adminhanging up his rally gloves – at least for the next season or two.
The talented 27-year-old Zimbabwean driver also claimed in a statement released yesterday by his Green Fuel Team that rallying in South Africa was “fundamentally flawed” hence his decision not to defend his South African Rally Championship title this year.
“I’ve won two FIA African Championships and the South African series as well as competed in the World Rally Championship.
“The South African championship is one of the most competitive there is but it is fundamentally flawed in that it doesn’t follow the FIA rules regarding pre-event recces which is dangerous considering the pace the leaders run at,” Rautenbach said.
He also said that the route note system used in South Africa required a week of watching a DVD “over and over on a TV set so that by the time the rally starts, I’ve lost a lot of my motivation for the event”.
“With growing work commitments, I simply cannot afford to take a week off for every rally. The other issue is the inconsistency over the application of the rules (in South Africa), which changes by the event,” Rautenbach added.
The young Zimbabwean driver’s decision to turn his back on the South African Rally Championship series this year came as no surprise as he was not happy with the way he was treated by that country’s motor rallying authorities on his way to winning last year’s Drivers’ title.
Rautenbach was declared the 2011 South African Rally Drivers’ champion following protracted appeals against the running of the fourth round of the series – the Toyota Gauteng Rally in June – which saw widespread short-cutting. He was officially crowned as the 2011 champion in November last year, almost a month after the completion of the eight-event South African Rally Championship series, after a Motorsport South Africa Court of Appeal declared the rally null and void.
The outcome saw Rautenbach being elevated to the top of the points standings, 15 clear of his main rival Mark Cronje of South Africa, who won the Gauteng Rally in June.
Cronje was initially crowned as the overall 2011 South African Rally Championship Drivers’ champion after the eighth and last round of the series – the MTN Polokwane Rally – which was held in
October despite the fact that Rautenbach had filed an appeal against his disqualification from the Gauteng Rally.
This whole saga did not go down well with Rautenbach and his Green Fuel Team who thought that there was a deliberate attempt to stop him from being crowned the 2011 South African Rally Championship Drivers’ champion. Although the South African motor rallying authorities later reversed their decision to award Cronje the 2011 title and belatedly awarded it to Rautenbach, the latter was
reported to have not been happy with the way that the whole issue was handled in that country hence his decision not to return to defend his crown this year.
Meanwhile, Rautenbach confirmed that he was likely to take part in next year’s tough Dakar Rally in South America and did not rule out returning to race in South Africa in the future.
“I would like to thank everyone involved in rallying at every level, as well as our loyal supporters and of course our sponsors.
“Competing in the Dakar Rally has been a life-long dream and we will use the year to build towards an entry in the 2013 Dakar Rally, which may include participating in some of the South African Off
Road series. If things change in the South African Rally Championship, we could return,” he concluded.
Online Reporter