The Volkswagen Sasolracing rally team would like nothing more than a home victory in the more streamlined and dynamic Volkswagen Rally scheduled to take place on Friday and Saturday, 17 and 18 July, in the Friendly City and surrounds.
At the halfway point in the season the VW Sasolracing Polo’s are third on the championship log with the Ford and Toyota teams dominating proceedings up front.
A lack of consistency has cost the VW teams and they would love to rectify this on home ground in a rally organised by their home club with the support of Volkswagen South Africa.
Henk Lategan and Barry White has shown a good turn of speed in their VW Polo S2000, posting very competitive times in the Sasol and Secunda rallies, while returning stalwart Hergen Fekken reunited with Pierre Arries, in only their second outing this season , was surprisingly quick in Bela-Bela. Ironically Fekken and Arries is the last VW crew to have won the team’s home event six years ago, on their way to being crowned 2009 SA Rally champions.
However, it is Mr Consistency, Gugu Zulu, who recently became a father that has so far brought back the bacon for the Volkswagen team; his just reward the solid third position on the championship log.
Fresh from their first victory for 2015 in the Bela-Bela Motor Rally defending champions Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee (Castrol Team Toyota Yaris) will be looking to a repeat performance in Nelson Mandela Bay. They need another victory to keep the current championship leaders and runners-up in Bela-Bela, Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton (Ford Performance Fiesta), in their sights, but looking at the stats the Ford pair must be the favourites.
Cronje and Houghton dominated the Eastern Cape event last year, and also won it in 2013. Furthermore, the fast, sweeping Longmore roads suit the Fiesta, but the rally’s more compact format this year could challenge this advantage.
Also in contention are Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan (Castrol Team Toyota Yaris), who are fourth in the championship and Japie van Niekerk and Gerhard Snyman (New Africa Development Ford Fiesta) who finished third on the recent Bela-Bela Motor Rally.
In the hotly contested S1600 class the battle up front will be between the two Toyota crews of Matthew Vacy-Lyle/Schalk Van Heerden (Fragram Tools Etios) and reigning champions Guy Botterill/ Simon Vacy-Lyle (Yato Tools Etios). With class victories in Bela-Bela and Secunda the Yato Tools pair now lead the championship, but they are only four points clear of Simon’s brother Matthew and Van Heerden.
Paulus Franken and Henry Kohne (Manitou Group VW Polo R2) winners of the opening round, the Tour Natal Rally in KZN, AC Potgieter and Tommy du Toit (Ricky B VW Polo R2) and Andrew Heine and Robbie Coetzee (VW Polo R2) are all capable of causing an upset, however, the new rally route and layout may favour the Ford teams, led by Chad van Beurden/Nico Swartz (Beurden Transport Ford Fiesta R2) and Richard Leeke Jnr/ Rikus Fourie (ATS Ford Fiesta R2).
The 33rd running of the Volkswagen Rally and round five of the 2015 South African Rally Championship will comprise 12 special stages over 200 km of gravel – six to be run on Friday, with the balance on Saturday. Joe Fourie, route organiser of the Volkswagen Rally, says a great deal of work has gone into making the rally the most accessible event yet. “We have brought the rally action as close as possible to the fans, without compromising the challenge posed to competitors,” he says.
The scrutineering function on Thursday evening before the rally at Tavcor Volkswagen on the William Moffett Expressway presents the first opportunity for fans to see the cars and meet the teams. To add some fun to the occasion a wheel-changing competition has been organised for rally fans attending the scrutineering event with the winners to be treated to a VIP VW Rally experience.