The New Africa Developments rally team rounded off their 2014 campaign in the best possible way with a dominant one-two finish on the Total Tara Rally, Namibia’s premier motorsport event.The brace of NAD Ford Fiestas paced themselves to the finish in Windhoek on November 29, both largely untroubled by the varied conditions, high temperatures, and long distances.
Japie van Niekerk/Gerhard Snyman successfully defended their 2013 Tara crown and finished some three minutes ahead of team mates Enzo Kuun and Christoff Snyders. The only hiccup for the winners was a puncture on the 13th stage which cost them the best part of five minutes, while Kuun/Snyders unfortunately incurred six minutes of penalties for two separate infringements.
“It was good to come back here and successfully defend our crown,” said Van Niekerk. “It’s a tough event: tough on the car, tough of the driver and co-driver and tough on the crew, with lots of distance to be covered and servicing to be done. Just to make it interesting, the first three stages are in the dark!”
“This event is a real reminder of the days when rallying was an endurance sport,” added Kuun, a two-times South African national champion. “You need some staying power in an event which takes in almost 700 kilometres, including over 250 kays of actual racing. For me, it seems that every time I get in a NAD Fiesta I drive it straight to the podium so it is all credit to the team from Thompson Racing that both cars ran flawlessly as usual!”
Thirteen of the 23 stages were won by the S2000 Fiestas. The event also included stages at the Tony Rust race track outside Windhoek, with teams having to contend with a mix of tar, dirt, and darkness. One of these stages was cancelled due to the dusty conditions and the Super Special format which saw two cars running simultaneously within the grounds of the circuit. Other than that, the event lived up to its billing as the country’s top stage rally.
“The Tara is fast becoming one of my favourite events, and I really enjoy the stages here, and the general atmosphere and enthusiasm of everyone involved just adds to the pleasure. It is definitely worth making the trip, and logic now suggests that I come back in a year’s time and go for a hat-trick!” concluded Van Niekerk.