Atlas Copco, which runs a three-car team in the series, has stepped into the breach to sponsor the Sugarbelt 400, round three of the Absa Off Road Championship, in KwaZulu-Natal on May 21 and 22.
The Atlas Copco Sugarbelt 400 was left without a sponsor when Nissan withdrew from motorsport at the end of the 2009 season. The event is the only national championship off-road race in KZN and, based at the Beaumont Eston Farmer's Club on the outskirts of Pietermaritzburg, is traditionally one of the toughest and best supported events of the year.
The race, organised by the Natal Off Road Motor Club, was voted the best event of the year by competitors in 2009 and the Atlas Copco sponsorship is a major boost for the Absa Off Road Championship. Atlas Copco now joins other blue chip sponsorship partners in Absa, Ford, Donaldson Filtration Systems, and Toyota in a championship that is a jewel in the South African motorsport crown.