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HENK Lategan and Barry White rallied their Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000 to a fourth place finish after two dusty days in the Cullinan area. The event was round five of the South African National Rally Championship with Lategan and White making a strong recovery after a tough day one.  “We had to work hard on day one,” says Lategan. “Running at the front of the field we were sweeping the stages and this cost us a lot of time. We also opted for a soft suspension setup which proved to be the wrong choice in this sandy terrain.” “Day two became progressively better and we got faster – with us finally winning the last stage of the day,” says Lategan. Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin found themselves the victims of a number of punctures, slowing their progress through the event. “This event was very frustrating, it seemed to be actively working against us,” says Zulu. “We worked hard in preparation for this event but ultimately things did not work in our favour.” For Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt the rally did not finish as expected based on their performance during the event. “We had a good start and were really close, running in third place and finishing there overnight,” says Weijs. “We turned up the heat a bit during day two and we had good pace. In the second-last stage we took a jump, landed well but the loose sand just grabbed us and we rolled.”  After a tough weekend in the dust and dirt of Cullinan, the Volkswagen Sasolracing team now prepare for the Toyota Dealer Rally in the Western Cape, an event marked by high speed stages and plenty of sweeping corners. “The Volkswagen Sasolracing team showed good pace this weekend,” says Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. “While this is not reflected in the overall results, it still gives us confidence for the next event where our aim is to get back on the podium.” |
