The Stages:
The South African Rally Championship’s largest privateer team once again proved to its loyal fans and its rivals that it is a force to be reckoned with.
After 12 challenging stages and 174.89km of intense competition, Team TOTAL’s Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin brought home their brand new Toyota Auris S2000 in ninth position overall. Resplendent in new Team TOTAL livery, this Class S2000 crew set the fastest stage time on stage five and backed up their pace with consistently quick stage times on Day Two.
Rally action for Day Two comprised of seven stages, three in Longmore Forest, two at the Port Elizabeth Oval Track and two in the heart of the city of Port Elizabeth. The technical yet high-speed Longmore Forest roads claimed a number of victims, but Day Two’s tests proved most challenging for crews. Of the 26 crews that took to the stages today, only 16 have been classified as finishers.
The Crews:
Moosa/Martin finished a strong ninth position overall, with their nearest rivals only 40sec ahead and the chasing field some 10min behind.
Moosa and Martin’s Class S2000 Team TOTAL compatriots Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Carolyn Swan retired from the rally at the end of Day One with gearbox gremlins on their similar Toyota Auris S2000’s debut.
Class S1600 is contested by Team TOTAL’s former multiple South African Class Champions Craig Trott and Robbie Coetzee (Toyota RunX S1600), and they finished second in Class after being narrowly beaten by their rivals to the top spot of the podium. It was an event in which Trott and Coetzee were rewarded with their consistent driving and their attacking attitude.
Stefanie Botha and Angela Shields, the all-female Team TOTAL crew in Class S1600 unfortunately crashed out of the event on stage eight after having posted impressive stages times throughout the event.
The Next Challenge:
The Volkswagen Rally, the fifth round of the South African Rally Championship, has once highlighted to motorsport fans its entertainment and excitement. The Knysna Rally will form Round Six of the eight-event series and will be held on 26 – 27 August in Knysna and George in the Western Cape.
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