H&H-88

s e k a r b d Han &Hairpins

09 Edition 88 July 20

ld of rallying

he wor your insight into t

Cover

Gemmell VS Fekken in Volkswagen Rally!

inside this week:

News

Audi celebrates 100 years!

Features

IRC heads to Rally Russia

Welcome to HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS

04 11 13 14 15 17

The world’s latest rally news

SANRC article: Volkswagen Rally, part 1

SANRC article: Volkswagen Rally, part 2

BRC article: Isle of Man preview General article: Audi at the Goodwood Festival Rally Raid article: Rally dos Sertoes review

DIARY JULY EVENTS International Rallies: 09 - 11: IRC Rally Russia 09 - 11: USRC Idaho Rally 10 - 11: BRC Isle of Man Rally 17 - 18: RA New England Forest Rally 17 - 19: ERC Bulgaria Rally 29 Jul - 02 Aug: WRC Rally Finland

Welcome to issue number 88 of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, your FREE weekly insight into the world of rallying!

Unfolding each week is the dramatic search for a new WRC steed for Petter Solberg. This former World Rally Champion has shown this season that given the right car he would be mixing it up with the likes of Loeb and Hirvonen on the podium. His Citroen Xsara WRC is a 2006-spec, but is not even the same specification as enjoyed

by Loeb in that same year.

Solberg has tested a number of different cars ahead of WRC Rally Finland, but has decided to stick with his Xsara. A rumour doing the rounds is that Citroen may offer him a drive in a C4 WRC as a privateer. If he lands that machine, then I think Solberg will be a regular podium finisher!

The South African National Rally Championship heads to the beautiful Longmore Forest this weekend, and a showdown between Gemmell and Fekken is in the air. It will be fast and furious action from Port Elizabeth’s Volkswagen Rally!

As always, I hope you enjoy this week’s exciting edition!

Yours in Rallying, Evan Rothman

South African Rallies: 10 - 11: Volkswagen Rally 24 - 25: Sun City 400 25 - 26: Prisma Comms Special Stage Rally

To receive your FREE weekly HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS e-magazine, or if you’d like to share this with a friend please send me your e-mail address to evanrothman@gmail.com or to my mobile at 083 452 6892.

Contact H&H: Subscriptions - subs.hhmag@gmail.com News - news.hhmag@gmail.com Features - features.hhmag@gmail.com Editorial Info - evan.hhmag@gmail.com Evan Rothman - evanrothman@gmail.com All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 2007-9

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The world’s latest rally news SEND YOUR TEAM’S NEWS, PRESS RELEASES OR UPDATES TO EVANROTHMAN@GMAIL.COM!

Anton Alen to make Abarth and IRC comeback on Rally Russia

Petter Solberg to stay with his Xsara for WRC Rally Finland!

Abarth factory driver Anton Alen has vowed to bounce back from his torrid first half of the season and is aiming for a win on the next Intercontinental Rally Challenge round, next weekend’s Rally Russia reported www.rallybuzz.com.

Abarth factory driver Anton Alen has vowed to bounce back from his torrid first half of the season and is aiming for a win on the next Intercontinental Rally Challenge round, next weekend’s Rally Russia.

The 26-year-old Finn tested his Grande Punto in Italy earlier this week and is confident the car will be good enough to carry him to another Russia victory, following his first IRC win with the Italian marque in 2007.

So far this year, Alen has run as the leading Abarth on every event he has started, but mechanical problems — and an accident in Brazil — have combined to limit him to a single finish on the Rally Azores.

“You have to keep believing you can win rallies, otherwise what’s the point of competing?” said Alen. “I firmly believe we can win again. OK, Skoda and Peugeot have made some good steps with their car, but our car is also coming. There was nothing major in the test we just did, but the car felt good and I’m really ready for Russia.

“I like this event. It’s not far from the border with Finland, so the shape of the roads is quite similar to the ones I’m used to at home. It’s going to be another big fight, though. Skoda drivers Juho Hanninen and [Jan] Kopecky will be setting good times and [Abarth teammate Giandomenico] Basso also made good times there last year.”

Alen finished second in Russia in 2008, just missing out on back-to-back wins when his Punto was slowed by a puncture.

In addition to his Russian outing, Alen is also hoping to boost his season with an outing on Rally Finland, where he could also drive the works Abarth.

“That deal is only 50-50 at the moment,” he said. “It would be good to do the event, obviously it’s one that I like, but we have to find more budget.”

Alen also has a strong record in Finland. He won a hard-fought Group N category there on only his second visit to his home round of the World Rally Championship in 2006.

- CREDIT: WWW.RALLYBUZZ.COM

Petter Solberg has decided to stick with the Citroen Xsara WRC for Rally Finland after carrying out a comparison test with a Peugeot 307 WRC in France yesterday.

Solberg commented on his website: “We will start in Finland with our Citroen, says Petter Solberg after another test in a possible new rally car. We have tested some cars now, and it turns out that it is this old Xsara that works best for us. Now we just have to do whatever is possible to get some power out of it before Finland.

“This weekend the Tour de France kicks off in Monte Carlo, and of course I have to be there,” says Petter. “Next week I’m for some PR work in Mexico and in the middle of July I will be in Arendal for the Norwegian Grand Prix. I will be there with a rallycar, our hospitality-trailer and will also do some driving!”

- CREDIT: WWW.RALLYBUZZ.COM

Henning Solberg asks for factory Ford Stobart VK M-Sport Ford team driver Henning Solberg believes that he can help the BP Ford team win the manufacturers’ title this year, if given a ‘proper’ factory car, according to crash.net.

