: a tricky sandy climb between narrow gates, with a few twists and turns along the way. The 4x4s had to start the climb on the climb, so there was no opportunity to build up some momentum.
This didn’t really have an effect on the Isuzu KBs and Frontiers with their rear differential locks, but some of the other vehicles, which did not have a rear diff lock, only managed to redistribute some sand, making no progress up the incline at all. But this was still all pretty easy.
At obstacle four the going got a little more challenging still, with an axle twister, some rocks and those narrow gates testing the technical skills of the teams. But all these obstacles only served as warm-up exercises for obstacles five and six – if the teams did not manage to scale the imposingly steep and rocky obstacle five, they could not even get to obstacle six to attempt to complete it.
Indeed, obstacle five proved to be a bit of a war zone as especially the less experienced crews fell victim to the lose rocks and uncomfortable ascent. However, the more experienced teams managed to get up here, demonstrating that it certainly was possible. Either way, it was a quick learning process for the newbie 4×4 crews.
However, for the unexperienced crews the tests were not getting any easier. Obstacle seven proved to be another tester for the less well-travelled-in-4×4-environments. And then came the slooooooow obstacle.
Here the object was to complete a rocky climb, and to take longer than 2min to do it without stopping or reversing. It proved to be another tougher test than one would imagine. Especially the teams with not so much low-speed torque had to use a dose of momentum to get themselves up the climb, but by doing so they completed the test in less than 2min. Oh dear!
Which brings us, after a long day of 4×4 action, to the results. Winners on the day were Danie Tait and Wilma Fourie in the amazing little Suzuki SJ. But the Isuzu winners of the day – and second overall and securing a spot in the Club Challenge final – were Garreth Goncalves and Pieter van Niekerk, in an Isuzu Frontier 320 V6.
Third place belonged to the reigning Bridgestone Club Challenge champion Danny Daniels, partnered in the Jeep Grand Cherokee by Theunis Kortenhoeven. Fourth place overall, and securing the second Isuzu seat in the Final, were father and son team Robert and Dustin Hale, who drives an Isuzu Trooper.
And the third Isuzu finalists were Jaco Volmer and Melvin Paton in an Isuzu Frontier 280DT, who completed the event in 7th place overall. The top three teams respectively won a set of Light Force Striker spotlights, Opposite Lock spotlights and the winning team bagged a R10 000 tyre voucher from Bridgestone SA.
More information: www.bridgestone.co.za