In years gone by, the first rally of the new SA National Rally Championship season used to be a rally to look forward to. A rally that rally enthusiasts used to give them some idea of what to expect for the coming season.
All of that has over the last few years flown out of the window and the SA Rally Championship is, if one wants to compare it to the economy, on the verge of being declared junk status. The entry list for the Goldsfields Rally that has taken place of the ever popular Natal Rally, is a major disappointment.
A total of nineteen cars have entered the championship. Five of those cars are S2000 compared to the nine of last year. Six are in the 2WD drive S1600 class, three in NRC4 and three in NRC 2.
We have known from last year that Volkswagen would not be competing that accounts for among others the absence of Henk Lategan and Gugu Zulu. Hergen Fekken’s rallying also took a nose dive last year. Also absent on the first rally in Japie van Niekerk who has indicated that he will only do selected rounds in the ex- Mark Cronje’s Ford Fiesta.
Roger Houghton has retired from rallying.
Mark Cronje will be in a Volkswagen Polo this year. In previous years Mark Cronje was the man to watch for the championship. He has always, however had his hands full with the new star of South African off-road racing, Leeroy Poulter in the Toyota Gazoo Yaris. Toyota will also for the first time probably in its rallying history be without the support of their title sponsor Castrol.
Giniel de Villiers, also in a Toyota Gazoo Yaris, will want to build on where he left off last year.
It can be anticipated that the S2000 class this season will be dominated by Poulter, Cronje and de Villiers. It is difficult however, to see if Cronje and the Volkswagen will be able to shape up against the Yaris that has made great strides in the last two years. These three will probably provide the excitement.
Wilro Dippenaar, the youngster from Namibia, has entered a Ford Focus that has not been seen in a South African Rally for many-a-year. Dippenaar is talented and if the Ford Focus that was a success in the WRC years ago is still as potent, we may be in for some more fun-and-games.
The rest of the S2000 field is made up by Theuns Joubert in a Toyota Auris and Ernie van der Walt in a Toyota Yaris.
In NRC 4 we will see some of the “old” hands in rallying. Rocky Reyneke in a Mitsubishi Evo 8, and Jose de Gouveia in a Toyota RunX.
In S1600 most of the regulars are there. Guy Botterill in a Toyota Etios R2, Ashley Haigh-Smith in a Ford Fiesta R2, AC Potgieter in a Volkswagen Polo
and Chris Coertse in a Toyota Etios R2.
It is difficult to venture any prediction for S1600 since it is a class that is usually quite closely contended. But one can, hoevere, expect a close battle again between Botterill, Haigh-Smith and probably Coertse and Potgieter.
The Goldfields Rally will be held in Welkom on 4/5 March.