Solberg scored an excellent third overall in Poland, despite initially being unhappy with the set-up of his Ford Focus RS WRC, and reckons he could beat Citroen’s Dani Sordo in Finland if he had a full factory spec car.

The Stobart driver is now up to fourth in the drivers’ championship standings and is the highest placed non-factory driver.

Henning stated: “Wow, what an end to the rally, it’s very sad for Ford but the podium is fantastic for me. I think it has been a good rally for me. I am always thinking for the next rallies.

I have to say Mikko did a great job. I think he will be the

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Featuring European rally championships, British rally championships, Rally America events, international rally results and videos, as well as S2000 and WRC news.

www.rallybuzz.com

champion this year. If I had a proper car for Finland, I could beat Dani and maybe help the team win the Manufacturers’ Championship. I believe that!

“We have come a long way since Thursday when the feeling after Shakedown wasn’t very good and today the car has been much better.

“I’ve been driving as fast as I can on this rally and really been pushing hard in the battle with Petter; the fastest stage times we had today prove just that. We have had a learning weekend and this rally has some fantastic stages but it’s also been very difficult.

Novikov and Ogier are the team’s two nominated points’ scorers on the next round WRC in Finland.

- CREDIT: WWW.WRC.COM

Kris Hall selected for Pirelli International Star Driver shootout

“I’ve got the result I wanted, and that helps me maintain my position as the best non-factory driver in the championship.”

- CREDIT: WWW.CRASH.NET and WWW.RALLYBUZZ.COM

Turbo blamed for Ogier’s retirement in WRC Rally Poland The boss of the Citroen Junior Team has insisted that Sebastien Ogier’s last day retirement on Rally Poland was caused by a turbo problem and was not a deliberate strategy to get Sebastien Loeb, who crashed earlier, a better finish, reported www.wrc.com.

Ogier was fourth overall as he began Sunday afternoon’s final loop of stages, but just 2.5 kilometres into the first test, Milki (SS16), he parked his Citroen C4 World Rally Car off the road and retired.

A little later in the same stage, Citroen Racing instructed Ogier’s team-mate Evgeny Novikov to slow down and let Loeb past. On the next stage the third Citroen Junior driver, Conrad Rautenbach, was also asked to let Loeb go by.

In two stages Loeb gained three places courtesy of the Citroen Junior team. In the circumstances there was speculation that Ogier’s retirement might have been deliberate too.

Citroen Racing team principal Olivier Quesnel was up front about the tactical manoeuvring of Novikov and Rautenbach, saying: “We asked them to let Sebastien past so that the Citroen Total World Rally Team could score points that may well become vital by the end of the season.”

However after the rally Citroen Junior Team manager Benoit Nogier insisted Ogier’s exit was unplanned. “He managed to get past both the Solberg brothers before a turbo problem prevented him from finishing the rally and going for the third place that he deserved,” he said.

Nogier praised Ogier’s drive, saying: “It was an excellent performance from him and a good confirmation of his pace in Greece.”

He also had words of support for his two sacrificial drivers: “Evgeny enjoyed himself throughout the weekend and underlined his talent once more. His speed was clear to see.

Conrad drove a fault-free event and would have been close to scoring points had it not been for the problems with the factory team.”

The UK’s Motor Sports Association has selected Kris Hall as their candidate for the 2009 Pirelli International Star Driver shootout. The MSA Rally Elite driver will head to Jyvaskyla, in Finland on 29 - 30 July to compete on a gravel rally event tied to the Neste Oil Rally Finland. He will be up against the nominees from up to nine other governing bodies across northern Europe and will be judged on a number of different criteria including, but not limited to, driving performance.

Five drivers will then be selected to go forward to the Pirelli European Shoot-Out in Freistadt, Austria on September 18-20.

There will be a maximum of 23 drivers from across Europe who will do battle for one of rallying’s most valuable prizes – one of two fully-funded six-event campaigns in the 2010 FIA World Rally Championship.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Hall, 19, from Appleby, Cumbria, who is this year campaigning a Ford Fiesta ST Group N rally car in the Kick Energy Fiesta SportTrophy UK and last weekend recorded his first win of the season on the Scottish Rally. “I am thankful to the judges for putting their faith in my ability to deliver; they have recognised that I have the potential and the pace to go out there and win the shoot-out.

I am absolutely committed to making it to the WRC and I will give 110% in order to achieve my ambition.

“I’ve learned so much from being in the MSA Rally Academy last year and graduating onto the Elite scheme this year. I am much better prepared for this challenge than I was before and have been working closely with the team on the physical, nutritional and psychological aspects of my performance.”

Hall was confirmed as the UK nomination by MSA Performance Director Robert Reid, following a recommendation by a specially-convened panel of experts from UK rallying, comprising Phil Mills, Guy Wilks, Mike Broad, Mark Taylor and Motorsport News’ deputy editor, James Attwood. The panel considered all members of the MSA’s Rally Elite and Academy programmes who were registered for this year’s British Rally Championship.

“We had a very interesting debate,” explained panel member and former British rally champion Mike Broad. “There was

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a lot to discuss and many different opinions, but at the end of the day we took a unanimous decision that Kris was the right person to represent the UK this year. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him and I’m sure he won’t let us down.”

