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SUZUKI GRAND VITARA /// SUBARU STI LTD /// ALFA ROMEO 159 TBi /// BMW’s NEW HEAD OF COMMUNICATIONS

SASOL RALLY TEAM REVIEWS /// RALLY ARGENTINA /// A1GP BRANDS HATCH /// BRIDGETSONE PRODUCTION CARS /// MORE...

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TRULY A WELL-ROUNDED SUV

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THIS WEEK IN PROMOTOR

SUZUKI GRAND VITARA

SUBARU STI LTD

ALFA ROMEO 159 TBi

If you would like to get in touch with us, please feel free to contact Anton Wannenburg on 082 929 6120 or e-mail info@promotor.co.za

wrc news

nrc news

A1GP news

F1 news

bridgestone production carsThanks to our contributors : Motorpics, Quickpic, David Taylor, Citroen WRT, Suzuki Auto SA, Elvene Coetzee

After a four-year absence, the Suzuki Grand Vitara makes a triumphant return to South Africa as a thoroughly modern, highly competent and technically advanced all-terrain vehicle.

The South African market is among the very first in the world to receive this latest 2009 model, which links two brand-new powerplants to the Grand Vitara’s crisp, contemporary styling, comprehensive specification levels and legendary, true 4x4 capability.

Fully imported, the locally available five-door Grand Vitara compact SUV range consists of three models – two 2,4-litre four-cylinder derivatives, and a 3,2-litre V6 flagship.

The Grand Vitara 2.4 models feature a four-cylinder, 2 393 cc powerplant with twin overhead camshafts and VVT variable valve timing to produce 122 kW of maximum power at 6 000 rpm. The torque peak of 225 Nm is achieved at 4 000 rpm.

The flagship Grand Vitara 3.2’s powerplant is a 3

195 cc V6 with twin overhead camshafts per bank and 24 valves with VVT variable valve timing. It is credited with 165 kW at 6 200 rpm, and 284 Nm of torque at 3 500 rpm. The 2,4-litre versions offer a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, while the 3,2-litre V6 is available with a five-speed automatic transmission only. All three models feature permanent all-wheel drive.

Unlike most compact SUVs, the Grand Vitara is a true 4x4 all-terrainer, with an advanced all-wheel drive system that incorporates a low-range transfer case and convenient, electronic switching between 4x4 modes.

The system employs a torque-sensing centre differential that can vary power between the front and rear axles depending on road conditions and driving style. For more challenging terrain, the centre differential can be locked to further boost traction and stability.

In extreme off-road conditions, the transmission’s

TRULYA WELL-ROUNDED SUV

WE DRIVE : SUZUKI GRAND VITARA

transfer case can be used to select low-range mode, to further boost all-terrain tractability, climbing capability and overall traversability. Also contributing to the Grand Vitara’s legendary all-terrain talent is its 200 mm ground clearance, short front and rear overhangs, long-travel suspension, and rugged integrated ladder frame monocoque chassis.

The chassis isn’t only tough and durable, but provides a rigid platform for the Suzuki’s all-independent suspension. The latter sees a front MacPherson strut configuration, with coil springs and anti-roll bar, coupled to a multi-link rear system.

The suspension provides a perfect mix of control and comfort, with controlled and smooth responses to a wide variety of driving conditions. Ride comfort remains impressive, even on uncompromising terrain, while the overall rigidity of the chassis ensures close and satisfying communication between car and driver.

The interior of the Grand Vitara is surprisingly spacious for a compact SUV. Positioning the wheels at each corner has created a relatively long wheelbase to boost front and rear legroom, while its generous overall width also boosts interior space.

The use of high-quality materials and close attention to detail – a hallmark of all Suzuki products – is a Grand Vitara highlight.

The sculpted front bucket seats and 60/40 split rear bench seat of the Grand Vitara are upholstered in luxuriously textured but durable upholstery, while the dashboard features soft-touch plastics and metallic trim accents. The flagship status of the 3.2 V6 model is reflected in its leather upholstery and black wood trim.

The specification levels across all Grand Vitara models are impressive. External features common to all models include roof rails, integrated mirror turn signals, a colour-coded full spare wheel cover, front fog lamps and alloy wheels – 17-inch versions in the case of the 2.4 models and 18-inch for the flagship Grand Vitara 3.2 V6.

