Novemver 18, (South Africa) - Nissan Motorsport ended the 2006 Absa Off Road Championship for production vehicles in a rain-affected Carnival City 400 on Saturday afternoon with its sixth successive drivers and co-drivers championships and its 11th national motor sport championship in a row.
Despite being forced out of the season-ending race when their Proudly South African Nissan Navara suffered a broken steering arm and drive shaft, Hannes Grobler and Francois Jordaan had already wrapped up the championship at the penultimate round last month. The final round of the eight-race championship was won by Bevan Bertholdt and Robin Houghton in the factory-entered class SP Toyota Hilux. Nissan privateers Arnold du Plessis and Johan Knox (BB Auto Group Hardbody) finished by 3rd.
Nissan’s unequalled run of national championship successes started with a win in the Group N production car championship in 1996 and continued through four consecutive touring car championships until Nissan entered the off road championship in 2001.
The Carnival City 400 is traditionally one of the toughest events of the year, and this year was no exception. Just 20 of the 78 production and special vehicles that started the 360-km race survived a tough day that included a punishing course of marshy flatlands, rocky hills and testing water crossings. To make life more difficult, intermittent downpours turned roads into car-trapping quagmires throughout the day.
“We had a bad day – our worst since the last time both of our cars failed to finish, coincidentally at Carnival City three years ago – but happily we had already won the championship for the sixth year in a row,” said Nissan Motorsport general manager Glyn Hall.
The steering arm problem that affected both of our cars has been addressed for our 2007 cars we have redesigned the front suspension and the parts that failed were run-out items. A disappointing end to a great season but we won five of the eight events and finished second three times. added Hall.
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