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The 2011 South African Rally championship will get under way this weekend with the Tour Natal on the KZN South Coast and all indications are that it will be a particularly exciting and close season.
With at least 12 drivers in four brands of premier class S2000 all-wheel drive cars capable of winning, fans are in for a bumper series of eight events in five provinces.
Heading the strong 18-car entry in S2000 are the factory VW Polo Vivos of defending champions Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson, former champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries, 2005 and 2007 champion driver Jan Habig with his new co-driver Robert Paisley and new team members Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford.
STRONG VW LINE-UP
De Villiers, a former National Off-Rroad champion and winner of the 2009 Dakar Rally in a VW Race Touareg, is making his rally debut; Pitchford is back for a second year after navigating for Habig in 2010.
The strong VW line-up, with six consecutive championships between them, can expect a serious challenge from the Toyota factory team as it aims to regain the championship it last won in 2004 with the now-retired Serge Damseaux.
Carrying the team's hopes are Johnny Gemmell and Scotsman Drew Sturrock (Auris) and Leeroy Poulter and his replacement navigator Elvene Coetzee (Auris). Also in Toyotas are Team Total privateers Jean-Pierre Damseaux (Son of Serge) and Carolyn Swan (RunX) and Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin (RunX).
The Ford challenge has been boosted to four private S2000 Fiestas with the addition of the Sasol team of Mark Cronje/Robin Houghton and Jon Williams/Cobus Vrey. They will be up against the returning Ford of Zimbabweans Conrad Rautenbach/Peter Marsh and Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich.
Making their debut in SA rallying are two Peugeot 207 units to be campaigned by the Hein Lategan/Johan van der Merwe and Visser du Plessis/Gerhard Snyman.
NEW CLASS NAMES
Private VW Polos will be in the hands of Nicholas Ryan/Geoff Tyrer and Japie van Niekerk/Dave Lewkowicz. Sebastiaan Klaassen and Cindi Harding will be in a lone Subaru Impreza which used to compete in the now defunct N4 class.
This year will see the phasing out of classes A7 and N3 as a result of rising costs and falling entries but the popular A6 will become Super1600 and incorporate N3 entries for 2011 only. Class A5 becomes Super1400.
Reigning champion Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin (Polo) will do battle in A7 with Rocky Reyneke and Christo Ackerman in another Polo.
Super1600 promises to be a close fight with former champion Craig Trott back with co-driver Robbie Coetzee in a Toyota RunX, Tjaart Conradie and Kes Naidoo (Toyota Auris) and Ashley Haigh-Smith/Hilton Auffray in a brand new Ford Fiesta likely to be strong contenders. Making their debut appearance for Team Total is the all-woman crew of Stefanie Hugo and Angela Shields (RunX).
VIVO LES GIRLS
Another all-woman crew in the form of Megan Verlaque and Lirene du Plessis will contest Super 1400 in a Polo Vivo with competition from Henk Lategan/Pierre Jordaan in Polo and Ian Young/Herman Groenewald in a Toyota Yaris.
The 39-car field is completed by seven KZN Regional crews competing in Class S20.
The event will run 14 special stages over a total distance of 161km over the two days. The rally will start at 1.30pm on Friday, March 25 from the Arbour Crossing shopping centre in Amanzimtoti, 30km south of Durban. The first day will consist of four short gravel stages followed by a tarmac stage in the shopping centre's car park.
The action re-start at 7am the next day with four gravel stages on the South Coast, all of which will be repeated before the day ends with a second run through the Arbour Crossing tarmac stage.
The rally is expected to finish at around 4pm and the podium ceremony and prize-giving will start at 5.30pm.
With at least 12 drivers in four brands of premier class S2000 all-wheel drive cars capable of winning, fans are in for a bumper series of eight events in five provinces.
Heading the strong 18-car entry in S2000 are the factory VW Polo Vivos of defending champions Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson, former champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries, 2005 and 2007 champion driver Jan Habig with his new co-driver Robert Paisley and new team members Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford.
STRONG VW LINE-UP
De Villiers, a former National Off-Rroad champion and winner of the 2009 Dakar Rally in a VW Race Touareg, is making his rally debut; Pitchford is back for a second year after navigating for Habig in 2010.
The strong VW line-up, with six consecutive championships between them, can expect a serious challenge from the Toyota factory team as it aims to regain the championship it last won in 2004 with the now-retired Serge Damseaux.
Carrying the team's hopes are Johnny Gemmell and Scotsman Drew Sturrock (Auris) and Leeroy Poulter and his replacement navigator Elvene Coetzee (Auris). Also in Toyotas are Team Total privateers Jean-Pierre Damseaux (Son of Serge) and Carolyn Swan (RunX) and Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin (RunX).
The Ford challenge has been boosted to four private S2000 Fiestas with the addition of the Sasol team of Mark Cronje/Robin Houghton and Jon Williams/Cobus Vrey. They will be up against the returning Ford of Zimbabweans Conrad Rautenbach/Peter Marsh and Charl Wilken/Greg Godrich.
Making their debut in SA rallying are two Peugeot 207 units to be campaigned by the Hein Lategan/Johan van der Merwe and Visser du Plessis/Gerhard Snyman.
NEW CLASS NAMES
Private VW Polos will be in the hands of Nicholas Ryan/Geoff Tyrer and Japie van Niekerk/Dave Lewkowicz. Sebastiaan Klaassen and Cindi Harding will be in a lone Subaru Impreza which used to compete in the now defunct N4 class.
This year will see the phasing out of classes A7 and N3 as a result of rising costs and falling entries but the popular A6 will become Super1600 and incorporate N3 entries for 2011 only. Class A5 becomes Super1400.
Reigning champion Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin (Polo) will do battle in A7 with Rocky Reyneke and Christo Ackerman in another Polo.
Super1600 promises to be a close fight with former champion Craig Trott back with co-driver Robbie Coetzee in a Toyota RunX, Tjaart Conradie and Kes Naidoo (Toyota Auris) and Ashley Haigh-Smith/Hilton Auffray in a brand new Ford Fiesta likely to be strong contenders. Making their debut appearance for Team Total is the all-woman crew of Stefanie Hugo and Angela Shields (RunX).
VIVO LES GIRLS
Another all-woman crew in the form of Megan Verlaque and Lirene du Plessis will contest Super 1400 in a Polo Vivo with competition from Henk Lategan/Pierre Jordaan in Polo and Ian Young/Herman Groenewald in a Toyota Yaris.
The 39-car field is completed by seven KZN Regional crews competing in Class S20.
The event will run 14 special stages over a total distance of 161km over the two days. The rally will start at 1.30pm on Friday, March 25 from the Arbour Crossing shopping centre in Amanzimtoti, 30km south of Durban. The first day will consist of four short gravel stages followed by a tarmac stage in the shopping centre's car park.
The action re-start at 7am the next day with four gravel stages on the South Coast, all of which will be repeated before the day ends with a second run through the Arbour Crossing tarmac stage.
The rally is expected to finish at around 4pm and the podium ceremony and prize-giving will start at 5.30pm.