If the media release that I received from the National Rally Championship Steering Committee yesterday is anything to go by, chances are that Toyota Gazoo Racing will emulate their Goldfields Rally success with a 1-2 win on the 25th Sasol Rally next weekend in Sabie. With Mark Cronje out of the way, Leeroy Poulter in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris, will not have to look over his shoulder so many times.
On the other hand, it seems as if Giniel de Villiers have found his feet in rallying and competing in the second Yaris he may the dark horse and could even pull a surprise from his hat. The rally has lost quite a lot of its sting and glamour with the retirement of Mark Cronje from rallying as the duel between him in the Ford Fiesta RS and Poulter usually provided the fireworks.
With most of the big names in rallying in latter years gone, it is now up to the young guns to show what they have and what their potential for the future is. It will be interesting to see how they do on the Sasol that is no easy rally to tackle at the best of times. The forest stages are no joke.
The Sasol Rally has attracted altogether 29 entries of which five are ARC competitors, five S2000, eight S1600, two NRC4 and nine NRC2 or regional entries.
After winning the opening round, Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee will start as favourites in their Gazoo Racing SA Toyota Yaris S2000, who will be aiming to add a third Sasol Rally victory to their tally, having taken line honours in 2011 and 2014. The 2014 Rally Champions (and 2015 runners-up) will come under pressure from their team-mates Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan.
The second factory-run Toyota Yaris S2000 crew put in a superb performance last month to end second overall after a fast run through the parched farmlands in the central Free State. De Villiers, the 2009 Dakar Rally winner, bagged his maiden SA Rally victory in the Cape in 2014, and is long overdue to bank another win.
Ernie van der Walt and Greg Godrich claimed a strong 4th place finish on their home event last month. The Vecto Toyota Yaris S2000 ran as high as third early on, but it was still van der Walt’s best result to date in the student’s short career. Van der Walt joined the top S2000 class on last year’s Sasol Rally, and has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past twelve months.
Namibian Wilro Dippenaar and his Capetonian co-driver Kesevan Naidoo flew the Ford flag in the Free State and ended a solid 5th overall, the first time out in their newly acquired Fiesta S2000. With backing from PZN Panelbeaters, Dippenaar has frequently humbled big names in the sport as he forges a strong reputation as a fearless competitor.
Luke Botha, a regular off-road competitor, aided by Janine Lourens reading the notes will make an appearance in their Force Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000. The winner of two Northern Regions events last year, Botha could keep the more fancied runners on their toes.
In class NRC4 for older S2000 machinery, Theuns Joubert and teen co-driver Mari van der Walt, the current class champions, should get into the mix in their Salom Group Toyota Auris S2000. Schalk Burger Jr and Armand du Toit will be behind the wheel of a Toyota RunX car, capable of a top six position.
Schalk jr has not been seen on a South African national for a number of years after he decided to take a break from the South African Rally Championship and try his luck in the African Rally Championship. It did not go all that well in the ARC as he had hoped.
FIA African Rally Championship
The 2nd round of the FIA ARC sees Don Smith and Bob Kavai (KEN/KEN) make the trip south with their Subaru Impreza. Smith was second overall on the opening Ivory Coast Rally in February and lies second in the championship standings. Muna Singh Jr and Jasmeen Singh, both from Zambia, will also have an Impreza at their disposal, while Tanzanian Ismail Ibrahim (co driver to be confirmed) will make his Sasol debut in his Toyota RunX.
The most exciting cars in the ARC will be the historic Datsun 240Z of John Rose and Terry Illman and the Ford Escort RS of Lee Rose and Tommy Coetzee, cars that precede the start of the Sasol Rally heritage.
Super 1600
The class for 1600cc, front-wheel-drive cars is a hotbed of up-and-coming young talent, the next generation of rally drivers making their mark. The class is fiercely contested and the competition close.
Leading the way in their Yato Tools Toyota Etios R2 is Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy Lyle, the current double class champions, who made winning look easy on the Goldfields Rally, logging up an untroubled opening victory and already on their way to title number three.
Leading the charge to unseat Botterill is young Richard Leeke and Henry Kohne in their ATS Ford Fiesta R2, runners-up last time out. Leeke adapted to his new-for-2016 co-driver better than Paulus Franken, who has former double SA Co-Driver’s Champion Pierre Arries reading the notes in the Manitou Volkswagen Polo R2.
These three crews claimed the Free State podium, and will likely be the championship contenders. Given a dose of reliability, Ashley Haigh Smith and his Irish co-driver Niall Burns should power their React Ford Fiesta R2 into a top position, as could AC Potgieter and Tommy Du Toit (Lake Umuzi VW Polo R2), and for the same reasons.
Andrew Heine and rookie co-driver Lloyd Brady had a great run last time out but ultimately retired their VW Polo R2. George Smalberger and Chris Brand (Shield Car Care VW Polo R2), having moved into the national class this season, retired within sight of the finish, proving what an unforgiving sport motor rallying can be. The ever enthusiastic Chris Coertse and Robbie Coetzee combination should put on a good showing in their Electrothread Toyota Etios R2.
Running just behind the national competitors is a host of NRC 2 entrants, adding variety to the field. Jose Ferreira and Pierre Jordaan (Subaru Impreza), Arnold Neveling and Rowan Robbertze (Toyota Tazz) are confirmed entrants at the time of writing, along with Bryan and Keith Heine (Datsun SSS Coupe) and two Escort-mounted crews will add a touch of nostalgia.
The Route
In a change with tradition, Sasol Rally 2016 will start and finish in Sabie. The rally gets underway at 10am from Sabie Square, taking crews straight to the Olifanstgeraamte stage outside Sabie. Teams then head towards Graskop for two stages, both of which will be repeated. The ever-popular Sabie Town stage ends the day’s activities at 6pm.
Spectators will be treated to two runs of the famous Nelspruit Spaghetti Junction stage on Saturday morning at 7.45 and 9.20am, before heading to the tarmac White River Schools stage at 10.07am. Thereafter, it’s back to gravel racing for four traditional forest stages before the grand finale at 4pm, a new gravel surface superspecial stage on the outskirts of Sabie, featuring a novelty cross-over bridge.
Original story: National Rally Championship Steering Committee
Edited by: Andries van der WALT, Rallystar