Inside, even the more affordable 2,4-litre models offer full keyless operation with selective remote central locking, tinted windows, climate control air-conditioning, electric windows and mirrors, and a leather-trimmed steering wheel with audio satellite controls.

The standard RDS-compatible FM/AM CD receiver boasts an integrated six-disc CD changer and seven loudspeakers, and is compatible with MP3 playback.

The Grand Vitara 3.2 V6 adds niceties such as leather upholstery, cruise control, a glass sunroof, xenon high-intensity discharge headlights, and hill descent/ascent control.

On the safety front, all three Grand Vitara models feature all-disc ABS brakes, ESP stability control, front, side and curtain airbags, front and rear head restraints, and five inertia reel seatbelts, with the front belts featuring pre-tensioners and load limiters. Isofix rear child seat anchors are standard.

The Grand Vitara scored four stars for occupant protection in the Euro NCAP safety ratings, together with three stars for pedestrian protection and three stars for child safety.

“The Grand Vitara has always been a strong ambassador for Suzuki in South Africa. It is a vehicle perfectly suited to local conditions and lifestyles, and this latest model range improves on

every aspect of its predecessors,” says Kazuyuki Yamashita, Managing Director of Suzuki Auto SA. “That South Africa is among the very first to receive the new Grand Vitara is further proof of the importance of the SA market to Suzuki Motor Corporation in Japan.

“We believe it will do much to strengthen the Suzuki brand in the SA motoring landscape even further,” Yamashita concluded. Despite is modern powertrains, true 4x4 capability, comprehensive specification and high safety levels, the Suzuki Grand Vitara range boasts value-added pricing that positions it aggressively against its rivals.

All models come standard with a three-year/100 000 km warranty, a six-year/90 000 km service plan, a Netstar Early Warning tracking system which can be optionally activated, a three-year AA roadside assistance package, and free 4x4 driver training.TRULY

A WELL-ROUNDED SUVWe would like to thank Suzuki

Auto SA for the use of this vehicle to follow the SASOL

Rally in Mpumalanga.

The Suzuki Surprised us all with its smooth ride On-road and it’s Offroad capabilities.

What impressed us most was the fuel economy

9,8L/100KM !

The iconic Subaru Impreza WRX STI comes in a multitude of versions and the latest incarnation is called the STI 20th Anniversary. This model is a limited edition for the Japanese market of which only 300 units will be manufactured. The price was set at ¥4,126,500. It features special badging to set the vehicle apart from the standard WRX STI.

LIMITED EDITION : STI

http://www.subarubruma.co.za/ Tel 011 622 0260 Fax 011 622 0334

ONLY 300 Units

Alfa Romeo unveiled plans and developments which culminated in a massive re-launch of the brand at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show. The main highlight had to be the new Alfa Romeo 159 (in both saloon and Sportwagon derivatives). The new 159 is designed to express a sporting yet seductive personality and features road holding and performance that has set new standards in this segment. Two new engines make their debut (a 147KW , 1750 cc turbocharged petrol engine and a 126KW 2.0 JTDM diesel) which places the Alfa Romeo 159 firmly in market segment D, in the power range that accounts for over half of Alfa Romeo sales. Alfa Romeo offer a choice of superb engines, all packed with the latest technology and featuring lively performance. These engines are the unique factor that has always made Alfa Romeo a choice for the sporting enthusiasts. The Alfa Romeo 159 will make its entrance in April 2009. Its engine conforms to Euro 5 standards and develops 147KW HP between 4,750 and 5,500 rpm with 320 Nm of torque at only 1,400 rpm. The new 1750 cc turbo petrol engine (manufactured by FPT - Fiat Powertrain Technologies) comes combined with a six speed manual gearbox and boasts advanced ignition control solutions including direct fuel injection, two continuously variable valve timing units, a turbocharger and a revolutionary scavenging control system. The resulting performance is similar to that of many 3 liter engines while still retaining the fuel economy of a typical four cylinder unit. The force behind the development of any Alfa Romeo engine is the company’s determination to use technology to enhance driving pleasure. This certainly applies to the development of

the new, Euro 5, “1750 Turbo Benzina 200 CV” unit destined immediately for the Alfa Romeo 159 and will feature in the Brera, Spider and 159 Sportwagon models. The Alfa Romeo 159, with its fantastic Italian styling and typical sporting elegance will hit 100 kph in about 7.7 seconds and onto a top speed of 235 kph. Alfa Romeo are claiming that the 200 HP Alfa Romeo 159 1750 TBi is therefore a true representative of Alfa’s exclusive motoring lifestyle. It is not not just a mere ‘means of transport’ and is rather a real driver’s car. It delivers genuine sports performance and muscular acceleration thanks to generous torque and smooth response even at low revs and the extended power band of a modern, advanced petrol engine that minimizes the need for you to ‘work’ the gearbox. The engine sound too is sporty without ever becoming droning.

