With no less than 19 entries in the premier Super 2000 class for modified 2,0-litre four-wheel drive cars and nine of these already special stage winners so far this season, picking an overall winner of the South African national championship Volkswagen Rally in the Eastern Cape on July 15 and 16, is as easy as winning the Powerball lottery.
The factory pairing of Johnny Gemmell and Scottish co-driver Drew Sturrock (Castrol Team Toyota Auris) won last year ahead of the factory BP Volkswagen Polos of 2010 champions Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson and six-time champion Jan Habig and co-driver Ralph Pitchford and the privateer Green Fuel Ford Fiesta of Zimbabweans Conrad Rautenbach and Peter Marsh.
Gemmell, runner-up in last year’s championship, hasn’t won a rally since, with a best result this year of second behind Toyota team-mates Leeroy Poulter and Elvene Coetzee in the Sasol Rally in Mpumalanga in April, while Rautenbach has two victories to his credit in the four events run so far. He and new French co-driver Nicolas Klinger triumphed in the season-opening Total Tour Natal Rally and the HMC Hencom Autobody Rally in Mpumalanga in May.
Poulter and Coetzee have impressed in their first season in the premier class after winning the 1,6-litre two-wheel drive class A6 last year, and their maiden win took Toyota’s tally of national championship rally successes to a remarkable 100 since 1968.
Read: Team TOTAL at Volkswagen Rally
The factory Volkswagen team will be keen to reverse their fortunes so far this season in their home event. Kuun and Hodgson have been more consistent than fast and their best results to date have been two fourth places with just one stage win. Habig, now with twice co-driver champion Robert Paisley, has had five stage wins and was second in the Total Tour Natal, but uncharacteristically has had two non-finishes since.
The other two members of the four-strong official VW squad, twice champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries and rally rookie Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford are also seeking their first win of the year. Fekken and Arries have been consistent performers but unusually have yet to crack a top-three finish and only have a single stage win to their credit.
Read: Team Sasol VW Rally Preview
Red Bull driver De Villiers, winner of the 2009 Dakar Rally (despite the name, a marathon off road race), and fellow Dakar star Pitchford have made an impressive start to De Villiers’ first season in any form of special stage rallying and have improved with each outing.
Read: GreenFuel VW Rally Preview
Rautenbach’s success has come in one of four British M-Sport-built Fords contesting the SA National Championship. Former Toyota off road and rally driver Mark Cronje and fellow Toyota refugee Robin Houghton have been the combination to beat in terms of sheer pace this year in a Sasol-sponsored Fiesta, but have not always translated this into good results. They have won 16 of the 54 stages and finished first in the Toyota Dealer Gauteng Rally last month.
Read: Team Pirtek Peugeot VW Rally preview
Former Production World Rally Championship driver Jon Williams and Cobus Vrey in the second Sasol Ford have also won a few stages this year as Williams gets to grips with his new car. Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich have been consistent front runners in the Basil Read/bizhub Ford and have 13 stage wins to their credit in 2011 and are looking for their first win since the final event last year, the Toyota Dealer Gauteng Rally.
Other privateers to watch out for in the S2000 field are the Team Total Toyotas of Jean-Pierre Damseaux/Carolyn Swan and Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin, the Pirtek Peugeot 207s of Hein Lategan/Johan van der Merwe and Visser du Plessis/Gerhard Snyman and the VW Polos of Nicolas Ryan/Armand du Toit (Grandmark International) and Japie van Niekerk/Simon Vacy-Lyle (New Africa Developments),
Read: Basil Read/Bizhub Ford Rally Team
Heading a strong 10-car entry in the Super 1600 class for 1,6-litre two-wheel drive production cars and vying for overall Junior championship honours (classes S1600 and S1400 combined) are brother and sister combination Christoff and Celeste Snyders (Sabertek VW Polo). They can expect stiff competition from the likes of multiple former champion Craig Trott and Robbie Coetzee (Team Total Toyota RunX), Ashley Haigh Smith and James Aldridge (React Ford Fiesta), Tjaart Conradie/Kes Naidoo (Silverton Engineering Toyota Auris) and Guy Botterill/Schalk van Heerden (Yato Tools Toyota Yaris).
Read: BP Volkswagen Team VW Rally preview
The Super 1400 class is a three-way battle between the all-woman crew of Megan Verlaque and Lirene du Plessis (BP VW Polo), the Q8 Oils VW Polo of Henk Lategan and Pierre Jordaan and the Associated Alterations Toyota Yaris of Ian Young and Henry Dearlove.
As always, there will be plenty of opportunities for the fans to see the cars in action. The rally starts from the Volkswagen Auto Pavilion in Uitenhage at 12:00 on Friday, July 15, and heads immediately for three intimidating stages in the Longmore Forest near Hankey. Competitors will then return to Uitenhage for two tar Super Special stages, which will end the first day at around 18:00.
Read: Castrol Team Toyota VW Rally preview
Saturday’s action starts from the VW Pavilion at 08:00 with the first stage on gravel at the PE Oval track. Then Friday’s three gravel stages in the Longmore Forest are repeated before the rally moves to a brand new tar stage at the Nelson Mandela Bay soccer stadium in Port Elizabeth’s North End.
The final stage is the traditional shoot-out on the tarred parking area at King’s Beach in Port Elizabeth, with the event expected to finish at around 15:00.
wish i was their to see it sounds like a great rally 🙂