In the closest-fought rally victory thus far of the 2011 season, Conrad Rautenbach and co-driver Nicolas Klinger (G-Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000) were crowned the inaugural winners of the HMC Hencom Autobody Rally this weekend.
The third round of the South African Rally Championship was played out in the Witbank and Bronkhorstspruit areas, with the high-speed stages claiming a number of victims over the event’s 11 stages, 172.51 competitive kilometers and two days of intense action. Of the 40 starters, only 27 made it to the finish on Saturday afternoon.Atop the leader board for all but three of the event’s stages was Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich (Basil Read/Bizhub Ford Fiesta S2000). Over the final three tests the lead of the rally changed three times, but it was Rautenbach who came out tops on the final classification by just 02.5sec. The final podium position was claimed by Johnny Gemmell/Drew Sturrock (Castrol Toyota Auris S2000).
Team Total, South Africa’s largest privateer squad, was proudly represented at the rally by four crews, two in Class S2000 and two in Class S1600. Jean-Pierre Damseaux and co-driver Carolyn Swan finished Day One in tenth place and made a concerted effort to climb even higher up the leader board on Day Two’s opening stages. Chasing after the factory Volkswagen and Toyota entries, Damseaux and Swan once again showcased the speed that brought him his fourth place overall position in last month’s event in Nelspruit.
However, in stage 9 while tackling the demanding mielie fields, a mielie struck Damseaux’s windscreen to leave it shattered. This incident momentarily distracted the driver, and he ran wide into a corner and rolled his car. This cost the pairing nearly two minutes in lost stage time and their pace was further hamstrung over the final two speed tests with severe brake problems as a result of their roll. Damseaux and Swan brought their battle-weary machine to the finish in a commendable 11th position overall.
Class S2000 compatriots Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin saw their weekend’s overall pace blighted by mechanical maladies. Day One saw the crew suffer from clutch problems and lose valuable time to their rivals. Attacking Day Two’s stages with controlled aggression, Moosa swept through the morning’s tests to move up the leader board. Unfortunately, a wrong slot on stage 7 saw them lose 40sec. A determined Moosa charged through the following two stages, but once more this weekend his efforts were undone by mechanical gremlins. In stage 10, the penultimate of the event, their Toyota RunX S2000 lost all braking power. Using the handbrake to slow to the car into corners led to a sideshaft snapping. Their speed in the final stage was compromised as Moosa struggled with the ill-handling car. Despite these difficulties, Moosa and Martin finished the event in 12th position overall.
The Mr Consistency title once more belongs to Craig Trott. Co-driven by Robbie Coetzee in Class S1600, Trott finished the rally fourth in Class and 20th overall. Even though the high-speed nature of this event favours the technology in the machines piloted by their Class rivals, Trott/Coetzee set impressive stage times while fighting for position. Their pace is encouraging for the following rounds of the season as these events are held over more technically demanding stages where Trott shines.
The all-female crew of Stefanie Botha and Angela Shields in the second Team Total Toyota RunX S1600 experienced mechanical issues through all but one stage of their five-stage run of the HMC Hencom Autobody Rally. A misfire on Day One robbed their car of valuable power, and starting Day Two off with a committed drive through stages four and five seemed as if their fortune had turned. On the liaison section between stages five and six, their Toyota RunX ground to a halt due to a crank pulley failure. This enthusiastic crew are determined to put these unfortunate days behind them and concentrate on making their mark felt in Class S1600 on the next event.
Team Total will be in action at the next round of the Championship, the Toyota Dealer Rally in Gauteng on 10 and 11 June.
– Credit: Total South Africa