adminThis year will see the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge acting as the opening round of the tough eight-event 2012 FIA African Rally Championship series for the second year running.
The Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge, which is also the country’s premier motorsport event, was traditionally staged during the last weekend of August in the past years before it was moved to the month of March for the first time this year.
This came after the world’s motorsport governing body, FIA, acceded to a request by the ZMSF to have the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally moved from August to March as they (the ZMSF) wanted to attract more foreign entries for this big event.
And the weekend of 16 to 18 March next year will once again see the race coming in as the first round of the FIA ARC series in which Zimbabwe’s motor racing hotshot Conrad Rautenbach is the defending champion.
In fact, Rautenbach won last year’s Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally on his way to claiming his second African Drivers’ title which he is expected to defend next year.
Apart from hosting the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally, the ZMSF will also oversee the staging of a number of local and international motorsport events in this country, in what looks like a very busy 2012 season.
A number of motorbike and karting events have also been lined up for the 2012 Zimbabwe motorsport season which officially opens on Sunday 22 January with a motocross meet in Ruwa, just outside Harare.
There will also be a social 4×4 motor racing event on the same day at the home of local motorsport — Donnybrook.
A drag race meeting has also been scheduled for the following weekend — 28 January — at the same venue to close out the events of the opening month of the new year.
The first karting event of the 2012 season has been pencilled in for Sunday 5 February at Donnybrook and it will be followed by the second motocross meet of the year at the same venue on 12 February.
A number of motorsport activities have also been lined up for the month of March with motor rallying’s Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally being the major event of that month.
The Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally will be preceded by a motocross event on 4 March at Donnybrook, the same day the local 4×4 organising committee are expected to hold their annual meeting.
The Bulawayo Motoring Club will host circuit races on 24 March in Bulawayo while another karting event has been scheduled for the following day at Donnybrook.
Online Reporter