Last year’s UK nominee was Adam Gould, who gave a tremendous performance in the 2008 International Shootout, narrowly and unexpectedly missing out on selection as one of the winners despite being consistently the quickest driver on the event. However, Gould’s experience enabled him to win the UK Pirelli Shootout later in the year to earn himself a fully-funded drive in the 2009 British Rally Championship and on last month’s Jim Clark Rally, Adam claimed his first BRC podium finish.

“The shootout was an amazing experience,” confirmed Gould, 22. “The competition is so intense and you’re never quite sure what the judges are looking for, so all you can do is your best and make sure you keep it on the road! I’m sure Kris will do really well, but whatever happens, to get that kind of experience early in your career is so important.”

“The MSA Elite schemes were set up to prepare our best drivers for this kind of opportunity,” said Robert Reid, MSA Performance Director. “This is a great initiative by Pirelli and offers one of the best prizes in the sport. We will make sure that Kris gets all the help and support he needs in preparation for the first event, and I’m sure he will make a strong impact on the judges.”

- CREDIT: WWW.RALLYBRC.CO.UK

Juho Hanninen hopes Russia will give Skoda its first IRC win!

Juho Hanninen believes he can secure Skoda’s first win in the Intercontinental Rally Challenge when the series resumes on Rally Russia. Finn Hanninen, who won the event last season driving a Kronos Racing Peugeot 207 Super 2000, believes he will be able to make the most of his reputation as a gravel specialist by claiming overall honours.

Wittmann boosted by strong showing in Ypres, aims for more in Russia Franz Wittmann Jr believes the experience gained on the Belgium Ypres Rally in June will be highly advantageous when the Intercontinental Rally Challenge resumes in Russia later this month.

Austrian Wittmann will tackle the gravel event based in Vyborg in a Mitsubishi Lancer E9 following a strong showing on the asphalt lanes of Ypres recently. There he was challenging for a top-ten finish until a puncture caused a driveshaft to failure and led to his retirement from the event.

If Wittmann can maintain his impressive start to the season in Russia then it will help the Mitsubishi-blessed Ralliart operation to maintain its second position in the IRC manufacturers’ standings.

“We entered the Ypres Rally knowing that we wouldn’t stand much chance against 19 superior Super 2000 cars and several [of the latest] Mitsubishi Lancer Evo Xs on a 100 per cent Tarmac rally,” said Wittmann. “But we can be a little bit proud that we managed to be 11th in the intermediate classification as second-best non-Super 2000 car after six stages. In any case we learned a lot in Belgium and I hope that I can put these experiences into action in the future.”

Wittmann is the only driver from Austria regularly competing in the series. He is currently 19th in the drivers’ table.

- CREDIT: WWW.IRCSERIES.COM

New Ford Fiesta Rallycross cars impress ahead of Pikes Peak!

“I am looking forward to Russia because I certainly prefer gravel to Tarmac,” said Hanninen following the recent Belgium Ypres Rally. “It is a surface I have performed well on in the past and I am sure I will be able to do so again. I gained a lot of experience on the [asphalt-based] Ypres Rally, which wasn’t exactly ideally suited to me, and I wish to thank all members of the team for their support and for the excellent preparation of my car.”

Hanninen held third place on the Belgium Ypres Rally heading into the final stage only for a punctured tyre to drop him to fifth overall in the final standings.

“I am glad to have got to the finish of this difficult rally,” he added. “I consider fifth place in the overall rankings to be positive.”

- CREDIT: WWW.IRCSERIES.COM

The new Fiesta Rallycross cars have already created plenty of buzz in the enthusiast community with word of their North American motorsport debut in July’s Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in Colorado.

Now, the anticipation will be even greater as the Swedish Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution (MSE) team has announced it will compete in ESPN’s X Games 15 in Los Angeles, Calif., July 30 – August 2. Olsbergs MSE is entering the race with the famous Swedish driver Kenny Brack. The team will also

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field two Ford Fiestas for ROCKSTAR Energy Drink with drivers Tanner Foust and Brian Deegan. All three Fiestas will comply with Rally America Open Class specifications.

Top 100 Action Sports Stars by ESPN in 2004, Deegan has competed at every X Games rally event and will drive a 2008 Fiesta 3-door hatchback.

Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution will utilize BFGoodrich Tires at both the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and at ESPN’s X Games 15.

This will be the first time a Ford race car has been part of the X Games’ Rally competition.

Brian Wolfe, director of Ford North America Motorsport, said: The new Fiesta is already creating headlines around the world.

The announcement that it would compete at Pikes Peak was greeted so positively by enthusiasts everywhere. Now, to back it up with competition at the X Games will just create even more buzz for the car.

The X Games, considered the premier action sports event in the world, features athletes from across the globe competing in a variety of sports, ranging from skateboarding, motocross, BMX and rally car racing. X Games 15 will be covered live on ESPN’s family of networks, including ABC, as well as across ESPN’s many digital media assets, including Xgames.com The three Fiestas will be driven by an all-star lineup, which includes an Indy 500 winner, a former X Games rally champion and a 10-time X Games medalist. The 1999 Indianapolis 500 winner Kenny Brack, who will drive the 2009 Fiesta 3-door hatchback, is making his X Games debut. Brack was the 1998 IndyCar Series champion and was a factory driver for Ford Racing’s Champ Car entry Rahal Letterman Racing (RLR).

Brack sustained significant injures in a major accident at Texas Motor Speedway in 2003 while driving for RLR, but he returned to the car at the Indy 500 in 2005, subbing for the injured Buddy Rice and posting the fastest qualifying speed (227.598 mph) of the field. Brack has been retired since 2006, pursuing his music career, but still drives competitively in special events.

