Mugged: to attack and rob someone in a public place. This dictionary definition succinctly summarises this past weekend’s HMC Rally. There’s not been a motorsport mugging more dramatic than that of Conrad Rautenbach/Nicolas Klinger (G-Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000) on Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich (Basil Read/Bizhub Ford Fiesta S2000), and never has the old adage of ‘it ain’t over til its over’ rung more true than here.
After a superlative performance on Day One and Two of the HMC Rally, Round Three of the South African Rally Championship, Wilken had impressed on his Class S2000 rivals his ever-increasing pace. The factory entries from Volkswagen and Toyota seemingly had no answer for the privateer Ford Fiestas this event, as Rautenbach and Wilken were locked in a stage-for-stage slug-out for the overall victory.
Rautenbach was the first competitor to run over Day One’s three stages, and in SS1 and SS2 the Zimbabwean driver was able to maintain the slimmest of margins over Wilken. In SS3, a 20.38km speed test, Wilken was able to capitalise on Rautenbach’s road-sweeping duties to clear the Zimbabawean driver and the rest of the field by 07.3sec at the overnight halt. Dusty, loose sand and slippery corners proved demanding for all competitors, as a handful number of crews were already seen on the Retirement List after 41.75km of competition. Come the end of this event, only 27 of the original 40 starters reached the finish.
Only 34.9sec separated the top ten on the overall classification after Day One, but what was even more impressive was that the top eight were spread out by less than 20sec. Of the top ten crews on Day One’s leader board, only five were factory-backed while the other five were privateer entries. This message was to be re-iterated on Day Two’s eight stages and 130.76km of stage distance.
Seemingly proving this journalist’s point, Jon Williams/Cobus Very (Team SASOL Ford Fiesta S2000 won SS4, while Hergen Fekken/Pierre Arries (BP Ultimate Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000) and Johnny Gemmell/Drew Sturrock (Castrol Toyota Auris S2000) won SS5 and SS7 respectively. All other stages were claimed by Wilken (four wins) and Rautenbach (three scratch times) over the event’s eleven scheduled tests.
Day Two’s third stage, SS6, was cancelled when Hergen Fekken struck a photographer. The event was put on hold while emergency medical personnel attended to the severely injured Deon van der Merwe. He was airlifted to Pretoria to a hospital, where he currently remains under medical care as he battles for his life.
The action resumed on SS7 as Gemmell not only won the stage but also moved up the leader board from fourth overall to second and to within 04.6sec of Wilken. Rautenbach was in third position, only 03.6sec further adrift. After a short Service, crews were sent out to attack SS8 and SS9, and the Wilken versus Rautenbach battle kicked into a higher gear. The young Zimbabwean set the fastest stage time through SS8 and inched to within 05.9sec of Wilken and 01.9sec behind second-placed Gemmell. Wilken responded in SS9 with another fastest stage time and was able to add a couple of seconds to his lead over the chasing Gemmell and Rautenbach. Leeroy Poulter/Elvene Coetzee (Castrol Team Toyota Auris S2000) who were running in fourth position all weekend were struck with alternator problems, losing over 12min to their competitors in SS9 and effectively ended their points-scoring run at the HMC Rally. This eased the pressure for the top three competitors as they entered the final two stages of the event, allowing them to fully concentrate on the battle for the win.
8.9sec lay between Rautenbach and two crews between him and the rally lead. In SS10, a 17.31km-long stage, Rautenbach floored his rivals when he posted not only the fastest stage time but also leapfrogged the two leaders to claim the overall lead with a 03.8sec advantage. This incredibly hot pace saw Gemmell drop off in this stage to 34.2sec behind the leader and only 01.5sec ahead of fourth-placed Jan Habig/Robert Paisley (BP Ultimate Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000).
With only 4.67km remaining and only 03.8sec between the two leaders, SS11 was nail-biter to say the least. Wilken blitzed the stage to win it, but Rautenbach only allowed the other Ford Fiesta S2000 driver to close to within 02.5sec of his lead. This his second win of the season has consolidated his position atop the Drivers’ Standings, now 18 points clear of Johnny Gemmell in second position.
The team most impressive over the course of the weekend was Team SASOL of Jon Williams/Cobus Very and Mark Cronje/Robin Houghton (both piloting M-Sport Ford Fiesta S2000s). With their performance improving on each round, this team is now in a position to attack for podium-paying positions. Their rivals have been warned!
The BP Ultimate Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000s of Fekken/Arries, Habig/Paisley and Enzo Kuun/Guy Hodgson and backed by Giniel de Villiers/Ralph Pitchford were not able to mount a serious challenge this past weekend, but are not to be underestimated. Their factory team counterparts at Team Castrol Toyota proved to be within grasp of winning this event and of securing more podium positions and points, but Poulter/Coetzee’s unfortunate mechanical problems put paid to those plans.
Team Total in Class S2000 have left their mark and have also been the privateers to take the fight to the factory crews that have for so long dominated this sport. Jean-Pierre Damseaux/Carolyn Swan (Team Total Toyota RunX S2000) were running as high as eighth on SS8 and were looking to secure more valuable Championship points, but the their car struck a mielie plant that left their windscreen shattered. This distracted Damseaux only momentarily to run wide into a corner and to roll their rally machine as they fought to keep the car on the road. The crew recovered well to finish the event 11th overall. Teammates Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin in a similar Toyota RunX S2000 were left to rue a weekend that could have been. They saw their rally take a turn for the worse on Day One with severe clutch problems that meant the crew had to start SS2 and SS3 on their starter motors. The oil circulation feeder pump failed and the squad scrambled to change this part on their car’s gearbox and incurred a 01min time penalty for lateness. Day Two started off strongly for the crew, posting impressively quick stage times. Their hard work was erased by brake problems and a snapped sideshaft. This crew brought their Toyota RunX S2000 to the finish in 12th position overall.
The two Pirtek Peugeot 207 S2000s of Hein Lategan/Johan van der Merwe and Visser du Plessis/Gerhard Snyman once again started off promisingly, but mechanical woes left them fighting for position outside of the top ten. Once the teething problems with these machines have been sorted out, they will undoubtedly be challenging for more Championship points.
Handbrakes & Hairpins will feature all the action from the Junior Championship in next week’s issue. The next event on the South African Rally Championship’s calendar is the Toyota Dealer Rally – Gauteng on 10 – 11 June.
