POULTER DRAWS FIRST BLOOD
- Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee claimed S2000 victory in the first rally of the season
- Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle dominated the S1600 class
- Successful Free State event looks to remain as a round of the championship for foreseeable future
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 6 March 2016 –Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee claimed a commanding 18-second victory on the opening round of the South African National Rally Championship, held around the Welkom area of the Free State province. Winning six of the eleven stages, the 2015 championship runners-up led home a Toyota Gazoo Racing SA 1-2, with team-mates Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan ending a comfortable second overall. The newly liveried Yaris S2000 did not miss a beat all weekend.
The final step of the podium went to the defending champion Mark Cronje and co-driver Barry White in their new NAD Volkswagen Polo S2000.
Cronje started the short day one on a mission, leading the event by a whisker after 12.5km of tarmac stages. Running first on the road, Cronje was overhauled by Poulter on Saturday morning, losing the lead as the VW pair haemorrhaged time in the sometimes rough stages. A puncture in stage five didn’t help the cause, and they fell behind the flying de Villiers.
The local hero, Ernie van der Walt and co-driver Greg Godrich claimed their first ever stage win and van der Walt’s career best result to date, ending 4th overall in their Vecto Petroleum Toyota Yaris S2000, just 6 seconds behind the SA champion.
Van der Walt, who hails from Hoopstad, was cheered to the rafters by a bevy of friends and family as they stormed through the eleven-stage event, the first time the series has been to the Free State in six years.
Fifth in their PZN Panelbeaters Ford Fiesta S2000 was Namibian Wilro Dippenaar and his Cape- Town-based co-driver Kesevan Naidoo. The Ford crew got quicker as they learned how to wring the last ounce of performance from their new car, and set competitive times as the event wore on. In stage 8, the pair beat the stage-winning time set when previously run.
Jose de Gouveia/Armand du Toit ended 6th in their Classiq Panelbeaters Toyota RunX, winning class NRC4 along the way.
It was situation normal in class S1600, with Guy Botterill – celebrating his 30th birthday – taking a comfortable 36-second win, giving him and his co-driver an early lead as they challenge for their third consecutive championship. The Yato Toyota Etios R2 never missed a beat in the sweltering conditions as they built up a their lead over Richard Leeke/Henry Kohne (ATS Ford Fiesta R2). Leeke won four stages, but was hampered in the others by fuel pump problems.
Paulus Franken and Pierre Arries drove their Manitou Volkswagen Polo to third place, albeit nearly six minutes adrift of the winners. Engine problems on day one cost sufficient time to make a wild challenge for the lead unviable.
George Smalberger/Chris Brand (Shield Car Care VW Polo R2) were the final finishers.
The rally as took it’s toll as it usually does, thinning out the field and the first to go, as early as stage two, was Ashley Haigh Smith/Niall Burns (Castrol Ford Fiesta R2). They retired with crank sensor failure. Returning to the fray under Superally rules, he was inside the top 10 until stage eight, when they were forced out with more permanent engine problems.
Chris Coertse/Robbie Coetzee (Electrothread Toyota Etios R2) left their rear suspension in a field, while Andrew Heine and Lloyd Brady retired their VW Polo R2 with engine problems.
Marko Himmel/Nico Swartz (Vecto Ford Fiesta R2) ran in second place but also succumbed to engine problems. AC Potgieter/Tommy du Toit (Lake Umuzi VW Polo R2) didn’t complete the first stage.
Rocky Reyneke/Christo Ackerman retired their Mitsubishi Lance Evo VIII with crank sensor failure on the opening day.
The rally ended with live streaming of a chat show on the finish line – a definite first for Rally and possibly for Motorsport in South Africa. The recording can be viewed on and there is great excitement about the new Big Shot Media produced TV programme on SuperSport Eight. The premier is set for Tuesday, 14 March.
The second round of the SA Rally Championship is the 25th Sasol Rally on 22 and 23 April 2016
Quotes:
Wayne Riddell – Sporting Services Manager, Motorsport South Africa
"MSA is very pleased with rally returning to the Free State. The success of this weekend's event is also an indication that it should remain as a round of the championship for the foreseeable future. The newly appointed steering committee members worked well together and we are satisfied with the direction they arepresently heading in with rally as one of our premier motorsport facets".
Chris Andrew – Chairman, National Rally Championship Steering Committee
“I am really thrilled with our first Rally of the season. It was a wondeful event enjoyed by spectators and competitors alike. I am very happy with the way rallying is heading especially with our new marketing team – people commented that the difference was tanglible and we’ll be working together to improve things event by event.
I would like to thank the Free State MEC of Sport, Mathabo Leeto for attending our rally and bringing some excitementto the start and finish. A big thank you also to the Free State Tourism Authority for the use of Phakisa Freeway for the event. Thank you also to the Executive Mayor of Matjhabeng Local Municipality Councillor Sebenzile Ngangelizwe for supporting our rally”.
ENDS
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Partners and sponsors of the Goldfields Rally were:
Laeveld Agrochem, Vecto Petroleum, FarmVet, Phakisa Freeway, Free State Tourism Authority, Barloworld Agriculture, Massey Ferguson, Challenger, Harmony Mines and Goldfields Casino
The NRC is proud to be associated with the following sponsors and partners for the 2016 South African Rally Championship: Dunlop, Ford, Toyota and Volkswagen.
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PHOTOGRAPHY
Photos by David Ledbitter
CONTACT
Elenore Baiocchi
Marketing Portfolio – NRC Steering Committee
+27 63 067 2709