Feature : Alfa Romeo 159 1750 TBi

Article by David Taylor

Manufactured by FPTFiat Powertrain Technologies

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Midrand/ Rosslyn. BMW South Africa has appointed Guy Kilfoil (32) as General Manager: Communications and Public Affairs with immediate effect.

Mr Kilfoil – who is currently employed as Marketing Manager: MINI at the Gauteng-based motor manufacturer – succeeds Mr. Richard Carter in this role, after the latter took over as Director of Global Communications at Rolls-Royce Motor Cars in the UK.

Mr. Kilfoil brings more than 10 years of motor industry experience and 8 years of Corporate Communications experience to the role, having previously served as a Manager: Automotive Communications at BMW

South Africa and as Communications Manager: Mercedes Car Group and Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge at DaimlerChrysler South Africa (now Mercedes-

Benz South Africa).

A successor has not yet been announced for Mr. Kilfoil’s role within the MINI department.

Guy Kilfoil appointed as Head of Communications & Public Affairs at BMW South Africa.

SA Motorsport ClubIs hosting a Gymkhana at Zwartkops Raceway.

It promises to be great fun just like the “OLD-DAYS”Date : 30 May 2009

Time : 13h00 - 17h00Entry Fee : R120 per entry (Plus R80.00 for SAM Membership)

Bring your own drinks (NO ALCOHOL WHILE COMPETING!!!!)

For More info please call Frans Jooste on 083 271 4048

Citroen Total World Rally Team

The Citroën Total World Rally Team have demonstrated why they are number one in the rally standings with a flawless one-two finish at the 2009 Rally Argentina. Driver Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena have taken their personal score to five straight wins on the South American round while Dani Sordo and Marc Marti finished right behind their teammates to move into second place in the provisional Drivers’ World Championship standings. “It’s always nice to win this rally. This year’s event was difficult to begin with and we had to drive flat out until Saturday lunchtime. The situation then tipped in our favour when Mikko Hirvonen hit trouble and we were able to control from in front after that. That said, I tried to keep up a quick pace all the way to the finish because it can be so easy to make a mistake over a jump, or by clouting one of the countless rocks that line the stages here. It’s been a dream start to the season for us!” said Loeb. Daniel Sordo was very happy too and said that he felt comfortable throughout the weekend. “This is our second one-two finish of the year and it’s a great result for the whole team. My intention now is to defend my second place in the championship…” Sordo added.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team

Drivers Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila have finished sixth at the 2009 Rally Argentina today after coming from behind on the final day. The Finns were on course for third in their Ford Focus RS WRC when suddenly losing a heart breaking eight minutes during the morning’s opening speed test which dropped them to seventh. However, they drove a determined race and clawed back to claim their second points finish of the FIA World Rally Championship season after a hot, rough and dusty fifth round. The other Focus RS driven by Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen retired during the second leg with engine problems. “There are no scratches on the car and it was a positive weekend for us. I feel much stronger after this rally and I’ve learned a lot. I drove cautiously, adopting a different style, and it was successful. Our pace notes worked well and I feel everything is on course, my self-confidence is good again. It was good to learn what can and can’t be done and to know my limits,” said Jari-Matti Latvala after the race.

RALLY ARGENTINA

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Loeb, Elena and Citroën rack up win fiveA perfectly-paced display from the Citroën Total World Rally Team on the 2009 Rally Argentina has produced another one-two finish for the French squad, while the faultless drive of Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena has taken their personal score to five straight wins on the South American round. Dani Sordo and Marc Marti finished in their teammates’ wake to move into second place in the provisional Drivers’ World Championship standings.

