The final rally of the 2010 national season is set to be the hottest event of the year. The BP Volkswagen S2000 team of Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson lead the points standings, 138 in total, which places them 21 points ahead of the field.
When the two-day, 10 stage event gets underway in Gauteng on Friday, 15 October, all eyes will be on the fight between the BP Volkswagen S2000 Polos and the Toyotas. The current standings see BP Volkswagen in the lead with Toyota in second, BP Volkswagen in third, Ford in fourth and BP Volkswagen in fifth place.
Being over-confident of your position is a sure-fire recipe for disaster and the BP Volkswagen team are experienced campaigners. While Kuun and Hodgson need finish just 17th overall in the Toyota Dealer Rally Gauteng to claim the 2010 title for Kuun, there are no guarantees until crossing the finish line and the BP VW camp are being especially thorough in their preparations.
Hodgson claimed the 2010 navigator’s title at the CPMCC Swartland Rally in the Western Cape in September while Kuun has to wait for the outcome of the final event of the season before laying a claim to the throne.
The BP Volkswagen rally team have claimed consecutive titles since 2005 up to 2009 with the 2010 title now their goal. With two titles already in the bag – that of Hodgson with the navigators’ championship and Gugu Zulu and Cindi Harding claiming the win in A7 with the BP Volkswagen Polo, the final event of the season is all about getting Kuun over the finish line.
The team chasing Kuun and Hodgson is the Toyota duo of Johnny Gemmell and Drew Sturrock. They need to win the event – and see Kuun and Hodgson finish 18th or lower or eliminated from the rally if they are to take the title. To cross the finish first they will have to push hard – their last rally victory was in July – and they will also have to fend off their attentions of Jan Habig and Ralph Pitchford who are currently third in the championship.
Habig and Pitchford are just seven points behind Gemmell and Sturrock and in with a good chance of making life even harder for the Toyota team. If Habig and Pitchford claim a victory in the final event with their BP Volkswagen S2000 Polo and Gemmell and Sturrock are relegated to fourth place then Habig will claim second overall in the 2010 championship.
While such details are mere speculation at this point, these scenarios must be considered to ensure that every aspect of the rally is considered even before the cars leave the workshop. All three of the BP Volkswagen S2000s will be embroiled in battles of their own.
While Kuun and Hodgson will be working towards the title, Habig and Pitchford will be chasing Gemmell and Sturrock. A little further down the order, defending champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries will be facing off with Conrad Rautenbach and Peter Marsh in the Ford Fiesta. The difference between the two teams is just 11 points so the outcome of the final rally is going to make an significant impact on their championship outcome.
With the three BP Volkswagen S2000 Polos keeping the action hot up front, it will be up to Zulu and Harding to fly the flag for the team in the A7 class. While they already have the championship in the bag, a solid performance in this final event will end their season on a high note in the Polo.
The A5 Volkswagen Polo Vivo running in GC Diesel colours will be in action for only the second time, again under the control of Morné Janse van Rensburg. With a class victory on its debut event, there will be a great deal of interest to see how it fares at the final rally of the 2010 season.
Andre Cleenwerck and Kesevan Naidoo will have to wait just that little bit longer before returning to the national rally circuit. They are still awaiting the all-clear on their medical status before returning to competition.
– Credit: Volkswagen of South Africa.