Held in sweltering hot and humid conditions on the KwaZulu Natal North and South Coast sugar cane fields, the ten stage 191km rally decimated the field in what is acknowledged as a very demanding event.
Japie and Robin drove a conservative event, gradually stepping up the pace as the pair got used to their RunX. “It’s a brilliant result for us and for Toyota. I’m over the moon with this result”, said Japie at the Durban finish. “This is a very technical event where you need to use your head. I concentrated on neatness through the corners and gradually went quicker as we felt more comfortable. The team gave me a brilliant car”.
It was an event of mixed fortunes for the Castrol-backed factory team, Mark Cronje and Robert Paisley seized the initiative, pushing their S2000 Castrol RunX to three consecutive stage wins on day one and an overnight 23 second lead on effectively his first outing in the top class.
“We decided to run our own rally and not worry about the people around us. It was difficult to judge the correct pace so the three stage wins were a very pleasant and welcome surprise, more so because I didn’t feel I was pushing that hard”, said a delighted Mark on Friday evening.
Nine kilometres into the first of six stages on Saturday morning, Mark was caught out by a ‘left eight into hairpin right instruction’. “We weren’t going too quickly but the stages are so slippery; it just caught me out. The Castrol RunX landed off the road with three wheels down an embankment and their excellent run was over.
Johnny Gemmell and Peter Marsh held a competitive third overall on Friday after three stages. The lead Castrol Toyota driver had a slow roll in stage four, dropping to 7th overall. “The stage was a repeat of an earlier stage and the grip was much better. I went a bit wide into a corner and got onto the ‘marbles’ – the car slid sideways into a bank, pulling two tyres off the rims as we went over. It was a silly, low speed incident but cost us a minute as we drove slowly out of the stage”, Johnny explained.
Running second on the road on Saturday, the Castrol pair found the South Coast stages very slippery. In stage seven, the crew slid off the road and beached the RunX, ending their rally on the spot.
Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Cobus Vrey pushed their S2000 Total Evolution Toyota RunX into second spot overall on day one but were forced to withdraw after stage six when one cylinder lost compression.
Nicholas Ryan and Schalk Van Heerden ran well on day one in their S2000 Philips/Jonnesway Toyota RunX and were as high as 4th overall on Saturday until they retired with gearbox problems in stage 7.
Kosta Koumantarakis and Barry White claimed class N3 honours in their Toyota RunX, ending a brilliant 7th overall after an accomplished drive on roads he knows well. Class debutant Etienne du Toit/Patrick Vermaak claimed second in class in their brand new Sasol Toyota RunX, using the event to settle into the faster class after dominating class N2 last season.
Craig Trott, the 2007 A6 champion and new co-driver Tony Ball won their class to kick start their title defense, taking their well sorted Total Evolution Toyota RunX to a relatively easy victory ahead of Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin (Total Evolution Toyota Corolla) and Salie/Armand du Toit in another Total-supported Toyota RunX.
Michael Otto/Sipho Mhlanga (Barloworld Toyota Corolla) ended second in class A7, ahead of the misfire-plauged Chris de Wit/Dean Redelinghuys Total Toyota RunX and Nico Higgs/Menno Havelaar (HRD Toyota RunX).
The second round of the championship is the Toyota Dealers Rally in the Western Cape on 4th and 5th April
Tour Natal Final results:
Pos Class Driver/Co-Driver Car Time
1 S2000 Jan Habig/Douglas Judd BP Volkswagen Polo 2:13:50
2 S2000 Hergen Fekken/Pierre Arries BP Volkswagen Polo 2:15:45
3 S2000 Japie van Niekerk/Robin Houghton Castrol Toyota RunX 2:19:23
4 N4 Fernando Rueda/Gert van Rensburg Total Mitsubishi Lancer 2:20:43
5 N4 Hein Lategan/Johan vd Merwe SAC Volkswagen Golf TDi 2:25:42
6 N4 Richard/Natasha Vaughan Mitsubishi Lancer 2:26:55
7 N3 Kosta Koumantarakis/Barry White Toyota RunX 2:28:31
8 A6 Craig Trott/Tony Ball Total Toyota RunX 2:29:11
9 A6 Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin Total Toyota RunX 2:29:37
10 A6 Salie/Armand du Toit Total Toyota RunX 2:30:16
