20-Apr-2012  

Supplied by MotorSport Administrator from motorsport

This year’s Sasol Rally, the second round of both the South African Rally Championship and the FIA African Rally Championship got off to a blistering start in Sabie this morning.

ARTICLE ISSUED BY:  CHARMAINE FORTUNE

Picture:  Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton

Photography by:  Danie van Jaarsveld

This year’s Sasol Rally, the second round of both the South African Rally Championship and the FIA African Rally Championship got off to a blistering start in Sabie this morning.

After just two of today’s four gravel stages Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton (Sasol Ford Fiesta) are a scant 8.1 seconds ahead of Castrol Team Toyota Auris pairing Johnny Gemmell / Carolyn Swan. Gemmell lost almost 8 seconds with a slow puncture towards the end of special stage two. Having a good run in only their second event on South African soil are the BP Volkswagen pair of Hans Weijs/Bjorn Degandt who are 17.4 seconds behind the leaders. A further 23 seconds back is the second of the factory Toyotas of Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee. Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson (BP Volkswagen Polo) are fifth just one second behind Poulter/Coetzee.

Punctures delayed Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich in the Basil Read Ford Fiesta and Hergen Fekken/ Pierre Arries in another BP Volkswagen Polo on stage one and John Williams/ Cobus Vrey (Sasol Ford Fiesta) on stage two.

The Team Total Toyota Auris of Mohammed Moosa and Andre Vermeulen were able to continue after rolling in special stage one.

Leading the S1600 class for two wheel driver cars are Ashley Haigh-Smith and Craig Parry (Castrol Ford Fiesta) one minute 27.7 seconds behind Guy Botterill / Simon Vacy-Lyle (Yato Tools Toyota RunX). Former champion Craig Trott/Robbie Coetzee in the Team Total Toyota Run X is third at this stage two minutes 17.2 seconds behind the leaders.

The two international competitors in the African Rally Championship which is being run in conjunction with the SA round started 18th and 19th on the road and are both running strongly. Mohammed Essa of Zambia and Greg Stead of Zimbabwe (Subaru Impreza WRX) are lying 16th and Giancarlo Davite/ Sylvia Vindevogel of Ruwanda (Subaru Impreza WRX) are 18th.

The always popular Sasol Rally has again attracted thousands of spectators along the route who are enjoying the high-speed racing over the fast gravel road in warm and sunny conditions.

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