Four local drivers enter Sasol Rally

Sasol Rally which is set to run from April 15 to 16 in Nelspruit, South Africa.
The Sasol Rally is the second round of the tough eight-legged 2011 FIA African Rally Championship series which opened with the staging of the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally in Harare last month.
The 2011 FIA ARC series now moves to Nelspruit in the Mpuma-langa area of South Africa for its second round which will be held over two days on April 15 and 16.
And according to the official entry list of the 2011 Sasol Rally, which was released from South Africa yesterday, Zimbabwe will be represented at this event by four of its top motor rallying drivers – Conrad Rautenbach, Jamie Whyte, Craig Green and young Chase Attwell.
They will be part of a strong field of 48 cars that have entered for the 20th running of the 17-stage Sasol Rally.
Of the four Zimbabwean drivers who are expected to be on show in, three – Rautenbach, Whyte and Green – are registered for this year’s FIA ARC series in which Whyte is the defending champion.
Rautenbach and Whyte have already picked up points in this year’s ARC series after taking first and second places in the opening round of the competition – the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally – last month.
Zimbabwe’s motor rallying sensation Rautenbach picked up 25 ARC Drivers’ points for winning the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally ahead of Whyte who collected 18 points for coming second in this event.
This saw Rautenbach coming out as the early pacesetter in the 2011 FIA ARC Drivers’ Standings with 25 points followed by Whyte (18) and Rwanda’s Giancarlo Davite (15).
Davite came third in this year’s Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rallyt behind Zimbabweans Rautenbach and Whyte.
Another ARC-registered Zimbabwean driver, Green, failed to pick up any points in the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally in which he failed to last the distance after his Mitsubishi Lancer developed some mechanical fault during Day Two of the three-day event.
And Green and his co-driver Mike Exton, who will be leaving for South Africa at the weekend, will be aiming to make amends in next weekend’s Sasol Rally where they will be joined by the two teams of Rautenbach and his French navigator Nicolas Klinger, and Whyte and his tried and trusted Zimbabwean co-pilot Phil Archenoul.
Rautenbach, Whyte and Green will all be back again fighting for points in the Sasol Rally with three other ARC-registered drivers – Muna Singh and Mohammed Essa (both of Zambia), Rwanda’s Davite and Schalk Burger (Jnr) of South Africa.
But all eyes in the Sasol Rally are likely to be on Zimbabwe’s Rautenbach who got off to a flying start in this year’s ARC series by sweeping to victory in the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally last month.
Rautenbach and his French navigator Klinger are targeting a double victory on the Sasol Rally, which is the second round of both the South African and ARC series.
After dominating the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally – the first round of the ARC – and claiming a close-fought win on the Total Tour Natal Rally event in Durban two weeks ago, Rautenbach tops both leaderboards.
His French co-driver Klinger is not registered to score points in both the South African and ARC series.
A feature of the 20th Sasol Rally, which runs in the Mpumulanga Lowveld from April 15-16, is that teams are able to recce the route, something that Rautenbach feels will offer the G-Fuel Ford Fiesta driver a substantial advantage.
“I have done dozens of recces while competing in the World Rally Championship and while I’m no expert, I think I have more experience of making my own notes than most of the South African guys.
“Nico (Klinger) is also used to making detailed notes throughout his career so that experience should stand us in good stead (in the Sasol Rally),” said the 26-year-old Zimbabwean.
“Last year the rally was new to me and I learnt how hard I could push. It’s crucial for both championships that we come out hard and fast because everyone will be pushing very hard.
“The recce dramatically increases the safety of competing which is important to me,” Rautenbach continued.
One area of concern is the tarmac stages.
“They never record the tar stages on DVD so the first time I saw them was when I walked the stage before the time.
“They are too short to make a big difference but you can lose a lot of time if you don’t stay smooth and neat. I’d rather sacrifice a few seconds and keep it clean than try and win them.
“The African Championship competitors are not as fast because they’re used to longer, endurance types of event, whereas I will have to join in the sprint which is the style of the South African series.
“We need to find the right balance and consistency because if I get it wrong, I have the most to lose.”
Rautenbach’s G-Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000 can be seen at Sabie Town Square before the 10am start on Friday April 15, and then heads off for 17 stages through the renowned forest plantations in the eastern part of South Africa.
The event finishes the next afternoon in Nelspruit.
2011 FIA AFRICAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP – REGISTERED DRIVERS
1.Schalk Burger (Jnr) – South Africa
2. Mohammed Essa – Zambia
3. Alain Dethise – Belgium
4. Don Smith -Kenya
5. Conrad Rautenbach – Zimbabwe
6. Jamie Whyte – Zimbabwe
7. Frederic Rakotomangar – Madagascar
8. Jean-Yves Ranarivelo – Madagascar
9. Craig Green – Zimbabwe
10. Muna Singh – Zambia
11. Giancarlo Davite – Rwanda
NAVIGATORS
1. Amand du Toit – South Africa
2. Ronald Van der Veken – Belgium
3. Sonal Smith – Kenya
4. Phil Archenoul – Zimbabwe
5. Adam Yachine – Madagascar
6. David Sihoka – Zambia
7. Rila Ranaivomampianina – Madagascar
8. Sylvia Vindevogel – Burundi