Following two long legs on Friday and Saturday, survivors faced a much shorter programme today. The last day’s 48 kilometres of competitive action were divided into four different stages, plus a third visit to the super-special in Cordoba Stadium. However, with no chance to service their cars between stages, the majority of the field preferred to take a cautious approach. “It’s a bit of a shame to have to drive defensively because today’s stages are really nice,” observed Sébastien Loeb. “There are quite a few jumps which are fun when you’re pushing hard, but we will need to stay fully focused if we want to secure our fifth win here in Argentina…”

Despite their risk-free approach, Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo monopolised the top of the timesheets on each of the first two stages. After

losing ground early on because of technical trouble, Jari-Matti Latvala responded to claim the next two tests, just tenths of a second clear of the Citroën duo. Sébastien and Dani rounded off the weekend in style by securing one last one-two result for their team in front of a packedhouse crowd at Cordoba Stadium.

After wrapping up their 52nd world class success, Sébastien Loeb and Daniel Elena had a special thought for Carlos Sainz who took his own record to 26 WRC wins here in Argentina, in 2004, driving a Xsara WRC with Marc Marti sitting alongside. “So much has happened since then,” remembered Sébastien as he savoured his success after the finish. “We were second behind Carlos and Marc that year. Since then, we haven’t been beaten here in Argentina. It’s always nice to win this rally. This year’s event was difficult to begin with and we had to drive flat out until Saturday lunchtime. The situation then tipped in our favourwhen Mikko Hirvonen hit trouble and we were able to control from in front after that. That said, I tried to keep up a quick pace all the way to the finish because it can be so easy to make a mistake over a jump, or by clouting one of the countless rocks

that line the stages here. It’s been a dream start to the season for us!”

Dani Sordo finished second overall to dislodge Mikko Hirvonen from second place by one point in thechase for the Drivers’ title: “I felt comfortable throughout the weekend. This is our second one-two finish if the year and it’s a great result for the whole team. My intention now is to defend my second place in the championship…”

“This rally gave everyone in the team a chance to shine,” notes Citroën Racing Director Olivier Quesnel.“This event is particularly tough on the mechanicals, but both our C4 WRCs proved perfectly reliable andthey took it all in our stride. In addition to the strength of our cars, Sébastien and Dani drove with their head and put in a greatperformance to claim 15 fastest times from 23. They didn’t make any mistakes and they both succeeded in turning on the speed when they had to. We fully deserved today’s one-two result.”

Article : Citroen WRC

The Citroën Junior Team gets to the finish in Argentina

The Rally Argentina, the fifth round of the 2009 FIA World Rally Championship, has stayed true to its reputation of being hard on all the cars. The competitors had to battle with the difficult terrain all the way to the finish. While Citroën scored a memorable one-two thanks to Sébastien Loeb and Dani Sordo, the Citroën Junior Team got to the end thanks to Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia.

Five different stages made up the final day of the Rally Argentina, the shortest day of the rally with 48 competitive kilometres. On Sunday morning the crews set off for the Punilla Valley to the north west of Villa Carlos Paz – just as they had on Friday.

Having started today in ninth place thanks to the SupeRally system, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia had to get to grips with some new stages on the final day, which featured a varied route that combinedvery quick sections with places that were more twisty.

While some other crews hit problems, Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia re-established the pace theyhad set since the start of the rally to climb up the leaderboard.

With a seventh-fastest time on Villa Giardino – La Falda (SS19), the Equipe de France crew were able to get back into the points, and then they benefited from the retirement of Petter Solberg to climb to seventh in the overall classification by the end of Valle Hermoso – Casa Grande (SS20).

« The team has given us a very well-balanced car, » commented Sébastien. « Everything is perfect this morning. We’re keeping up a good pace. Driving on roads like these is very good for our experience. »

Three third-fastest times in Cosquin – Tanti (SS21), Tanta

Nuevo – Villa Garcia (SS22) and Cordoba Stadium (SS23) underlined the performance of the French crew. « It’s been a good day, » added Sébastien. « We’ve set some good times and that’s very encouraging for the future. »This seventh place allowed Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia to score two points for Citroën Junior Team and two points for themselves in the drivers’ rankings. « It was another extremely difficult rally, » concluded Citroën Junior Team manager Benoit Nogier. « One of our cars did not make the finish and the other had to resort to SupeRally. But the strong performances of Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia on the final day are nonetheless encouraging with three third-fastest times. So we have plenty to look forward to in the coming events. »

Article : Citroen WRC

SASOL RALLY : TEAM REVIEWW

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The Sasol/Konica Minolta Rally Team continued their relentless march towards the Production Car and Class N4 Championships with a dominant win on the Sasol Rally, round three of the Sasol SA Rally Championship, their third Production Car win in a row.

Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich stormed into the lead on stage two and held it to the end, finishing 4½ minutes ahead of their nearest rivals in spite of shock absorber problems over the two day, 14 stage event, run through the forests and towns of the Mpumulanga Lowveld.

“We broke a front shock absorber on Friday and only carry one spare”, Wilken explained. “It was always in the back of my mind that if another one broke we would be out of the rally, so I held back a bit and paced myself to the make sure we got to the end”.

Wilken and Godrich ended Friday’s stages firmly in 6th place overall after winning the final White River stage. Saturday brought another damaged front shock absorber, so the Sasol/Konica Minolta team set about stripping the two damaged units to make one serviceable one.

Saturday saw JP Damseaux retire early, moving the pair into 5th overall. With a hard-

charging Jan Habig/Douglas Judd closing up at a rate of knots, Wilken was unable to defend his position and was soon passed by the highly modified factory S2000 Volkswagen, pushing Wilken back to 6th overall.

“I was disappointed not to be able to hold Habig off but with the shock absorber situation it was prudent to think of the championship, and the risk for one extra point wasn’t worth taking. This championship is difficult to win and finishing every event is absolutely crucial”, Wilken said. The Sasol/Konica Minolta car had a spin and stall in stage 12, but lost little time. Wilken was happy with the Prodrive car’s performance.

Wilken now has 50 championship points in the race for the Production Car Championship, exactly double his nearest rival Visser du Plessis and Gerhard Snyman. The Pirtek Subaru team started well, winning the first stage by one second, but en route to stage two, the car ground to a halt for 26 minutes.

The team eventually traced the fault to a broken fuel pump wire, but dropped to 19th place overnight. Du Plessis fought back over the remaining stages, ending 9th overall to earn 12 points, in spite of a spin and stall in stage 12, nudging a tree in the process.

Tjaart Coetzee and former driver Etienne Lourens brought their SAC Trucks Subaru home 3rd in class and 13th overall in what is the driver’s sixth ever rally. With Etienne

photo’s : Anton Wannenburg giving ‘on-the-job’ training, Coetzee improved his stage times by two seconds per kilometer on Saturday, but not before the pair had a close shave in stage 12. They hit a contour and did a full, airborne 180 degree spin, landing in the road but facing the wrong way! It was a great result for the pair, having started 27th.

Chase Attwell/Brian Carrihill (Subaru Impreza) put in a great performance but a failed centre differential on Friday caused the team to be time barred.

Dave Compton/Pierre Jordaan scored their third consecutive class N3 win, taking their Sasol Toyota RunX to an untroubled win. Rivals Riaan/Hester Erasmus beached their similar RunX in the first stage, losing 7 minutes before retiring on Saturday with a broken gearbox.

Tony Barbosa/Kenny Hill brought their N3 Ford Fiesta home 20th overall, five minutes behind Compton. The second Fiesta, driven by Lourens du Plessis/Herman Groenewald, was excluded for running non-approved tyres, an expensive mistake for the novice pair.

DOMINANT HAT-TRICK FOR SASOL KONICA MINOLTA RALLY TEAM

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Close call in SS12

SASOL RALLY : TEAM REVIEWd

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2nd in Class on SASOL RALLY

The bald facts state that Visser du Plessis and Gerhard Snyman (Pirtek Subaru Impreza) finished second in the production car category and ninth overall in the Sasol Rally, round three of the Sasol SA Rally Championship, which ended in Nelspruit on Saturday. As is often the case in motor sport, it was a case of what might have been.

The pair had entered the event with high hopes after an impressive performance in the previous rally in the Western Cape where they finished a strong second to the Subaru of reigning champions Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich. They again had to settle for second behind the champions, but only after a series of setbacks and a spirited fightback.

Du Plessis and Snyman’s chances of a first production car win in this year’s championship were dealt a mortal blow when the Pirtek Subaru’s engine died on the liaison section between stages one and two on Friday morning.

The pair, who had just won the opening stage outside Sabie on Friday morning, traced the fault to a loose earth wire to the fuel drive, but it delayed them by an agonising 26 minutes and they incurred a 4m 20s lateness penalty.

Undeterred, a confident Du Plessis, immediately set about attacking the next stage only to suffer a flat wheel that lost them more time. “I was so confident at the start after our good showing in the previous event. Gerhard and I knew we had the pace to win and this was our intention in Mpumalanga,” said the 2007 production car champion.