Olsbergs and Kenny Brack have had a long-term partnership and at present Kenny and Olsbergs are acting as mentors for a new promising Swedish racing star, 17-year old Markus Eriksson.

ROCKSTAR Energy Rally driver Tanner Foust will drive a race-prepared 2009 Fiesta 5-door hatchback. He is a winning competitor in rally, drift, ice racing and time attack with a proven track record of multiple podium placements and national championships. Foust has seen success in Drift and Rally in the last few seasons. In addition to winning the both the 2007 and 2008 Formula Drift Pro Drift Championship, he also took the Silver medal as runner-up in the 2008 Summer X Games Pro Rally race.

Jost Capito, director of Ford Global Motorsport Business Development, comented: “We are very excited to see the Fiesta competing not only at the Pikes Peak Hill Climb, but also at the X Games in LA. The competition will be extremely strong in both events, but we’ve put together a strong team with the ROCKSTAR/BF Goodrich Tires Fiestas and our all star drivers.

The Olsbergs Motor Sport Evolution race team is doing an outstanding job in preparing the cars for both of these world famous events.”

- CREDIT: WWW.RALLY-AMERICA.COM

Petter Solberg to get Citroen C4 by the end of the year?

In the on-going drama that is Petter’s search for a rally-winning car that he so justly deserves, it has been rumoured that the Norwegian rlaly ace may sign a deal with Citroen to hire a C4 WRC before the end of the season.

At the beginning of the 2009 season, Solberg was offered a C4 WRC, but the costs were prohitively expensive. Now that the season is becoming more and more intense, would Citroen not rethink their plans and make an effort to offer Solberg a C4 WRC so as to counter Ford’s advances?

Petter Solberg: “Of the things that are in hand for Finland, one of them is not on the car to be used. The important thing is that we will be there. There are dicussions for the C4, but I do not know what will become of them. Peugeot is a good car. But in terms of a complete package, the Citroen is better. Even if one had offered me the Peugeot at the beginning of season, I would not have taken it. In the average rallies, like Cyprus or Greece the Xsara is ok, but in faster rallies as Finland we will attempt to be on the podium.”

Foust won the 2007 X Games Gold Medal in the Pro Rally for the ROCKSTAR Energy Rally team. He was selected to represent Team USA in the annual Race of Champions at Wembley Stadium in London, UK this past December. He teamed with Ford Racing NASCAR star Carl Edwards to do battle with the world’s fastest drivers and riders from Formula One, World Rally Championship, Superbike and Touring Car racing.

Joining Foust will be Moto X star Brian Deegan, a 10-time medalist at the X Games, including three gold medals for Moto X Best Trick (2002, 2003, 2005). Earlier this year, Deegan launched a Pro-Lite class off road truck team in Championship Off-Road Racing (COOR) under a newly formed ROCKSTAR/ Metal Mulisha/Caffaro Motorsports banner. Named one of the

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S E R U T A FE lly set for Gemmell VS Fekkeinn dPuEe!l!

a n R io t n c e a g a y ll w a s r lk y! e o ll s V a : lo r c •11 lt r a e h f f p o s a o t d e s e r p a high-s d e e p •13: ProducteiownsChead to Isle of Man for w S f o l a iv t s e F •14: BRC cr lebrates centenary at Good aro”odrace!

•15: Audi ce agens one-two in “little Dak l roads of Rally Russia!

•17: Volksw p crews contest fast grave •18: IRC’s to

Here HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS goes behind-the-scenes, into the pit garages, into the team offices, to bring you the most interesting and in-depth feature articles.

Volkswagen Rally set for Gemmell VS Fekken duel!

The second half of the 2009 Sasol South African Rally Championship kicks off with the Volkswagen Rally, an event that has been particularly kind to the factory Castrol Toyota Team, winning six of the last nine encounters in the Eastern Cape.

With two wins to their credit this year, Castrol Toyota’s Johnny Gemmell and Peter Marsh are second on the overall championship standings after a puncture robbed them of any fighting chance for overall honours on the recent Rally of South Africa.

On his championship chances, Johnny said: “There’s still a lot of points out there to take and we are determined to earn as many as we can over the remaining four rallies. It’s been a good fight with Hergen (Fekken) so far. We lead after the Tour Natal, and then Hergen levelled with us. We re-took the lead after the Sasol, and now he is ahead again, so hopefully, we will continue that sequence and leave Port Elizabeth in the lead again”.

“I like the Longmore forest stages although I hope they won’t give us the horrible grass tracks they did last year. Culturama is a good stage and we have three runs over it. The long 48km stage is going to be a worry regarding tyres but it’s the same for everyone”, Johnny said of the rally.

The class S2000 Toyota Auris pair was unable to claw back the time lost changing their rubberware and finished a disappointed 6th, dropping out of the championship lead which they have fought for all season.

Johnny continued: “They’ve had heavy rains in the area which may have damaged some of the roads; the route notes were made before the weather changed which may lead to a lot of changes to the notes when we get there – it’s just another variable we will have to deal with”.

“It was a disappointing result for us and we will be looking to put that right and get our championship lead back”, said an upbeat Johnny of his plan for the VW Rally, the 5th round of eight making up the series.

