2016 RALLY SEASON IS READY, SET...
- Competitors are in the starting blocks and ready for action
- The rally starts at 17:30 at Phakisa Freeway on Friday, 4 March and back there at 07:00 on Saturday morning
- The grouping of stages with service breaks in between will make it easy to move from stage to stage and catch all the action
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA, 4 March 2016 –The Goldfields Motor Rally, the opening round of the 2016 SA Rally Championship, is about to fire up Free State motorsport fans’ adrenalin as the series heads back to the centre of the country for the first time in six years.
The route is ready, the entries are in, and all has been revealed...
Heading the entry list is the defending champion Mark Cronje – now in a Volkswagen Polo S2000 – with Barry White reading the notes. White has recent World Rally Championship and European Rally Championship experience, having sat alongside Henk Lategan in Monte Carlo and Portugal WRC rounds and much will be expected from this pairing. Cronje is a triple champion, having earned the crown in 2012 and 2013 and is now 6th on the list of all-time rally winners.
Toyota, now running under the Toyota Gazoo Racing banner, has entered the 2014 championship-winning pairing (and 2015 runners-up) Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee in the #23 Yaris S2000. Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan team up once again to give their all in the second Gazoo Racing Yaris S2000. Neither driver needs introduction to SA motorsport fans: De Villiers won the 2009 Dakar Rally and finished on the podium of the 2016 edition, while Poulter ended Dakar 2016 in 5th place at his third attempt.
Free State fans will be cheering for their local hero, 22 year-old Ernie van der Walt and co-driver Greg Godrich, driving their Vecto Petroleum Toyota Yaris S2000. The van der Walt family is well known in the area and a key driving force behind the event being run in and around Welkom and Riebeeckstad.
Ford fans will be able to cheer Namibian Wilro Dippenaar and his Capetonian co-driver Kesevan Naidoo, now behind the wheel of a Fiesta S2000. If Dippenaar maintains his 2015 form, expect him to rattle the cages of the big-name drivers.
The NRC4 class, for older four-wheel drive machinery, sees the defending champions, Theuns Joubert and 18-year old Mari van der Walt in a three-way battle for class honours, hoping to power their Salom Group Toyota Auris S2000 to another title.
Out to stop them, in a beautifully prepared Mitsubishi Evo VIII, is returnee Rocky Reyneke and Christo Ackermann. The Hencom Panelbeaters-backed team is well-known in the sport, going back to the turn of the previous decade when Reyneke was a regular competitor.
Jose de Gouveia and Armand du Toit round out the class in their competitive Toyota RunX.
In class Super 1600, for two-wheel drive cars with 1600cc engines, the defending champions, Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy Lyle (Liqui-Moly Toyota Etios R2) headup an eight car fight, where ultra-close competition and unpredictability is the order of the day.
Paulus Franken and new co-driver Pierre Arries (Volkswagen Polo R2) will most likely be Botterill’s closest challengers, at least initially. Arries, the 2008/9 co-driver’s rally champion, is putting his career aside to help groom the ‘next generation’.
AC Potgieter and Tommy Du Toit return for another crack at the title in their VW Polo R2, as does Cape Town-based Ashley Haigh Smith and co-driver Niall Burns. Both are quick on the day, and given solid reliability, will be contenders for victory and keep the champions honest.
Andrew Heine/Lloyd Brady are hoping to turn their 2015 ‘annus horribilis’ on its head and post some competitive results. Chris Coertse/Robbie Coetzee are familiar names on the rally scene in the orange and white Electrothread Toyota Etios R2.
Richard Leeke is another quick youngster, now teamed with Henry Kohne in his ATS Ford Fiesta R2. A maiden victory is sure to happen this season, based on his ever-increasing speed last year. George Smalberger/Chris Brand have upgraded their car to a shiny new Polo R2, with Shield Car Care backing.
The 2006 Production Car Rally Champion, Nicholas Ryan, returns to the sport in a class NRC2 Polo with Rowan Robbertse alongside for the ride. Marko Himmel is a surprise entry, now in a Ford Fiesta R2, running in class NRC2. Nico Swartz will direct his driver through the 13 stage route, with Himmel aiming to start his season as he ended last year, on the top step of the podium.
Rounding out the entries is Louis Venter/AN Other in an aging Toyota Tazz.
The million dollar question is: where can I watch all the action?
The rally kicks off with pre-event formalities at Phakisa Freeway on Friday at lunchtime, when the cars are checked for safety and rulecompliance. By 5pm, all cars will be in a pre-start holding area, ready for action.
The event starts at 17h30, with a stage around the Phakisa Freeway circuit, before moving to the centre of Welkom for a night stage. From 18h00, the cars will be based at the local Toyota dealer and fans will be able mingle with drivers and view the cars up close. The second stage starts and ends at Oranje Toyota 19h00.
Saturday’s stages are grouped in pairs, with a 45 minute service break after each run, giving spectators a great opportunity to move from stage-to-stage and maximize their viewing enjoyment Only Stage 5 (later repeated as stage 9) is inaccessible, with no spectating allowed. Fans can head to the service park as often as they like to watch the crews in action, working under extreme pressure if major mechanical mayhem needs to be repaired.
The final stage, back at Phakisa Freeway, starts at 14h28, after which the podium celebration take place.
Spectator guides are available will be available on the official website and there are regular updates on Facebook (SARally). A spectator help desk will in place at Rally headquarters to assist anyone needing help with finding their way around.
ENDS
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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