Mpumalanga 400 gets ready for Dullstroom

The last race in Mpumalanga was the award-winning Nkomazi 400 in 2016, with Malalane Toyota dealer principal Johan Horn again a prime mover behind the province’s return to the SACCS calendar.

“The town fathers and the Dullstroom community have bent over backwards to make sure the Mpumalanga 400 is a resounding success,” said SACCS chief executive officer Archie Rutherford. “Landowners have also come to the party and enthusiasm and support for the event has been unprecedented.”

About the route

Route director Adri Roets said the course had a good mix of forests, open veld and vlei with some rocky sections. Because of drought conditions, the route is dry and dusty.

“There is nothing in the route that experienced crews haven’t seen before when Mpumalanga hosted events based in Lydenburg and Malalane,” said Roets. “It is an interesting course with a variety of terrain and should provide for an exciting challenge.”

The race starts and finishes at the Village Green Cricket Oval with the first spectator vantage point less than two kilometres from the designated service park (DSP) on the outskirts of Dullstroom. Competitors then head towards Belfast along the R540 via Swartkoppies, Lakenvlei and Vlakplaats before heading back to base via excellent cross-country terrain.

The route consists of a 170-kilometre loop which will be repeated twice during the race which starts at 8.30am on Saturday, 17 March 2018. The qualifying race to determine start positions for the main race will be run over a 45-kilometre route on Friday, 16 March 2018 and starts at 2pm.