This weekend’s Toyota Gauteng Dealer Rally marks the halfway point of the 2011 South African Rally Championship, which is turning out to be one of the most closely contested in many years.
Nine different driver/co-driver combinations in three different makes of cars have won special stages in the three events held to date and rally-winning gaps are down to mere seconds, with stage times now recorded to tenths of a second.
However, consistency and points-scoring finishes are what really count and not just stage wins.
Not surprisingly the events are being dominated by the premier Super 2000 class and its four-wheel drive two-litre cars and rally fans can look forward to seeing no less than 19 of these state-of-the-art gravel racers in action on 14 special stages covering some 170 km.
Privateers Conrad Rautenbach and Nicolas Klinger (Green Fuel Ford Fiesta) are the current form crew with two overall wins and seven stage wins to their credit and lead the factory pairing of Johnny Gemmell and Drew Sturrock (Castrol Toyota Auris) by 18 points in the championship. While Gemmell and his Scottish co-driver have scored five stage wins to date, they have yet to win a round.
Former champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries have relied on sheer consistency in their factory BP Volkswagen Polo Vivo to be third in the points, with just two stage wins so far.
Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich have been both consistent and fast in their privately entered Basil Read/bizhub Ford Fiesta and have six stage wins to their credit and a best result of second on the recent HMC Hencom Autobody Rally after leading for most of the way. They are fourth in the championship.
Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton (Sasol Ford Fiesta) have the most stage wins to date – 10 – and are looking for a maiden victory together. A non-finish in the opening round has not helped and they are 12th on the log. Former champion Jan Habig and Robert Paisley, competing together for the first time in a factory BP VW Polo, have five stage wins under their belts, but a high-speed crash on the Sasol Rally hurt their title aspirations – as well as broke Paisley’s collarbone. They are eighth in the championship.
Other stage winners include Jon Williams/Cobus Vrey in a Sasol Ford Fiesta (three), who are seventh in the championship, and reigning champions Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson (one), having a relatively subdued season so far in a factory BP VW Polo. They are sixth in the championship.
S2000 debutant Leeroy Poulter and co-driver Elvéne Coetzee have grabbed the attention of their more experienced rivals and rally fans alike with a stunning maiden victory in the Sasol Rally in their factory Castrol Toyota Auris and a stage win. A non-finish in the opening round and technical problems on the recent HMC Hencom Autobody Rally, where they only finished 16th, see them outside the top 10 in the points’ standings.
Three top-10 crews currently without a stage win so far. Team Total’s Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Carolyn Swan are currently fifth in the championship after three consistent performances. Privateers Nicolas Ryan and Geoff Tyrer (VW Polo) are ninth after finishing all three events held so far, while Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford (BP VW Polo) are 10th in their first season together and Dakar Rally winner De Villiers’ first season in rallying.
Whichever way you look at it, the battle for supremacy on the gravel roads of Gauteng this weekend will be worth watching. The Toyota Gauteng Dealer Rally has attracted a big entry of 33 entries in four classes (S2000, A7, S1600 and S1400) as well as more than 20 competitors in the Northern Regions Championship.
The brother and sister combination of Christoff and Celeste Snyders (Sabertek VW Polo) head the Super 1600 challenge and are aiming for a hat-trick of wins after their success in the last two events. Former champion Craig Trott and co-driver Robbie Coetzee (Team Total Toyota RunX) and Ashley Haigh Smith and Hilton Auffray (React Ford Fiesta) are their chief rivals.
Henk Lategan and Pierre Jordaan (Q8 Oils VW Polo) are the front runners in the S1400 class and will be looking out for the likes of the all-woman crew of Megan Verlaque and Lirene du Plessis in a factory BP VW Polo Vivo and Ian Young and Henry Dearlove (Associated Alterations Toyota Yaris).
The Toyota Gauteng Dealer Rally, which will consist of 13 special stages and an event-ending super special, starts from Carnival Toyota close to the Carnival City Casino complex at noon on Friday and finishes at the RallyStar Motorsport Academy near Bapsfontein on Saturday afternoon.