Johnny Gemmell and his Zimbabwean co-driver Peter Marsh were the provisional winners of the season-opening TOTAL Tour Natal Rally in KwaZulu Natal on Saturday afternoon, giving the class S2000 Toyota Auris its first outright national championship rally victory.
The new national rally championship season got off to a great start in KwaZulu Natal on Friday and Saturday with a class win first time out in their new class A6 Team TOTAL Toyota RunX for multiple former champion s Rodney Visagie and Carolyn Swan.
The Damseaux and Toyota partnership, synonymous for winning 74 national rallies and ten championships with Serge behind the wheel, took a new turn this weekend when Jean-Pierre Damseaux and co-driver Cobus Vrey extended the winning partnership with an aggressive, well controlled career first win.
Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Cobus Vrey scored their long overdue first overall win in the Sasol SA Rally Championship when they took their Team TOTAL Evolution Toyota RunX to a convincing victory in the Swartland Rally in the Western Cape on Saturday.
Chris de Wit and Dean Redelinghuys (Team TOTAL Toyota RunX) wrapped up the class A7 championship with a commanding class win – their fourth this season from six events – in the Osram Rally in the Eastern Cape on Saturday. Also class winners were reigning class A6 champion Craig Trott and co-driver Tony Ball (Team TOTAL Toyota RunX). There were only two finishers in each of classes A7 and A6.
THE BP Volkswagen rally team have been at the top of their game this season. Three events, three wins – and three second place finishes as well. For the team the challenge to dominate continues at the Total International Rally – round four of the Sasol SA National Rally Championships.
Team TOTAL came away from round two of the Sasol Rally Championship with a satisfying three class wins in the two-day Toyota Dealer Rally, which took place in the Caledon area of the Western Cape at the weekend. Chris de Witt and Dean Redelinghuys (Team TOTAL Toyota RunX) won class A7, defending champion Craig Trott and Tony Ball (Team TOTAL Toyota Corolla) won class A6 and former champions Rodney Visagie and Carolyn Swan won class N3.
Castrol Toyota RunX debutant Japie van Niekerk and Robin Houghton claimed a hard earned podium finish on the Hitachi Tour Natal Rally, the opening round of the 2008 Sasol SA Rally Championship this past weekend, while Toyota also claimed victory in classes A6 and N3.
The climax of one of the best and closest contested Sasol SA Rally Championships takes place in Gauteng this weekend with the season-ending Toyota Dealer Rally organised by the Pretoria Motor Club.
REVIEW: TOTAL SWARTLAND RALLY Castrol Toyota team claim 1-3 result Full house for Mark Cronje Debut class A5 win for Toyota Yaris