But this was not to be their weekend. The jack point broke while they were changing the wheel, collapsing the jack and losing them more time. Although they then went on to win stage three and matched Wilken’s times for the rest of the day’s three stages, they were 5m 21s in arrears at the end of the day – pretty much the total of their misfortunes.

“I set about Saturday’s eight stages with the intention of pushing as hard as I could without testing the limits and I was very pleased to win five of these stages and match Charl on the other three,” said Du Plessis. The gap to Wilken at the finish was 5m 27s.

“We had a good, clean run and made no mistakes. Overall, I had pace in reserve and problems aside we probably had the winning pace. I am now confident we can win overall if we can just continue to be consistent – and enjoy better luck!”

The next round of the Sasol Rally Championship is the Sports Car Club Rally in Mpumalanga on June 12 and 13.

photo’s : Anton Wannenburg

“a confident Du Plessis, immediately set about attacking”

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SASOL RALLY : TEAM REVIEWTE

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Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin (Toyota Auris) led a dominant Team TOTAL 1-2-3 in class A6 of the Sasol Rally, which ended in Nelspruit on Saturday. There was also a debut class win for Team TOTAL’s Vusi Mabanga and Shaun Visser in their class A5 Toyota Yaris.

Fernando Rueda and Cobus Vrey (Team TOTAL Toyota RunX) were the highest-placed privateers in the third round of the Sasol SA Rally Championship, finishing seventh overall and sixth in the hotly-contested premier class S2000 behind two factory Toyotas and three factory Volkswagen Polos. “We had a good, steady run this weekend, which was only spoiled by a puncture on Saturday morning in stage 10, losing us about a minute,” said Rueda, a former class N4 production car front runner who is having his first season in S2000.

Overall winners were Johnny Gemmell and Zimbabwean Peter Marsh in a factory Toyota Auris from defending national champions Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries in a factory VW Polo and Mark Cronje/Robert Paisley in the second works Toyota Auris.

Rueda’s class S2000 team-mates Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Andre Vermeulen (Team TOTAL Toyota RunX) were out of luck for the third event in a row, retiring after the first stage on Saturday when they experienced problems starting the car. They won the opening stage on Friday and were fifth overall and in class S2000 at the end of the first day.

Moosa and Martin, who led class A6 by over a minute from Team TOTAL team-mates Craig Trott and Robbie Coetzee and Rodney Visagie and Carolyn Swan (both in Toyota RunXs) at the end of the first day, were unstoppable and crossed the finish line at the Nelspruit Showgrounds with 3m 22s in hand over reigning class N3 champions Visagie and Swan and a further nine seconds ahead of Trott and Coetzee. After two successive class wins, Moosa and Martin lead the championship by two points from Trott and Coetzee and by three from Visagie and Swan.

The battle for class A5 see-sawed throughout the event with Team TOTAL’s Mabanga and Visser always in with a chance as they put in their best performance since teaming up together. They were second in class at the end of the first day behind the factory VW Citi Golf of Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin and took over the lead on Saturday morning when the VW hit problems.

They overcame the unwelcome challenge of a broken shock absorber that slowed them down from stage 7 on Saturday until the Race Prep team was able to replace it after stage 11. Despite the fact that their closest rivals, Morne Janse van Rensburg and Dewald Hattingh (VW Citi Golf), had almost caught up, they held on to win the class by 1m 44s.

Team TOTAL’s reigning class A7 champions, Chris de Wit and Dean Redelinghuys, were forced to retire after just two stages on Friday with engine problems in their Toyota RunX.

Photos : Anton and Tania Wannenburg

Two class wins for Team TOTAL

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SASOL RALLY : TEAM REVIEWH

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Evan Hutchison and Elvene Coetzee (Motorite Racing Toyota RunX) overcame a temporary engine misfire and choking dust to complete their third successive second place class finish in the Sasol SA Rally Championship in Mpumalanga at the weekend.

The pair’s strongly consistent start to their first season together and Hutchison’s second with Motorite sees them joint leaders in the hotly-contested class A7 (for Group A touring cars with an engine capacity of 2-litres). They are tied on 18 points with Stevan Wilken and Greg Gericke, who did not start the weekend’s Sasol Rally after crashing their VW Polo in Thursday’s test stage.

Hutchison finds himself in the unique position of leading his class in both the national rally and off road championships. He and Achim Bergmann, national special vehicle champions in 2007 in a Motorite Racing BAT, won the first two rounds of the off road championship in the Motorite Racing Revo 1 and are overall and class a leaders.