The winners of the 2008 Volkswagen Rally, Mark Cronje and Robert Paisley driving the second S2000 Castrol Toyota Auris, was robbed of the Rally SA lead by “a R32 rose joint in the gearbox”. The upbeat driver, 5th in the title chase, rocketed

into the lead of Rally SA, building a 33 second cushion in just two stages.

entered well inside the top 10 and another similar showing can be expected.

“I was pretty surprised to have such a big lead. The others must have been fast asleep because I was driving well within myself. I can’t wait for the rally because the team has done a lot of work on the car and they have definitely found something extra”, said the Roodepoort-based businessman.

In class A7, the top two-wheel drive class, Evan Hutchinson/ Elvene Coetzee (Motorite Toyota RunX) in 2nd place in the title standings, five points behind the class leader, Stevan Wilken/Greg Gericke. The current champions, Chris de Wit/Dean Redelinghuys (Team Total Toyota RunX) got their scorecard ticking over with a good showing after suffering the same start to the season as Damseaux did, recording three non-finishes.

“I’m taking the season one rally at a time and we’re not out of the title chase yet. We know the VW guys are also working hard but I think we have a lot more in hand in terms of new developments for the Auris”.

Mark added: “I have very fond memories of the event as it was my first ever win.

A year is a long time and it’s about time we hit the top step again”.

Toyota, with 17 Manufacturer’s Championships to their credit, are 142 points ahead of rivals Volkswagen, helped by incredible strength in depth down the field.

In class S2000, Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Andre Vermeulen (Team Total Toyota RunX) got their campaign back on track with a solid third overall and re-energised, will be looking for another podium finish to make up for lost ground after failing to finish the first three rounds of the championship.

Fernando Rueda and Cobus Vrey, driving a second Team Total Toyota RunX was thwarted by a gearbox spring last time out and should be strong contender for a top six finish, adding to his tally of 29 points.

Japie Van Niekerk and Robin Houghton have shown tremendous form in their New Africa Developments/Castrol Toyota RunX but lady luck seems to have abandoned them this season and the Pretoria property developer has but two finishes against his name so far, and then not without a catalogue of problems. This strong pair will hope their fortunes have changed when they arrive in Port Elizabeth.

Nicholas Ryan, in his un-sponsored Toyota RunX, is heading to the Eastern Cape with one very clear objective in mind – to lay to rest the ghost of this event in 2008, when he suffered a horrendous crash that put his co-driver in hospital and out of competition at least until 2010. With co-driver Geoff Tyrer reading the notes, Ryan has completed all three rounds he

Toyota rules the roost in class A6 with Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin the quickest pairing in their Team Total Toyota Auris. They have led each rally by minutes, before being taken out of contention by a mishap along the way.

Two wins, which could have been four, sees Moosa sharing the A6 lead with the Team Total Toyota RunX pair of Rodney Visagie and Carolyn Swan who also have two wins.

Craig Trott, the defending class champion and co-driver Robbie Coetzee are four points further back in their Team Total Toyota RunX and this battle is expected to go down to the wire.

The smallest engined class in rallying is A5 and here, Vusi Mabanga and Shaun Visser are enjoying their best ever season in their Team Total Toyota Yaris. A maiden class win on the Sasol Rally is their highlight so far with another two podium finishes on their points table placing the Total Yaris pair second in class.

Riyad Jaffer and Henry Dearlove (Sasol Toyota Yaris) earned a much needed finish on Rally SA and approach the VW Rally with renewed enthusiasm after a baptism of fire for the former circuit racer, who has battled to come to grips with rallying.

The VW Rally starts from the firm’s Auto Pavilion in Uitenhage at 12h30 on Friday, 10 July, taking in two short tarmac stages before hitting the gravel for three stages, returning to thrill the crowds at King’s Beach on Friday late afternoon.

The bulk of the rally takes place in the Longmore Forest with a 48km stage thrown in for good measure. The PE Oval hosts a second run before the grand finale at King’s Beach on Saturday afternoon.

- TEXT: TOYOTA SOUTH AFRICA; IMAGES: MOTORPICS

Production Cars to offer close rally action in PE! The four-wheel drive production car category has developed into something of a one horse race with Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich, the defending category and class N4 champions, making a meal of the season so far, claiming an unbroken run of four wins from four starts.

The Sasol/ Konica Minolta Subaru pair has not been without their share of fairly minor problems, but as the season wears on, so their pace has picked up, leaving the competition even further behind.

Wilken and Godrich, besides leading the production car category leaderboard with a handsome tally of 66 points, are also 4th on the overall championship rankings. The Subaru crew took a stunning 2nd overall in KwaZulu Natal and a similar result, while not likely on the Volkswagen Rally, is very much a possibility. Wilken has yet to drive his new-for-2009 Prodrivebuilt Subaru Impreza flat out and the prospect of an all out assault is unlikely to materialise on the VW event while the championship is not yet a done deal.

Lagging well behind the Sasol Impreza is the next best production car – Visser du Plessis and Gerhard Snyman in a similar Pirtek-backed Subaru Impreza with 25 points to their name. In the class N4 standings, it’s a similar ‘blue-wash’, with Wilken on 36 points to du Plessis’ twelve, not helped by two crippling non-finishes on the opening and 4th rounds of the

Sasol series.

Du Plessis knows he has to pull out all the stops if he is to recover a semblance of competition and the former production car champion will drive at his usual flat out pace from the start.

Newcomer Tjaart Coetzee and former rally winner turned navigator/coach Etienne Lourens will be a contender for the podium if they finish in their ex Hein Lategan Subaru Impreza N12. Coetzee was on the podium on the Sasol Rally in May and should have been on the Rally of SA but retired very early on.

