The Challenge:
Rallies are not won on the first day, but are indeed lost. The 69.31km of competitive action on the opening day of the Toyota Cape Dealer Rally has proven dramatic and thrilling for the Western Cape motorsport enthusiasts.
The gravel roads making up Round Seven of the South African Rally Championship are fast, sweeping and boasts jumps rivalling the best in the world. Running order is proving integral to setting fast stage times, however. First on the road, and performing road-sweeping duties to clean the ‘racing line’ for cars running behind, has proved disadvantageous.
Damage limitation was the order of the day after the event’s opening two gravel stages with the competitors tackling two tarmac stages at the Killarney Race Track to round out Day One’s itinerary.
Overnight rally leaders are Johnny Gemmell/Drew Sturrock and their Castrol Team Toyota teammates Leeroy Poulter/Elvene Coetzee (both piloting Toyota Auris S2000s), with two Ford Fiesta S2000s driven by Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich and Conrad Rautenbach/Nicolas Klinger in hot pursuit. Highlighting the stiff competition thus far, the top ten crews are covered by only 55 seconds!
The Crews:
Team Total is South Africa’s largest privateer team with four crews contesting two Classes. Fighting for the overall win, and in the running for a podium position on Day One, are Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Carolyn Swan (Team Total Toyota Auris S2000). Setting impressively quick stage times in only his third outing in his new rally weapon, Damseaux is a provisional fifth place overall at the overnight halt and 23.8 seconds off the leader’s pace, while just 8.7 seconds off of a podium placing.
“We are doing well and the car is feeling great,” said Damseaux. “It is still a long rally for Day Two, and on the gravel stages for Saturday we will be going out hard.”
His Class S2000 teammates Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin, in a similar Toyota Auris S2000, are provisionally running 14th overall at the end of Day One. Out of the 17 Super 2000 machines taking to the start line this morning, Moosa is slow to find his feet on this high-speed event. Day Two’s five stages and 126.40km of action will see this rally driver undoubtedly move up the leader board.
The hotly contested Two Wheel Drive Championship and Class S1600 is championed for Team Total by Craig Trott/Robbie Coetzee and Stefanie Botha/Angela Shields (both piloting Toyota RunX S1600s).
Outmuscled by quicker machinery, Trott has bravely fought his car into fifth place in his Class and is embroiled in a three-car battle for second place in Class S1600.
The roads winding through the wheat and canola fields have made for exciting action thus far. It was the two tar stages that proved entertaining for the thousands of spectators, but it was a moment of disappointment for Botha and Shields as they retired their car with mechanical woes on the penultimate stage of Day One.
The Route for Day Two:
Day Two gets underway at 09h22 in the Malmesbury area for four gravel stages through the rolling farmlands. The rally is concluded with another tar extravaganza at Killarney Race Track at 15h00 to bring the rally’s total distance to 196km completed in less than 27 hours. This rally is not for the faint of heart!
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