Hutchison and Coetzee, who are fast developing into a formidable pairing in what is undoubtedly one of the most fiercely-contested classes in rallying, got their weekend off to a great start with fastest time on Friday’s opening stage. They were unlucky to get caught in the dust of defending class A7 champions Chris de Wit and Dean Redelinghuys (Toyota RunX) on stage two as their rivals slowed with engine problems that saw them retire at the end of the stage. This

dropped them down to second behind Schalk Burger Jnr and Armand du Toit (Toyota Corolla).

“We lost about a minute on that stage,” said Hutchison “but with Chris and Stevan (Wilken) out of the event and only two of us contesting the class at this point, we decided not to push too hard but to aim for a safe second place finish and possibly a win if Schalk, who was driving really fast, ran into any trouble.”

The Motorite pair was slowed further on Saturday’s stages nine and 10 when the Toyota developed a misfire after a water splash. At the finish the gap to Burger was 3m 11s.

“Elvene and I had a good weekend and we’re very pleased to be leading the class championship after scoring points in all of the first three rounds,” said Hutchison at the finish in Nelspruit. “We got our weekend off to a great start with a stage win and I’m happy with our decision not to fight for the win after some of our other rivals dropped out. Schalk is an experienced rally driver and he was driving really fast. Points in the bank are what counts at this stage of the season.”

The next round of the Sasol Rally Championship is the Sports Car Club Rally in Mpumalanga on May 22 and 23.

Hutchison and Coetzee are backed by Motorite Insurance Administrators, as well as Sabelt by First Race, Castrol and Infiniti Insurance.

Photo : Anton Wannenburg

Now leading Class A7

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“The Toyota developed a misfire

after a water splash”

BUTTONS SWEETEST VICTORY YET!Jenson Button demonstrated why he and the

Brawn team are this season’s must watch pairing after a determined drive in Bahrain that resulted in victory. The season opener in Melbourne had resulted in a ten-second sprint to the finish line following safety car intervention and in Sepang the rain almost caused his victory celebrations to be cut short, but in Sakhir Jenson Button drove all the way to the chequered flag.

The current 2009 Formula 1 World Championship leader was not too unhappy after qualifying fourth in Bahrain although he felt he could have done more. Despite Button’s best efforts it was the two Toyotas of Jarno Trulli and Timo Glock that were setting the pace. The 29-year-old Briton lost further ground at Turn One when compatriot Lewis Hamilton blasted past him in his KERS-equipped McLaren-Mercedes, but he managed to regain a position by going boldly all the way around the outside of the Red Bull Renault of Sebastian Vettel.

The highlight of Button’s race was surely when he bravely took on Hamilton and passed last year’s champion on the inside. He held his position and soon started to make inroads into the leading Toyotas. Button remained on the track than usual and made the most of the field pitting by posting very quick lap times. He was able to get ahead of both during the first round of pit visits, and from there even extended his lead throughout the middle stint as second-placed Jarno Trulli held the remainder of the field at bay on his lesser-favoured ‘prime’ Bridgestone rubber.

He switched tyres in the final stint and began posting consistent lap times which ensure that he went on to take the flag just over four seconds clear of Vettel for his third triumph from four starts this season. It was a prenominal drive by the 29 year old.

“It was a great race today,” Button exclaimed. “I’m so happy to have seen the checkered flag without a safety car or red light in front of me! To achieve my third victory of the season is amazing, and we are going back to Europe with a strong lead in both championships. I couldn’t wish for anything more.

“It has been a tough weekend for the team, which makes this win even more rewarding as we didn’t have the pace that we had expected. I was really

happy with my first lap. I knew that I had to overtake Sebastian quickly and got him round the outside on turn one.

“I had a couple of attempts at Lewis round the first lap and almost got him at the last corner. I knew that he would pull away from me on the straight so I dropped in behind and used the tow to overtake him at turn one. It wasn’t easy from there, but getting up to third on the second lap was crucial for me. Our thanks to Mercedes-Benz this weekend who have not only provided us with a powerful engine but have integrated so well with our team. You need a close-knit unit to succeed in Formula 1, and that is what we have at this team.”

