The Special Vehicle title race is also set for another grandstand finish at the RFS Magalies 400. Three crews — with all three drivers former South African champions — are in line to win the title with 24 points separating the trio.

Karl-Heinz Sullwald and son Quintin, in the Sullwald Racing BAT, lead the overall and Class A championships from Shameer Variawa and Siegfried Rousseau (Total Porter) and Terence Marsh and Pieter Groenewald in the Regent Racing BAT.

With a 14-point lead over Variawa and Rousseau who leaped up the leader board with a couple of mid season wins, the Sullwald?s would appear to have the inside track. The Phalaborwa based crew, however, have a 100 percent finish record this season and still have to drop one score from their final tally — and this could open the door for Variawa and Rousseau and the Regent Racing pair.

In terms of sheer pace one would have to go for Variawa and Rousseau as potential winners at what is a new event on the off-road calendar. An intriguing tactical battle could unfold between the three crews with contrasting approaches to their off-road racing.

There is, however, no shortage of crews capable of interfering with the championship battle and there are half a dozen or so other crews capable of winning. Outgoing champions Evan Hutchison and Achim Bergmann (Motorite BAT) are among them and would like nothing more than to cap a disappointing season with a final win.

Gary Bertholdt and Andre Vermeulen, in the Atlas Copco Porter, are another pair that have to be listed among the potential winners. Also in this category are Nick and Ryan Harper who will be out in a new Spec 4 BAT running in Atlas Copco colours.

The old Harper car has been taken over by Garry Gillingham and VZ van Zyl and Atlas Copco will run a four car team at the RFS Magalies 400 with Bodo Bertholdt and Philip Herselman joining the fold. The veteran Bodo is Gary?s father with the Atlas Copco squad having a family look about it.

Also due for a win are Colin Matthews and Alan Smith in the Century Racing BAT while Mark Corbett and Rudi Balzer will be looking to finally get a good result in the four-wheel drive Century Racing CR1. The CR1 has plenty of potential but has been hampered throughout the season by reliability problems.

Mike Whitehouse and Mathew Carlson, in the second Regent Racing BAT, have had their moments this season as have Herman Sullwald and Paul Helberg in the Sullwald Racing Zarco Magnum. They could also produce upsets and with the race run over a route new to the competitors all the leading contenders start on an even footing.

Titles are also up for grabs in Class B where Louw de Bruin (Ruwacon BAT) and Tiddo Voogt, who this season has sat alongside Keymax BAT drivers Hendrik and Jan Kraaij, lead the driver and co-driver championships. Still in contention among the drivers is veteran former champion Giel Nel in the LUK Africa Zarco Truggy.

Deon de Kock, who sits alongside Nel, and Rudi Britz, who co-drives with de Bruin, are tied for second place in the co-drivers championship and trail Voogt by 12 points. A missed event earlier in the season has proved to be costly for Britz.

Cape crew Bes Bezuidenhout and Johann de Bruyn, in the Adenco BAT, are out of the running where the championships are concerned, but are potential winners in Class B. Nel and de Kock have relied solely on consistency but, in the long run, it may not have been enough.

The other dangermen in Class B are Alistair Stubbs and Marc de Chalain in the Stafix Racing Viper. With Stubbs back behind the wheel after missing the last event, the pair will be looking to end the season on a high note.

There is also an interesting championship situation in Class P. Here brothers Johan and Etienne Bezuidenhout (Adenco BAT) have a 10 point lead over another set of brothers in David and Gary White in the Ruwacon BAT.

And, just to complicate matters, KwaZulu-Natal driver Don Thompson (Zarco Lite) is also part of a three-way struggle in the driver stakes. Thompson has shown blistering pace this season — he has often outrun Class A crews — and will be the race favourite in many quarters.

The Bezuidenhouts will be looking to simply finish and must be regarded as the championship favourites. The Whites and Thompson will have to do all the hard work and an intriguing cameo performance could emerge as the race progresses.