POULTER PIPS DE VILLIERS IN THRILLING SECUNDA RALLY

·  Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee made it a hat-trick but it was a hard earned victory

·  Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan challenged Poulter and Coetzee from start to finish but had to settle for second in the end

·  Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle continue their domination of the S1600 class

JOHANNESBURG, south africa, 22 May 2016 – The Secunda Rally provided an exciting battle between the Toyota Gazoo Racing Yaris teams of Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee versus Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan, with the lead changing stage by stage as they waged war across the wintery Highveld.

At the start of the final 3.4km stage, Poulter’s once ‘comfortable’ 5 second lead was whittled down to 1.2 seconds with and both teams had everything to play for. Poulter put in a perfect performance to claim his and Coetzee’s third consecutive victory of the season and with it, a 12-point lead in the championship standings.

Ernie van der Walt and new co-driver Gerhard Snyman brought their Vecto Petroleum Toyota Yaris S2000 home in 3rd spot, the young driver’s career-best result and maiden podium. Another sterling drive by Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy Lyle (Yato Tools Toyota Etios R2) saw the KwaZulu-Natal team also take their third win on the trot and 4th place overall.

Local hero and resident AC Potgieter and co-driver Tommy Du Toit brought their Lake Umuzi Volkswagen Polo R2 home in second place after a trouble free drive, one position ahead of the resurgent Andrew Heine/Lloyd Brady (Heinesport VW Polo R2).

The start to the Secunda Rally was quite unpredictable, with Wilro Dippenaar taking stage victory over the Championship leading Toyota Gazoo Racing team. To add to the excitement Giniel de Villiers, Leeroy Poulter and Ernie van der Walt were all tied on the time sheets at 3 minutes and 10.8 seconds. Poulter took the lead after stage two – but with only 0.6 seconds in it – and it was game on as the teams headed to the Graceland Casino for the short tarmac stages. De Villiers took the first one – and the lead – by 0.6 seconds and after the day’s activities were tallied, De Villiers had a 2.1 second lead.

Under grey, cold skies, Saturday’s first stage saw Poulter win by 5.8 seconds to reclaim the top spot. De Villiers struck back a stage later and yet again took the rally lead after Poulter was slowed when he encountered buck in the stage.

Stage seven produced another Poulter scratch time, with the rally lead reverting to Poulter by the slenderest of margins. By stage 8, Poulter had a 1.5 second lead, but that was reduced to 0.3 seconds after stage 9.

As fans buzzed between the stages to catch the action, Poulter built up a 2.5 second lead, which was systematically eroded until the final stage shootout.

The fight for 3rd and 4th places was equally riveting as Van Der Walt/Snyman engaged in a fierce battle with Namibian Wilro Dippenaar/Kesevan Naidoo (PZN Panelbeaters Ford Fiesta S2000). Dippenaar won the rally’s short opening stage on Friday and held 3rd place at the overnight halt. Van der Walt struck back and held the final podium place for a couple of stages before Dippenaar took it back for two stages.

By midday, Dippenaar was back into third and won another stage before dropping out with alternator problems after in stage ten.

Other S2000 entries to fall by the wayside included Luke Botha/Barry White (Force Fuel Ford Fiesta) who rolled in stage two. Restarting under Superally rules, he again retired with a slipping clutch in Saturday’s opening stage. Theuns Joubert/Mari van der Walt (Salom Group Toyota Auris) suffered from a severe misfire from the start, eventually retiring on Saturday morning.

In Super 1600, behind the flying Botterill, Richard Leeke/Henry Kohne (ATS Ford Fiesta R2) held a solid, if distant second place until the wheel studs broke. Paulus Franken/Pierre Arries (Manitou VW Polo R2) had a rally fraught with clutch issues. They changed their gearbox and seemed to have addressed the issue when they lost second gear in the third last stage. They limped home to a disappointing eighth place finish. George Smalberger/Chris Brand (Shield Car care VW Polo R2) retired with mechanical problems midway through day 2. Chris Coertse/Robbie Coetzee had a new Electrothread Toyota Etios at their disposal, and besides a seized shock absorber, brought their car home 7th overall and 4th in class.

Local land-owner Kosie van der Merwe/Coen Van Zyl won class NRC 4 in their Subaru Impreza STi, finishing 9th overall, the final finisher from 21 starters.

The Volkswagen Rally in and around Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage is the next stop in the exciting SA Rally Championship on 15 and 16 July.

ENDS

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Partners and sponsors of the Secunda Rally were:

PRIMARY

Lake Umuzi Waterfront and Graceland Hotel Casino and Country Club

SECONDARY

The Bulletin, Drake Skull (a division of Tsebo Outsourcing Group), Secunda Toyota, Prommac, De Stroom Guesthouse, RickyB, TW Group, Extreme Plant Hire, Te Water Stene, Trichardt Bottlestore, Chabo Joubert Aircons, Modern Collision Repair, Ricky B, Orambamba, Bethal signs, Sanitech and Builders Warehouse.

The National Rally Championship 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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SOCIAL MEDIA

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PHOTOGRAPHY

Photos by David Ledbitter

CONTACT

Elenore Baiocchi

Marketing and PR Manager – NRC Steering Committee

+27 63 067 2709