Gareth Woolridge to race Brazil’s Rally dos Sertões
After a second place overall for South Africa’s Lance Woolridge in the 2016 Rally dos Sertões, it is time for the youngest of the Woolridge family to make his international racing debut. Gareth Woolridge will race the X Rally Team-built Ford Ranger V8 in the most difficult off-road competition in Brazil. This years’ Rally dos Sertões starts on August 18th in Goiânia, and the race goes until the 26th after 3,600 kilometers to reach the finish line in Fortaleza.
The 24-year-old son of South African cross country racing legend and constructor Neil Woolridge will drive alongside Brazilian co-driver Marcelo Haseyama who, two years ago, helped Gareth’s older brother Lance to finish second overall in the Sertões. The duo will race in the T1 FIA-Brazil class.
“I am quite nervous to be honest, and at the same time very excited to see and experience new things! I just don’t want to make mistakes that could hamper us, for example speeding in a radar zone or going into parc fermé too early, but I am confident in Hasa’s ability to navigate us through any of those potential problems”, says Gareth, refering to Haseyama.
Although he will have different co-driver in the cockpit, his long-time partner Boyd Dreyer will be in Brazil as well as a mechanic with the NWM team.
The Sertões isn’t a particular mystery for the young Woolridge. Since 2014 the familiy company, Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) has maintained a partnership with Brazil’s X Rally Team, which gave two Sertões titles in a row to Cristian Baumgart/Beco Andreotti in 2016 and 2017 with the Ford Ranger V8 4x4 built in Pietmaritzburg. Gareth was part of the crew that worked on the cars built in South Africa.
Now, with the support of NWM, the Brazilian team has built two units of the Ford Ranger V8 prototype to race in the T1 FIA Brazil class – a tweaked version of T1 FIA to keep costs lower. “There are a few differences compared to the Rangers we race in the South African Cross Country Series, but I think we can keep close to the guys in front. We will have a great support from the team; the guys at X Rally are top-level and very professional, so I will feel home when we head to the start line for this exciting race”, Gareth highlighted.
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