Share

Contests galore for Garden Rally

The inaugural Garden Route Rally to be held at George and Knysna over August 26/27 will be tightly contested. 15 points separate the top drivers in the Super 2000 class and nine points separating the top five in the co-drivers competition.

Conrad Rautenbach (Ford Fiesta) is leading the Drivers’ championship with 85 points, six ahead of Mark Cronje (Ford Fiesta), winner of the last two rounds. Reigning champion Enzo Kuun (VW Polo) is third on 78 after three third places.

GINIEL DE VILLIERS TO COMPETE

With Rautenbach’s co-driver Nicolas Klinger unable to get points due to his French licence, Kuun’s co-driver Guy Hodgson is leading with 82 points followed by Cronje’s co-driver Robin Houghton on 81 and Hergen Fekken’s co-driver Pierre Arries on 75 points.

Strong performances are expected from the Toyota Auris duos of Jean-Pierre Damseaux/Carolyn Swan and Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin. Nicholas Ryan and Armand du Toit (VW Polo) are expected to mount a strong challenge with Jon Williams/Cobus Vrey (Ford Fiesta) close behind them.

2009 Dakar Rally champion Giniel de Villiers and his partner Ralph Pitchford (Volkswagen Polo) will also feature.

CLOSE CONTESTS IN JUNIOR CHAMPS

The Junior Rally Drivers’ Championship, contested by the Super 1600 and Super 1400 classes will be keenly contested. Former champion Craig Trott (Toyota RunX) leads 97 points with Guy Botterill (Toyota Auris) and Christoff Snyders (VW Polo) joint second on 84 points. 

Trott’s co-driver Robbie Coetzee leads the co-driver' s championship with 97 points, followed by Snyders’ sister Celeste on 84 points and Botterill’s co-driver Schalk van Heerden with 67 points.

The Super 1400 section sees Megan Verlaque and Lirene du Plessis (VW Polo) at the top while they lie fifth in the Junior Championship with 47 points.  Their closest rivals for class honours are Henk Lategan and Pierre Jordaan (VW Polo), seventh overall with 45 points.

The rally will start from the Garden Route Mall near George airport at 12pm on August 26. The first day will consist of four gravel special stages, three of them in the Outeniqua forest, and a short tar stage at the overnight stop in Knysna.

Saturday's action starts at 8am from Simola in Knysna. The route will include a repeat of three of Friday’s forest special stages plus a fourth forest stage and a final tar stage at Simola Estate.
We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE