Whipping up dust clouds along gravel roads along the West Coast, Jan Habig and Douglas Judd won eight of the 11 stages in the Subaru Cape Rally this weekend in their BP Volkswagen Polo to end a 15-month dry spell.
Whipping up dust clouds along gravel roads along the West Coast, Jan Habig and Douglas Judd won eight of the 11 stages in the Subaru Cape Rally this weekend in their BP Volkswagen Polo to end a 15-month dry spell.
Negotiating muddy dips, dusty stretches, and track sessions at a packed Killarney raceway, round seven of the Sasol SA Rally Championship provided loads of entertainment, to the teams, support crews and spectators alike. Jan Habig and Douglas Judd drove their works S2000 car into the top spot, while Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson in the second BP VW Polo finished second, only 65 seconds behind the winners. Kuun suffered several setbacks, including the loss of power steering and a broken brake disc, but still leads the championship by one point from Habig.
Third overall were Etienne Lourens and André Vermeulen in the Total Toyota RunX, despite shock absorber problems on stages seven and eight, and further loss of time on day one, when their car was running first on the road.
Current champions Serge Damseaux and Robert Paisley’s chances of a record eleventh title were virtually wiped out when they rolled their Castrol Toyota RunX after hitting a concrete ditch 200 m from the end of stage one.
The rear wheels hit the edge of the ditch, flicking the rear of the car into the air. The RunX landed on its nose and overturned twice, but both driver and co-driver emerged from the car unscathed.
“The instruction was a fast left sweep. We were fully committed and I didn’t see the obstacle in time”, said a disappointed Serge. “It’s frustrating to have the year’s work virtually wiped out within sight of another championship. It’s not over, but it’s going to be very difficult for us, and our destiny is really in the hands of our rivals.”
Johnny Gemmell and Martie Olivier, who had a trouble-free run in their L&J Plant/Sasol Mitsubishi Lance Evo VII, won the production car and class N4 category.
Richard Behm and Grant St Clair retired from fifth overall with a broken gearshift in stage eight. Fernando Rueda and Martin Botha, also in a Sasol Mitsubishi Lancer, thus took fifth spot, adding valuable points to their title chase.
After going into the final stage separated by one second from total Toyota RunX archrivals, JP Damseaux and Cobus Vrey, Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries took the honours in class A7. The leading Subaru Bosal Brospeed Impreza WRX of Nicholas Ryan and Schalk van Heerden finished seventh overall, having lost time after bending its suspension on two occasions. Damseaux Junior and Vrey finished eighth.
Conrad Rautenbach and Pete Marsh finished ninth overall, while Japie van Niekerk and Greg Godrich (ESPI Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8) rounded out the top ten.
Claudio Piazza Musso/Janine Labuschagne claimed their maiden class N3 win in their Sasol Toyota RunX RSi.
Jon and Douglas Williams (GijimaAst RunX) were runners up in the class, ahead of Chris de Wit/Patrick Yende (Total RunX). Current champions Rodney Visagie and Carolyn Swan led on the first day, but dropped down the field after suffering a loose rear suspension on the first stage on Saturday morning.
Mike Nathan and Graham Hooper were unbeatable in class N2 in their CVT Toyota Corolla RSi, ending 19th overall and taking the championship title with one round remaining. Craig Baragwanath/Jannie Kuun ended second in class in their Corolla.
Class A5 fell to Kobus Roos/Irma du Plooy in their Sasol Toyota Tazz, ahead of Etienne Malherbe/Hennie Botes (Aprilla-racing Tazz). The class leaders, Michael Houghton/Bryn Doherty (Motorola Tazz) were third. The A5 title – now tied between Malherbe and Houghton – will be resolved at the Total Limpopo Rally on October 21 and 22.
