The scene is set for an epic showdown between the two leading teams in South
African rallying when the Imperial Toyota Tshwane Motor Rally, round six of
the 2015 SA National Rally Championship, gets underway from, one of
Tshwane’s most beautiful heritage sites, Fort Klapperkop in Pretoria on
Friday, 14 August.
Current championship leaders Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton (Ford
Performance Fiesta) and defending national champions Leeroy Poulter and
Elvéne Coetzee (Castrol Team Toyota Yaris) have both won the event – first
run in 2013 as the Cullinan Rally and last year renamed to the Imperial
Toyota Cullinan Rally – in the past. Cronje/Houghton won the inaugural
race, while Poulter/Coetzee was victorious last year, so this year’s event –
now known as the Imperial Toyota Tshwane Rally – will be the tie-breaker.
With only nine points separating the two teams a good result in Tshwane is
crucial as the event in its short two year existence has proven to be the
kingmaker to the national rally throne; the Ford pair being crowned
champions in 2013 and the Toyota duo clinching the title last year.
In theory, having won the last two rounds on the trot, Poulter and Coetzee
should have a slight advantage in the Imperial Toyota Tshwane Motor Rally as
their Yaris normally excels in the rutty, rocky and undulating stages found
in the Cullinan area.
However, this will just add to strengthen Cronje and Houghton’s resolve.
While their Fiesta may perform better on fast and winding, smoother tracks,
it can hold its own in these conditions; so expect to see them at full tilt
over crests and in corners…
Behind them the battle between Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan (Castrol
Team Toyota Yaris) and the Volkswagen Sasolracing pilot Gugu Zulu (VW Polo)
also needs to be watched. De Villiers/Swan is only 2.5 points ahead of the
VW driver, so one can expect Zulu and co-driver Hilton Auffray doing their
level best to wipe out this deficit in the dusty Tshwane conditions.
In the S1600 class Matthew Vacy-Lyle and Schalk van Heerden (Fragram Tools
Toyota Etios) will be defending their championship lead from Paulus Franken
and Henry Kohne (Manitou Group VW Polo R2) and Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy-Lyle
(Yato Tools Toyota Etios).
Vacy-Lyle and Van Heerden is only 6.5 points clear of the VW pair, who in
turn are only 1.5 points ahead of the Yato Tools crew, so one can expect the
sparks to fly in this highly competitive class over the two day Tshwane
event.
A ceremonial start on Friday, 14 August, will see the first car being
flagged off from Fort Klapperkop at 12h00.
From there competitors will proceed to the Cullinan area where four stages
will be run in very close proximity to the Zonderwater Correctional Services
facility on the Friday afternoon. The rally headquarters and central service
park will also be situated at the Zonderwater facilities.
According to Clerk of the Course Willie du Plessis these stages will be on
excellent gravel roads and it “will afford spectators good opportunities to
see the cars in action from safe vantage points without having to travel
great distances”.
After the first four stages the cars will go into Parc Ferme at the
Zonderwater facility and the rally will restart from there on Saturday
morning (15 August) at 09:00. Saturday’s stages will also be open to
competitors in the Northern Regions Rally Championship.
“Six special stages in the Cullinan area will make up Saturday’s action,
with a single 45-minute service stop after stage seven. The leading car on
the road is expected at the service stop at around 11:30,” said Du Plessis.
“Rally fans can expect a lot of action in the pits after the competitors
have all had to survive three special stages and nearly 60km of high-speed
rallying without assistance from their service crews.”
The first car is expected at the finish at the Zonderwater Correctional
Services facility at around 14:50 on Saturday afternoon. The total distance
of the compact event is 378km and the distance of the ten special stages
approximately 167km.
“I think the Imperial Toyota Tshwane Rally will be a good, tough test of the
country’s top rally crews after the two successful events we’ve already had
in this area. We look forward to an exciting and successful event,” Du
Plessis added.