Top South African rally privateers Japie van Niekerk and Gerhard Snyman will be going all out to retain their crown on the Total Tara rally, Namibia’s premier motorsport event, which takes place from November 19 to 21.
 The duo – winners in 2013 and 2014 – will once again campaign their New Africa Developments Ford Fiesta, more regularly seen in the S2000 category of the South African Rally championship. Their story of the South African 2015 campaign is a convoluted one, including Snyman retiring briefly at the start of the season, appearing back on the scene mid-year, and then departing Van Niekerk again for the last two rounds and moving in alongside Mark Cronje. The result was a brace of victories for the Ford Performance Fiesta and a third drivers’ championship for Cronje. So Snyman is razor sharp, and Van Niekerk intends being equally awake behind the wheel, despite sitting out the two rounds in which Snyman read the notes for Cronje. Fitness and concentration is doubly important as the Total Tara is roughly double the distance of a South African event – crews will drive just under 600 km in total. The 2015 edition will be the 47th running of what is always a varied and multi-faceted three-day event. “It would be fantastic to make it a hat-trick on the Tara, and the event is always a great way to end the year,” said Van Niekerk, whose father is from Namibia, and thus feels a special affinity for the country. “It isn’t a challenge which can be under-estimated though and you really need to pace yourself. The locals are always very friendly and are impeccable hosts but the rallying is serious.” The event has a ceremonial start in Windhoek and the real action gets underway with three night stages on Thursday November 19, while one of the highlights – and a great spectating opportunity – are the three Friday evening/night stages at the Tony Rust racetrack outside Windhoek which use a combination of tarmac and gravel. A total of 25 stages make up the event, with total race distance of 260 km. “A number of South Africa drivers – including the likes of Sarel van der Merwe, Geoff Mortimer and Serge Damseaux – have won the Total Tara twice, and no one – locals included – has ever won it three times, never mind three in a row. There’s a lot to play for on the weekend,” concluded Van Niekerk. |
