The BP Volkswagen rally team scored a one-two victory on Saturday in Barkley East – and took fourth place as well in the one-day, eight-stage blast that is the Osram Rally.
Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson put in a no-nonsense performance in their BP Volkswagen S2000 Polo, the fastest team out of the gate right from the start. The pair claimed the first stage victory, 1.6 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals to set the trend for their rally.
Kuun and Hodgson slipped out of the top two contenders for stage times only once during the event – when they dropped to fourth in stage three – but that was their lowest position on the day. This performance ensured they finished their event 23.7 seconds ahead of their nearest rivals.
Kuun and Hodgson’s rivals sported the instantly recognisable blue and green BP Ultimate livery of their teammates, the defending champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries.
Fekken and Arries brought their three-event run of bad luck in rallying to an end with a solid performance that netted them a second-place finish. This will go some way to taking the sting out of their recent history on rally stages. This could also be a return to form that will harass the front-runners for the remainder of the season as another championship title is out of their reach with just two events left on the 2010 calendar.
The two BP Volkswagen S2000 Polos crossed the finish line ahead of their Ford Fiesta rivals Conrad Rautenbach and Peter Marsh who were 42 seconds behind the leaders.
Jan Habig and Douglas Judd were teamed up for this event, the first time since Judd stepped out of the national rally spotlight. Habig is now partnered with Ralph Pitchford – who is also involved internationally with Volkswagen’s Dakar programme. This means he is sometimes not available for the national rally events – as with the Osram Rally. Judd stepped into the seat he has filled for so many years and he and Habig powered their way across the line for fourth overall.
“Something was wrong at the back of the car,” says Habig. “We couldn’t quite put our finger on it – and we had a spin in stage five, costing us 15 seconds.”
Habig and Judd then began trading gains and losses with Rautenbach and Marsh, each gaining and then losing to the other until the finish line.
By contrast to the other events on the national calendar, the Osram event takes place over just one day, leaving very little room for mistakes. Added to this the dangers presented by the slippery surfaces competitors have to deal with and the high speeds attained on the stages, the Osram event leaves its mark on every competitor.
The unique nature of the Osram Rally is further enhanced by the stark and rugged beauty of the environment around Barkley East – and stage names like Bottlenek, Clanville, Heuningneskloof and Wartrail. Where other events see the rally teams start day two of the event in the order they finished the first day, at the Osram they instead re-group mid-way through the event and then re-shuffled.
This re-group saw the front-running car change from the Fekken/Arries pairing to that of Kuun and Hodges.
For Gugu Zulu and Cindi Harding the event provided a class win in A7 with their BP Volkswagen Polo. The pair suffered a DNF (did not finish) at the VW Rally and this victory means they will hold on to their A7 championship lead going into the final two rounds of the 2010 season.
For André Cleenwerck and Kesevan Naidoo the Osram Rally was a frustrated weekend at home as their A5 BP Volkswagen Citi Golf was destroyed in an accident at the VW Rally – and they are still waiting for their new rally car to be finished.
With a one-two finish in the S2000 class and a class win in A7, the BP Volkswagen team ensured they made the trip a worthwhile exercise in collecting national championship points. The team now prepares for their next event in mid-September when they will again take to the gravel to stamp their authority on the national rally scene in South Africa.
– Credit: Volkswagen of South Africa.