TOTAL Tour Natal Rally opens 2009 national rally championship

The TOTAL-sponsored round of the national championship has been a highpoint of every season for many years and this year sees TOTAL South Africa backing the opening round of the eight-round championship instead of the traditional TOTAL International Rally in Mpumalanga later in the season.

“We're delighted to be sponsoring the opening round of the new season in the 52nd year of our company's involvement as a sponsor, supporter and beneficiary to the growth and development of this popular sport in South Africa,” said TOTAL South Africa sponsorship manager Zakithi Zama. “2009 also marks the 17th year of Team TOTAL and once again we will
field the biggest privateer rally team in the championship.”

Organised by the Natal Motorcycle and Car Club, the TOTAL Tour Natal will have a ceremonial start at 10.00 on Friday (March 13) from the Sun Coast Casino in Durban before moving to the start of stage one at Scottburgh. The majority of the event's 15 special stages (over 180 km) are in the Scottburgh area, where a single service park will be in operation on both days at the Scottburgh Country Club. Day one will end in Pinetown with a short tar stage in the town, which each competitor will complete twice. The overnight parc ferme will be at the Sun Coast Casino.

The rally will restart at 07.30 on Saturday from Sun Coast Casino before returning to Scottburgh for the balance of the racing stages. The first car is due at the finish at Sun Coast Casino at about 15.30.

Clerk of the course Fred Vroomen promises a testing event for the opening round of what promises to be an exciting season.

Heading the entries in the premier S2000 class are the factory BP Volkswagen Polos of defending champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries, 2007 champions Jan Habig and Douglas Judd and 2006 champions Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson. The Castrol Toyota factory team will again be their fiercest competition and will be looking to regain the championship they last won in 2004 with the now retired Serge Damseaux.

Carrying Toyota's hopes are Jonny Gemmell and Zimbabwean Peter Marsh
(Auris) as well as Mark Cronje and Robert Paisley (Auris). Also in Toyotas are privateers Japie van Niekerk (RunX) and Nicholas Ryan (RunX) as well as two top contenders in Team TOTAL's Jean-Pierre Damseaux/Andre Vermeulen (RunX) and Fernando Rueda/Dave Lewkowicz (RunX). Volkswagen privateers in S2000 include sisters Lola and Megan Verlaque, who have made the big step up from their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 in the top production car class N4.

Fekken, who won four of last year's eight events with the very astute Arries at his side, is the leading ‘young gun' in SA rallying and is regarded by many as the anointed successor to multiple champions Damseaux and Habig (who between them have won no less than 16 national rally championships in the last 20 years). But, as always, he will have to reckon not only with Habig himself, but also with Kuun, a hard competitor when he puts his mind to it, Cronje, Damseaux and Gemmell. All of these drivers, with the exception of Gemmell, won a round of the championship last year.

Defending champions Chris de Wit/Dean Redelinghuys head a strong class
A7 in a Team TOTAL Toyota RunX with Adrian Karth (VW Polo), Michael Otto (Toyota Corolla), Schalk Burger jnr (Toyota Corolla), Stevan Wilken/Greg Gericke (VW Polo) - Wilken moves up from class A6 - and Evan Hutchison and new co-driver Elvene Coetzee (Motorite Racing Toyota RunX) all likely to challenge for top honours.

Class A6 also promises to be a closely-fought battle ground with reigning champion Craig Trott (Team TOTAL Toyota RunX) back with new co-driver Robbie Coetzee. His closest competition is likely to come from Team TOTAL team-mates Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin (Toyota Auris), runners-up to Trott in 2008, and Rodney Visagie/Carolyn Swan (Toyota RunX), who move up from class N3 after winning that championship last year.

Andre Cleenwerck and Des de Fortier (BP Volkswagen CitiGolf) return to defend their class A5 title and will be challenged by team-mates Gugu Zulu/Carl Peskin in a second CitiGolf (who have switched from their class A7 VW Polo), Riyad Jaffer (Sasol Toyota Yaris) and Vusi Mabanga/Shaun Visser (Team TOTAL Toyota Yaris) among others.

The premier class N4 of the production car championship will see defending champions Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich in a brand new Sasol/Konica Minolta Subaru Impreza N14. They will be up against the likes of championship runners-up Visser du Plessis/Gerhard Snyman (Pirtek Subaru Impreza N14) and Hein Lategan/Johan van der Merwe (Afrox Subaru Impreza). Mike Nathan is expected to campaign the ex-Fernando Rueda Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9.

With current N3 champions Visagie and Swan moving up to class A6, there will be a new champion in this class. Leading contenders are last year's runner-up Kosta Koumantarakis (Toyota RunX), Dave Compton (Sasol Toyota RunX) and Riaan and Hester Erasmus (Toyota Corolla).