As the Sasol South African Rally Championship races into the home stretch in Gauteng, the Basil Read/bizhub Ford Fiesta S2000 pair of Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich have their best chance yet of taking a fighting podium place.
Day one of the Toyota Dealer Gauteng Rally features five hard-surfaced stages, which should suit Wilken to a tee, having won almost all the tarmac stages he competed in this season. The double Production Car Champion admits: “The Friday stages should suit me and I’m going to use the opportunity to end the season on a high”.
Wilken continued: “Having said that, the Hillclimb stage needs to be respected. The inclines and declines are quite severe and the surface is concrete. The question is how will the gravel tyres hold up to what is a low grip but abrasive surface which will likely lead to a lot of sliding. The problem we could face is traffic; if you get stuck behind a slower car it is difficult to pass as the road is not very wide”.
“The handling track is a good stage; very straightforward with quite a bit of tight stuff”, Wilken added.
With two Northern Regions Rally Championships earned on roads similar to what will be encountered on Saturday, Wilken and Godrich have their best opportunity of the year.
“I have to push on a bit to repay the faith our sponsors have put in us. I’ve got a lot better with the car and must start making some moves. If it rains just before the rally or on the event itself, it will be better to be first on the road, although the roads are extremely slippery as it is largely clay. The format is great for spectators and we hope to see thousands of Ford fans lining the stages”, Wilken concluded.
Greg Godrich is equally positive about the team’s chances. “Charl and I have always been competitive on the Mountain stage and the handling track. On the Bapsfontein gravel stages, we’ve also set fastest stage times in a production car, so we’re confident for this one”.
The Toyota Dealer Gauteng Rally starts at Gerotek west of Pretoria at 13h00. Teams tackle four stages before heading to Zwartkops Raceway for a stage – incorporating the old circuit – at 18h30. Saturday’s seven stages are based around the Rallystar facility in Bapsfontein with the restart at 09h00.
– Credit: Wilken Communication Management.