A steady run through the Longmore Forest should assure the pair of a good finish.

That is if Chase Attwell and Brian Carrihill don’t get in the way.

The young Zimbabwean charger knows one speed – flat – which is not always the best in rallying and has had some hairy crashes in the past year and a half. The Subaru Impreza has taken a beating so far, but Attwell has shown a lot of ability and talent.

Class N3 for front wheel drive production cars is a one horse race with the Sasol Toyota RunX of Dave Compton and Pierre Jordaan also on a full house of wins. Compton keeps his speed up to scratch by targeting the class A6 modified cars and a fifth win is a given considering the former circuit racer’s smooth and steady pace.

Tony Barbosa and Kenny Hill (N3 Pro-Beat Autobody Ford Fiesta ST) are in different league but with little competition, should claim another 6 points for second in class – if they finish and maintain their second place in the class standings.

- TEXT: SASOL OILS. IMAGES: MOTORPICS

BRC crews head to Isle of Man for high-speed asphalt rally!

If the 2009 MSA British Rally Championship’s second half continues like the first, it will probably go down as one of the most closely fought and exciting in the series’ 51 year history. The forthcoming and widely anticipated Rally Isle of Man on 10 and 11 July, is the start of the run to the finish and the second of three straight tarmac events for the crews.

Back in March when the season began, it was unclear whether the battle for supremacy would be as interesting as the last few years, since the majority of competitors signing up for the Championship were youngsters with little experience of the pressure at the top.

At Bulldog Rally North Wales, a new opening event for the BRC, triple Champion Mark Higgins looked like being the favourite, since reigning champ Guy Wilks was seeking a return to the World stage. But it was 22 year old Irishman Keith Cronin who astonished old and new alike, setting a pace that was equal to Higgins’, the pair even tied to the tenth of a second after the first two stages. And as the event drew to a close Cronin held his nerve when Higgins bent his suspension, snatching victory on the final stage to lead the Championship.

In the chasing pack were more youngsters too, all eager to make their mark. Stuart Jones rejoined the fray with a fine third place, while 2008 Pirelli Star Driver winner Adam Gould, newcomers to the BRC David Bogie and Dave Weston Jnr and newcomer to four wheel drive Alastair Fisher finished within 45sec of one another.

By the time of the Pirelli International Rally the sense of anticipation was tangible at the new Carlisle Racecourse Rally HQ, as Guy Wilks returned to the series in a Proton Super 2000. Having won all the BRC gravel rounds in 2007 and 2008, the reigning champion set about picking up where he left off, immediately building a gap to Higgins. Phillip Morrow briefly held third with some good times on his one-off return to the BRC, but Cronin was elevated to third when he crashed out.

Cronin’s pace was stunning though, forcing an error from Wilks after setting a pair of fastest times on his debut Pirelli. Wilks minor excursion ultimately proved his undoing when the car caught fire soon afterwards, halting the stage as the following cars stopped to help extinguish the blaze. Wilks’ departure left the way clear for Cronin to continue reeling in Higgins for the lead, a feat he managed on the final stage for the second event in a row.

The youngsters provided entertainment and a close battle for the third step of the podium again, Bogie hanging on for an excellent third. But Fisher was just 1,8 seconds behind this time, with Johnny Greer and Weston Jnr within 35sec of the battle for bronze.

The Jim Clark International saw a change in surface, for the first of three asphalt events in the BRC season. Higgins not only needed a win to put his title hopes back on track, but there was the small challenge of winning the event for the fifth time in succession, a feat never before achieved on any BRC event in its 51 years.

After the second stage it looked like it may be an easy ride for the Manxman, as Cronin punctured and lost two minutes. But problems with Higgins’ Impreza and an impeccable drive from Cronin saw the gap closed to less than three seconds with just three stages remaining. It was Higgins who held his nerve this time though, the misfire and differential problems resolved just in time for him to defend his lead.

Higgins’ eventual winning margin was just over eleven seconds, astonishingly the largest gap so far this year. It was enough to put him back in the title race, the fifth consecutive Jim Clark BRC win an added bonus under the circumstances.

Two points split the pair as they travel to Higgins’ home event, his wish to repeat last year’s trio of tarmac victories more pressing than ever.

The chasing pack seems to be taking turns on the podium, Adam Gould rising to the challenge on the Jim Clark Rally with third. But it was at the expense of two others who had held the place; local man Euan Thorburn dropped to fourth with last minute driveshaft failure, while Fisher carried a one minute penalty for a timing error. Jonny Greer set some top three times to take fifth on the same minute.

It would be a foolish gambler who bet against Higgins taking victory on his home Manx lanes, particularly as he could take overall honours for the second year in a row. But the pack is set to pounce at the hint of a mistake or signs of pressure from the triple Champ; all in all another great reason to keep a close eye on the excitement that is The British Rally Championship.

International Rally Isle of Man is based entirely at the excellent TT Grandstand facility overlooking Douglas, from where cars will start at 10am on Friday 10th July. 100 stage miles later they return at 9pm for a well deserved overnight halt, before a 9am Saturday re-start.

A whisker over 80 miles then separates the remaining crews from the champagne finish at around 4.15pm; a total 20 stages deciding the outcome of what will undoubtedly be a thrilling event.

- CREDIT: WWW.RALLYBRC.CO.UK

Audi celebrates centenary at Goodwood Festival of Speed

Audi demonstrated ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ in spectacular fashion at the Goodwood Festival of Speed this past weekend. Audi, which formally began life as a car manufacturer on 16 July 1909, wheeled out its “stars and cars” as part of its Centenary celebrations.

