Red-Lined Motorsport's Weekend of Woes

Well, well, well, folks, grab your popcorn and let’s chat about the delightful disaster that was Red-Lined Motorsport’s latest escapade at the South African Rally-Raid Championship TGRSA Safari 1000. Picture this: Limpopo Province Waterberg, a place where dreams go to die and cars go to… well, fall apart.

Our heroes at Red-Lined Motorsport staggered home with their metaphorical tail firmly wedged between their legs after the third and final day turned into a veritable smorgasbord of calamity. “Unfortunately, our T1+ Ultimate class effort quite literally fell apart on the last day as this tough and technical event gave us a proper kick in the nuts and this after a good first two days of racing,” a dejected Terence Marsh, Red-Lined’s team principal, lamented. Let’s just say, if their cars were horses, they'd have been taken out back and put down.

Three shiny new Red-Lined REVO T1+ GT-Rs went into the race. Spoiler alert: none came out in one piece. First up, Chris Visser and Albertus Venter decided they fancied a bit of off-road gymnastics and rolled right out of the competition. Then, Dutch duo Dave and Tessa Klaassen thought hugging trees was a great idea – spoiler: it wasn’t. They lost a right rear wheel and any chance of a respectable finish. Just to sprinkle a little more disaster on this crap cake, European CEO Rients Hofstra and Wade Harris ran into electronical issues – that’s right, electronical – and had to bow out during the final stage.

But hey, it wasn’t all doom and gloom. Our valiant privateers in the T1 Adventure class decided to actually finish the race. Four cars in the top five – not too shabby. The Heinlein father and son duo nailed it, finishing second in class and ninth overall out of 23 starters. Five straight Adventure class podiums? These guys are on a roll.

Johan de Bruyn and Adriaan Roets kept their Championship lead with a solid performance in their Falken Tyres REVO T1. Philip Botha and stand-in navigator Gerhard Schute also grabbed a top-five result in their Penta Motor Group VK56, proving that someone in the team knew what they were doing.

Let’s not forget the 19-year-old Dutch youngster Pim Klaassen and Rikus Hattingh. Despite losing an hour with some bush repairs after a gate post incident (because why not?), they managed to limp home in 13th place. Bless their determined little hearts.

In conclusion, the Safari event was one to forget for our T1+ lads, but the T1 crew stood their ground. As Terence Marsh wisely put it, “It is what it is and that’s racing. We learn to love it as much as we can hate it at the same time!” Translation: Sometimes you’re the windshield, sometimes you’re the bug.

So, Red-Lined Motorsport will dust off the debris, mend their bruised egos, and prep for the next round in Parys in August. A tip of the hat to the team for slogging through a weekend that was more trainwreck than triumph. Stay tuned, because you know they’ll be back for more – gluttons for punishment, the lot of them.

Frank Lee DILLIGAF!