The focus for the BP Volkswagen national rally team is, with just two events left in the 2010 championship, firmly on claiming another South African national rally title. It is going to be a tense, and exciting, chase to the sought-after victory.
Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson are the leading team for the BP Volkswagen campaign. They are the frontrunners in the 2010 championship with an 11 point advantage going into the CPMCC Swartland Rally. Of the six rallies that have already taken place, this pair have won two events and finished second in a further three.
This has set them up for a strong challenge for the title this season with their BP Volkswagen S2000 Polo and are the team to beat in 2010. Their closest rivals are Johnny Gemmell and Drew Sturrock from the Toyota camp. The Auris has also racked up two rally victories this season – but have not been able to produce the same podium consistency as their BP VW rivals.
While Gemmell and Sturrock are aiming to push the leading BP Volkswagen Polo off the podium they will have to keep an eye on their rearview mirror. The second of the BP Volkswagen Polo S2000 trio, that piloted by Jan Habig, is just 15 points behind. Just as the Auris is within striking distance of the lead Polo, so too is the Polo of Habig within striking distance of the Auris.
For Habig this event will also be the second time this season that his long-time navigator, Douglas Judd, will fill the second seat – while his new navigator, Ralph Pitchford, is contesting the Silk Way Rally in Russia.
The pairing of long-time teammates Habig and Judd could prove a successful match when the duo tackle the event in the Western Cape. Just 11 points back from Habig is Conrad Rautenbach and Peter Marsh with the Ford Fiesta S2000 which has created a stir in the national rally championship this season.
With such a small gap between positions in the top three, is it any wonder that the third of the BP Volkswagen S2000 Polos, that of defending champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries, should be just 13 points back in fourth place? The duo might not be able to win the championship this season, but that isn’t going to stop them scoring the highest finish in the championship possible.
With all of these teams ready for battle in the Western Cape, it will create an interesting dynamic as the 2010 championship builds to a climax. With the narrow margins in points, it is going to be an extremely exciting event.
The action up front will not detract from the battle taking place in class A7 where the BP Volkswagen Polo of Gugu Zulu and Cindi Harding will be working on extending their lead in this class. The Osram Rally was a good turn-around for them after their DNF (did not finish) in the Volkswagen Rally and their goal will be to build on this result in the Western Cape.
A good showing at the CPMCC event could well seal the title for the pair in 2010. For André Cleenwerck and Kesevan Naidoo the Western Cape rally will be another exercise in frustration.
The pair were involved in a rally crash that wrecked their BP Volkswagen A5 Citi Golf rally car at the VW Rally. With a DNF posted in that event and no chance to compete at the following event, the Osram Rally, they are definitely behind on points in this class.
Until they have been declared fit to race in the national rally championship Cleenwerck and Naidoo will have to be content to wait on the sidelines and cheer their teammates in the S2000 and A7 classes.