VW Team claim top 2
March 8, 2010 by ProMotor
HOT was the order of the day for the BP Volkswagen rally team at round one of the national championship series in Kwa-Zulu Natal this weekend. The high temperatures of the Total Tour Natal were matched only by the high octane action from the national champions.
The team picked up where they left off in 2009 with their BP Ultimate-powered rally cars. First across the line was defending champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries who dashed to victory after two gruelling days of competition – with very little in the way of drama as they claimed the win with a neat, nearly picture-perfect performance.
Four stage wins of the total 12 was part of the reason that the S2000 pair stamped their authority on the event, the rest was all about consistency and keeping their eye on the finish line. The defending champions were, however, not the fastest of the team out of the gate.
It was Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson who stepped up right from the start to claim the first stage victory. Three seconds behind the leaders were BP Volkswagen teammates Jan Habig and Ralph Pitchford with the defending national rally champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries in third, another second back.
Kuun and Hodgson were by far the fastest of the rally competitors at this first event for 2010. Six stage wins, fully half of those available were claimed by the pair who looked in a strong position.
Kuun’s pace continued throughout day one, and he relinquished victory on just stage three to Fekken. A rule change from the 2009 season means the top drivers no longer get to choose their starting position for the second day of the rally, instead they must start in the order they finish.
As the leading pair on Saturday, Kuun and Hodgson led the field into the fray on Sunday morning. The stages on the South Coast proved extremely loose and slippery, and as the sweep car the BP Volkswagen duo were doing all the hard work to the benefit of the other teams.
It also did not help their case when the leaders wrong-slotted on stage six and it cost them a further 20 seconds added to their total. Despite these hardships, there was no stopping them and they crossed the finish line just 25 seconds behind the leaders – and a full 46 seconds ahead of their closest competition, third-placed Mark Cronje and Robert Paisley in the Toyota Auris.
For Jan Habig and his new navigator, Ralph Pitchford, it has been a trying first event. While they were forced to work hard getting used to each other’s particular style and form a working bond, it would have been a bit easier if they car had played along.
“For Ralph I think it was a case of information overload,” says Habig. “Making the transition from off-road to rally is not easy and the car just wasn’t working with us this weekend.”
Pitchford voiced a similar opinion on his new navigator’s seat in the BP Volkswagen S2000.
“There is just so much more going on in rally,” says Pitchford. “You’re talking almost constantly in the rally car, there’s a lot to remember and you have to deal with ensuring you check in or out on time as well.”
Despite the niggles, the duo put in a good first performance, posting an eighth place finish at the start of what is expected to be a long road to a perfect performance. Their performance together was also not helped by a spin in day one which cost them valuable time – that just wasn’t possible to recover.
The event did, however, mark the 22nd consecutive rally finish for Habig’s BP Volkswagen S2000 Polo and it was the 20th consecutive finish for Fekken and Arries in their entry, testament to the reliability of the VW entries.
In the A5 class André Cleenwerck and his new navigator, Kesevan Naidoo, put in a class-winning performance in an event that claimed nearly half the field as victims. Cleenwerck and Naidoo worked well, putting together a steady rhythm that carried them all the way across the finish line – despite a few minor mechanical problems along the way.
For defending A5 champion Gugu Zulu and his new navigator, Shaun Visser, the rally could well have spelled a better start to the season. The duo had put in a class-leading performance right up to stage six where they went off the road – in a spot that had already claimed four other victims – and rolled their car ending their rally at the halfway point.
This forced retirement was the first time that Zulu has put his car on its roof over the last four seasons, but while a rare occurrence, is still not the way they wanted to start their 2010 season.
The South African national rally season has indicated that there is a tough year ahead for competitors in this championship – and the BP Volkswagen team have indicated their intention to once again dominate.
From this strong base the team will now prepare to tackle the Western Cape in late March (Friday and Saturday 26/27 March).
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