The German manufacturer has supported the annual motorsport extravaganza for the past 13 years and fittingly was the “featured marque” at this year’s “True Grit – Epic Feats of Endurance” themed event attended by 150 000 spectators over all three days. Ultra-rare Auto Union Grand Prix cars, all-wheel-drive Audi quattro rally and touring cars, plus its latest diesel-engined Le Mans sportscars –

documenting over 70 years of motorsport involvement by the Four Rings brand – were in action up the 3,0km hillclimb. Each and every one of them transformed motorsport forever with many re-writing the history books. Importantly, pioneering technology first featured in motorsport, has been successfully transferred across to Audi’s burgeoning roadcar line-up.

The mouth-watering collection was driven by a star-studded array of champions: Former World Rally Champions Walter Rohrl, Stig Blomqvist and Hannu Mikkola thrilled the crowds with rally’s Group B monsters. Rohrl, widely regarded as the greatest ever rally driver, was reacquainted to the Audi Sport quattro S1 the German had swept up the Pikes Peak in the USA in record time. He was joined by fellow Audi Sport rally legends Mikkola and Blomqvist. Hannu drove the car in which Audi captured the 1982 World Rally Championship, the Audi quattro A2, while Blomqvist was in the “monster” Audi Sport quattro S1.

- TEXT AND IMAGES SUPPLIED BY AUDI UK.

Volkswagens one-two in “little Dakar” race!

Ten out of ten possible stage wins, four lead changes and a captivating duel: Volkswagen decided the Rallye dos Sertoes in Brazil in their favour with a one-two win.

The all-Spanish factory duo in the Race Touareg, Carlos Sainz/ Lucas Cruz Senra, secured third place on the final stage of the rally regarded as the toughest and longest cross-country after the legendary “Dakar” and thus clinched overall victory. On the tenth and last special stage between Caico and Natal, which covered 85ikm of narrow gravel tracks and sandy sections, Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk took the stage win and finished as the overall runners-up, just 1m 09s behind Sainz/ Cruz Senra. The team-internal duel for stage victories ended in a score of 6:4 for the newly formed duo Al-Attiyah/Gottschalk.

The Brazilian pairing Maurício Neves/Eduardo Bampi in another 280hp diesel prototype from Wolfsburg finished the rally in sixth place overall.

Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz Senra and Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk delivered a nail biting duel for victory to the countless cheering spectators of the Rallye dos Sertoes, who enthusiastically welcomed the “Blue Frogs” – as the “Dakar” winning cars are affectionately nicknamed by the Brazilian fans due to their uncompromising off-road-capable shape – every day in the towns where the stages finished. In the wellbalanced fight between the two new pairings who have been put together for the next Dakar Rally the largest gap during the rally was just a little more than ten minutes, and on the eighth day of the rally a mere three seconds. The Volkswagen duos took turns leading the event a total of four times.

The track profile of the 17th edition of the Rallye dos Sertoes made maximum demands on man and machine on the 5,036km route from the start in Goiania to the finish in Natal. Extremely narrow gravel trails along farm roads alternated with washed-out trial passages and sections with deep, soft sand. The rally featured very quick as well as slow special stages. For Volkswagen, it was an ideal test for the Dakar Rally in January 2010, which will again be held in Argentina and Chile. Unlike at the “Dakar”, there was no day of rest scheduled during the ten-day rally. Consequently, the “Sertoes” was a serious test for the entire team, from the drivers and co-drivers to the mechanics, in terms of technology, logistics and endurance. The “Sertoes” also included numerous water passages which posed additional challenges during the cross-country rally through Brazil.

Besides the Rallye dos Sertoes the Silk-Way-Rallye from 05 to 13 September – organised by “Dakar” organiser A.S.O. – through the Russian republic of Tatarstan as well as through Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan is part of the preparation for the 2010 “Dakar”.

At their first joint performances both “Dakar” pairings, Carlos Sainz/Lucas Cruz Senra as well as Nasser Al-Attiyah/Timo Gottschalk, demonstrated why they were signed for the Volkswagen brand’s “Dakar” programme. Nasser Al-Attiyah, the personable driver from Qatar, competed for the first time together with his German co-driver Timo Gottschalk and – with stage wins during the first six days of the rally – delivered a strong showing as a new team member. Carlos Sainz shared the cockpit of the 280hp Race Touareg for the first time with Lucas Cruz Senra. This combination worked successfully as well. As early as on the second leg the all-Spanish duo was victorious and captured the lead on the penultimate leg of the 2009 “Sertoes”.

The Brazilian duo Mauricio Neves/Eduardo Bampi in a third factory-fielded and factory prepared Volkswagen Race Touareg finished sixth overall despite smaller setbacks. The local heroes were struck by misfortune as early as on the second day of the “Sertoes”. A motorcycle rider obstructed them on one of the numerous narrow wooden bridges. While passing the rider Neves/Bampi damaged their rear suspension. Despite a gap of several hours they subsequently moved forwards in the overall standings by clinching a total of seven top-three stage finishes – including three second and four third places.

Carlos Sainz, sepaking after his win, said: “A victory that makes me very happy, clinched after a hard fight. The ‘Sertoes’ was truly a challenge for us drivers. The special stages were long and extremely demanding, the terrain exceptional varied, and a continuous change of rhythm demanded full concentration. For me and my co-driver Lucas Cruz Senra it was a good test to get used to each other in the cockpit in competitive conditions. I think we definitely achieved this. That we won our first joint rally against such strong teaminternal rivals was the icing on the cake.”

