The Basil Read/bizhub Ford Rally Team will adopt a cautious approach to the Swartland Rally, round 7 of the Sasol South African Rally Championship, when the series heads back to the Western Cape for nine challenging stages in the heart of SA’s wheat belt.
After a season dogged by bad luck, the defending double Production Car Champions Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich want – above all else – to claim a solid result as a build up to the season finale in October.
“Our sponsors, Basil Read, bizhub and Ford have been fantastically supportive this year and we really want to thank them in the best possible way”, said the Ford Fiesta S2000 driver. “Having three tarmac stages totaling 35km is an exciting prospect for me as a driver. We scored our first ever stage wins in the Fiesta on tarmac in Port Elizabeth, so I’m really looking forward to the Killarney stages”.
“Rallying at the top level is about confidence in yourself and in your car. Again, on the Osram Rally, we didn’t get as much running as we would have wanted through no fault of our own. It’s very frustrating when things like this happen”, Wilken continued, in reference to their first stage retirement after hitting a rock in the middle of the road left by a previous competitor.
Wilken describes the conditions they expect to face: “The Swartland Rally is quite fast and not too technical, although there are a lot of contours. The Fiesta is good over the jumps. We’ll be looking to see where we fit in after the first few stages before deciding what pace to run on Saturday. It will be difficult for us as we haven’t got much in the way of results to show for our efforts, so we’ll be looking for a balance between outright speed and caution”, Wilken concluded.
For Greg Godrich, the frustration is as tangible as it is for his star driver: “If we drove too fast and left the road all the time, I could understand, but our problems this year haven’t been our fault. Our bad luck started exactly a year ago on this event and hopefully this event will mark a turning point for the Basil Read/bizhub Ford team”, said Godrich.
“I’m relishing the tarmac stages. I believe Charl is one of the very best tarmac rally drivers. He has an incredible gift in being able to set the car up exactly right and he’s very precise in placing the car just where he wants it. His lines are millimeter perfect. Anything other than the fastest stage time on each of the three tarmac stages will be a disappointment”, Godrich added.
The Swartland Rally starts from Killarney Race Track at 16h00 on Friday and takes in three stages. Saturday’s action gets underway at 07h30 for four long stages in the Moorreesburg and Malmesbury area before heading back to Cape Town for the final gravel stage outside Killarney and a five lap sprint around the famous circuit.
For more information on the Basil Read/bizhub Ford Fiesta Rally Team log on to www.fordrally.co.za or www.charlwilken.co.za.