Conrad Rautenbach hires Subaru

Championship crown as he has hired a Subaru Impreza N16 for this weekend’s Kobil Rally of Tanzania.
The Kobil Rally of Tanzania, which is set to run from this Friday to Sunday in the East African country, is the sixth of the eight-round 2011 FIA ARC series. Zimbabwe’s Rautenbach is currently enjoying a 17-point lead over fellow Zimbabwean and the reigning African champion Jamie Whyte in this year’s ARC title race.
And Rautenbach has taken his fight with Whyte for this year’s ARC Drivers’ crown to another level by acquiring a Subaru N16 for this weekend’s Kobil Rally of Tanzania.
Rautenbach, who won the first three rounds of the series in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia in March, April and May respectively, is reported to have “ditched” his Ford Fiesta S2000, opting for a Subaru Impreza N16 which he is going to drive in the tough Tanzanian race. This came after he experienced numerous problems with his Ford Fiesta S2000 during the fourth round of the ARC series – the KCB Safari Rally of Kenya – in June where he settled for a disappointing sixth place finish.
And the talented young driver is not leaving anything to chance as he has hired a Subaru Impreza N16, which is more suitable for the rough Tanzanian conditions than his favoured Ford Fiesta S2000, for this weekend’s event.
A Subaru Impreza N16 is six models newer than Whyte’s Subaru Impreza N10.
In Tanzania, Rautenbach, the 2007 African champion, will be aiming to gain some measure of revenge over his nearest title rival Whyte who beat him the last time out in the KCB Safari Rally of Kenya.
In Kenya, Whyte came home first ahead of Rautenbach when he shepherded his Subaru Impreza N10 to an overall fourth-place finish, two places ahead of his fellow Zimbabwean.
This saw Whyte beating Rautenbach for the first time this year after three attempts in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Zambia. And the two Zimbabwean drivers are now bracing for another showdown in the Kobil Rally Tanzania, an event which is likely to determine the destiny of this year’s ARC Drivers’ crown.
Whyte left Zimbabwe for Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, on Monday night accompanied by his co-driver Phil Archenoul, the man who helped him to win the African title for two years on the trot in 2009 and 2010.
The 50-year-old driver’s Subaru Impreza N10 left Zimbabwe for Tanzania last Friday with one of his motor mechanics Lewis Bindu and was expected to arrive in Dar es Salaam yesterday ahead of today’s recee.
Two other members of Whyte’s technical team – Shaun and Peter Whyte – will fly out to Dar es Salaam on Thursday and are expected to arrive there in time for the flagging off of the first car on Friday afternoon.
Rautenbach and his French co-driver Nicolas Klinger, on the other hand, were expected to fly straight to Dar es Salaam from South Africa where they competed in the Garden Route Rally last weekend in a Ford Fiesta S2000.