FINAL Rally dos Sertoes CLASSIFICATION: 01) C. Sainz/L. Cruz Senra (Volkswagen Race Touareg 2) - 29h 16m 40,1s 02) N. Al-Attiyah/T. Gottschalk (Volkswagen Race Touareg 2) + 1m 09,4s 03) J. Azevedo/Y. Haddad (Mitsubishi L200) + 3h 53m 02,7s 04) R. Reijers/M. Almeida (Ford Ranger) + 5h 35m 21,6s 05) F. Bibas/E. Cavassi (Mitsubishi L200) + 5h 51m 53,2s 06) M. Neves/E. Bampi (Volkswagen Race Touareg 2) + 6h 00m 00,2s 07) L. Facco/S. Deusdara (Mitsubishi L200) + 6h 21m 29,3s 08) R. Vaders/A. Spacassassi (Sherpa) + 7h 47m 26,1s 09) J. de Castro/W. von Schmidt (Sherpa) + 7h 51m 19,6s 10) R. Franciosi/D. Muniz (Sherpa) + 9h 00m 00,8s - TEXT AND IMAGES SUPPLIED BY Volkswagen Motorsport.

IRC’s top crews contest fast gravel roads of Rally Russia!

The Intercontinental Rally Challenge takes its third trip to Russia from9 - 11 July for round six of the series, the Rally Russia.

Following the complex and narrow asphalt roads of Ypres, Russia provides a complete contrast with its wide and flowing gravel stages, which some drivers have compared to the classic speed tests of Finland. This comes as no surprise given that the rally is based in Vyborg, which is less than 100km from the Finnish border.

The stages in Russia are mostly made up of compacted gravel roads, which can be as smooth as a motorway in the right conditions. However, the surface can cut up after several cars have been through, exposing sharp rocks that are capable of causing punctures. These are often in evidence through the corners, where the competitors try to save time by cutting the ideal line in order to find the quickest trajectory. Whereas

stages divided into two identical loops of three. Amongst them is the longest stage of the rally: the legendary 29,31-kilometre Topolki test, reckoned to be the most challenging of the entire event. The rally concludes with five stages on the final day before the finish back in Vyborg at 15h00.

Rally Russia is a valuable example of the IRC breaking new ground in emerging markets, with the inaugural 2007 event having been the first major international motorsport fixture behind the former iron curtain since the 1917 St Petersburg Grand Prix.

The entry list for the Rally Russia contains both the latest new manufacturers to join the series. The factory Skoda team, headed by last year’s Rally Russia winner Juho Hanninen, is first off the ramp in Vyborg – north of St Petersburg – on Thursday night. Also on the entry list is the new Proton Satria S2000, driven by Guy Wilks, which made a promising debut on the Belgium Ypres Rally last month. Like Hanninen, Wilks has previous experience of the Rally Russia after leading the IRC 2WD class in Vyborg last year, at the wheel of a Honda.

The inaugural Rally Russia was won by Finland’s Anton Alen – the son of the legendary Anton Alen – and the Abarth driver was once more in strong contention for victory last year before his charge was halted by a double puncture.

The second driver off the start ramp, following Hanninen, is Alen’s team mate Giandomenico Basso. The Italian, a former European Champion, has also proved himself to be a strong force on gravel rallies such as Russia.

With the Abarth team benefiting greatly from its test in Italy, the mood is upbeat.

Finland is well known for its rollercoaster crests, the roads in Russia tend to be flatter but no less spectacular. The weather in Russia at this time of year is usually warm, but sudden rainstorms are far from unknown – and these can turn the rally on its head in an instant.

This unique mix of stages and weather, coupled with the risk of punctures, makes tyre choice even more complex than usual. But it is an event that tends to favour the usual gravel specialists: in particular the Finns, who are virtually playing at home. For the past two years, the winner of the Rally Russia has been from Finland.

Since joining the IRC two years ago, the Rally Russia has gradually expanded, and this year it is up to 15 stages and 223,45 competitive kilometres. The start of the event takes place in the evening of Thursday 9 July from the podium in Vyborg, with an opening leg of four stages that ends late at night. For the first time night stages are set to be a feature of Rally Russia, adding yet another challenging element to what is already an extremely technical event.

The action restarts in the morning of Friday 10 July, with six

Significantly, the European Peugeot teams have chosen not to contest Rally Russia as under the IRC regulations only seven from eight scores count. With Meeke on 30 points and Skoda’s Jan Kopecky on 21 points, a top result for the popular Czech driver could deprive Meeke of the lead. However Peugeot will be represented by Russian driver Aleksandr Zheludov, who takes the wheel of a 207 S2000 for the first time.

Also out in Russia will be several other strong local drivers, such as Andrei Zhighunov in a Mitsubishi. With several Mitsubishi entries, the official Ralliart brand stands to benefit greatly in the IRC manufacturers’ standings. Another driver contesting the event in a Mitsubishi is the Austrian Franz Wittmann, who has put together a comprehensive IRC programme this year.

The battle for IRC 2WD Cup honours will be equally close.

Three IRC registered manufacturers will be represented: Honda (the last 2WD winners in Ypres), Peugeot and Volkswagen. None of the IRC 2WD Cup leaders are planning to contest the event, so this is a vital opportunity for their rivals to try and close the gap.