Evan Hutchison and Elvene Coetzee will be aiming to bring their Motorite Racing Volkswagen Polo home in the top 10 again when they contest the premier class S2000 in this weekend’s (July 23 and 24) Volkswagen Rally, round five of the Sasol South African Rally Championship.
“A good result in our Motorite Polo will be a nice way to thank Volkswagen for all their help and encouragement in our first year in the very competitive and tough world of S2000,” said the reigning class A7 national champion, who is also the current national off road champion in the special vehicle category.
“It’s been a tough year so far, competing in both the national rally and off road championships, and being new to the premier class of rallying. We had a good season in 2009, winning class A7 at our second attempt, but the step up to S2000 is a very big one. We’ve settled down quite well and our stage times are improving with each outing. We’ve broken into the top 10 in two of the last three events and we’re aiming to keep moving up the scoreboard.”
A broken accelerator cable on the longest stage of the recent Rally of South Africa in Mpumalanga robbed the Motorite Racing pair of a better finish. Despite their misfortune, which cost them about 14 minutes, they recovered well to finish strongly and climb into the top 10 from 20th at the overnight stop.
“Although we sadly were unable to capitalise on the misfortunes of several of the other S2000 competitors, we put in some good stage times in our efforts to catch up.
This versatile racing driver, who graduated from bikes and quads to off road car racing and then rallying – he is the only driver contesting both the national rally and off road championships – is always up for a challenge and he will like nothing better than finishing ahead of some of the more fancied factory drivers in the Eastern Cape this weekend. S2000 is the most closely contested class, with five factory entries from Toyota and Volkswagen and a number of experienced privateers who enjoy factory support.
“We’re expecting a fast and tough event – always a feature of the VW Rally – and we’re looking forward to the challenge of the Longmore Forest on the first day. A good result on Friday will set us up nicely for Saturday, with stages being repeated,” added Hutchison.
The Volkswagen Rally starts at 12.30 on Friday from VW’s Auto Pavilion in Uitenhage and takes in the Longmore Forest, the PE oval track and the Aldo Scribante circuit on the first day. Saturday’s action starts from King’s Beach at 08.00 and sees a repeat of Friday’s first four stages with the finish at King’s Beach in the early afternoon.
Motorite Racing is the motor sport division of Motorite Insurance Administrators, the largest independent mechanical breakdown insurance and full maintenance plan service provider and administrator in South Africa.
– Credit: Peter Burroughes Communications