The other Brawn car of team-mate Rubens Barrichello was not really quite on the same level as Button’s pace during the grand prix, with an aggressive three-stop strategy failing to really pay off for the experienced Brazilian, with the 36-year-old finding himself caught up in many on-track battles, most notably with compatriot Nelsinho Piquet and Timo Glock. Barrichello landed up in fifth place after sneaking past Glock and Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen at the end.

“We brought home some valuable points today,” he reflected afterwards, “but it was a tough race for me. I lost a lot of time behind Piquet after my first stop, which was a real shame as it compromised my race plan. We went for a three-stop strategy and then took the decision to come in slightly early for my second stop as I was being held up behind Hamilton.“It was so hot out there this afternoon, and the car was burning my waist on the right-hand side which made it very difficult for me. It seems that luck is on Jenson’s side at the moment, and well done to him and to the team for winning the race today. I hope that my turn comes soon!” Brawn have almost double the points of rival Red Bull Racing in the constructors’ standings and with both of their drivers at the top of the driver’s standings – Brawn GP has every reason to be happy as the teams head

to Barcelona next for the European league of the season.

The Circuit de Catalunya played host to the Brawn GP 001’s first test back in early March. It was also where the ex-Honda F1 outfit’s rivals really began to see that Ross Brawn meant very serious business. Although the very same competitors will have developments in the pipeline for the Spanish Grand Prix in two weeks time such as their own versions of the ‘double-decker’ split level diffuser – Brawn GP is insisting that everyone in the team will still be busy.

“A fantastic performance today from Jenson,” Ross Brawn underlined, “and all credit is due to him for an outstanding opening lap which made today’s victory possible. We have had a challenging weekend in dealing with the extreme temperature conditions, which was made more difficult by our lack of hot weather testing prior to the season. I am very proud of the way that the team here in Bahrain has worked together to overcome the issues that we faced and how they performed in the race today.

“Our particular thanks this weekend are due to our engine partner Mercedes-Benz, and we are delighted to have achieved our third victory of the season with them here today. I would also like to take the opportunity to thank the team at the factory in Brackley who have been working very hard on our upgrade package.

“After a demanding but successful start of the season, we are all looking forward to returning home and the opportunity for the team to celebrate together before our focus turns to the start of the European season in Spain in two weeks.”

Forumla 1 : Bahrain Grand Prix

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McLaren-Mercedes have escaped with a suspended sentence for the ‘lies’ scandal at the Melbourne GP. The FIA, who govern the sport, made the announcement on Wednesday.

The multiple title-winning outfit and its star driver, defending F1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton headed to Paris to meet with the World Motor Sport Council to discuss whether any further sanctions were necessary on top of the team and driver’s disqualification from the 2009 curtain-raising Australian Grand Prix.

Both Lewis Hamilton and respected long-time McLaren sporting director Dave Ryan insisted under questioning Down Under that the former had not been instructed to move aside to let Toyota driver Jarno Trulli re-pass him during a late-race safety car period in the season-opener – but subsequently published pits-to-car radio communication proved that to be false. This action made McLaren-Mercedes appear to deliberately attempting to get the Italian penalised and gain third place.

The options available to the World Motor Sport Council for the offence included potential expulsion from the entire season, but the FIA has admitted that it was lenient due to an ‘open and honest’ letter sent by team principal Martin Whitmarsh to Max Mosley accepting McLaren’s guilt and wrongdoing over the matter as well as an emotional public apology by Hamilton a week on from the incident in Sepang.The team admitted all five charges of breaching Article 151c of the International Sporting Code on which it was held accountable.

‘Having regard to the open and honest way in which McLaren Team Principal, Mr Martin Whitmarsh, addressed the WMSC and the change in culture which he made clear has taken place in his organisation, the WMSC decided to suspend the

application of the penalty it deems appropriate,’ read an official FIA statement.

‘That penalty is a suspension of the team from three races of the FIA Formula One World Championship. This will only be applied if further facts emerge regarding the case or if, in the next twelve months, there is a further breach by the team of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.’

McLaren is no stranger to controversy and has had run ins with the FIA before. Only two years ago there was the infamous espionage row that rocked the sport and landed McLaren-Mercedes disqualification from the 2007 constructors’ world championship. They were also fined a sporting record $100 million. Team pincipal Ron Dennis has since stepped down from his position at the Woking-based outfit.

McLaren’s punishment from the FIA

Formula 1 News

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Lewis has reason to smile

A1GP : BRANDS HATCH

The A1GP World Cup of Motorsport is expected to deliver another action-packed thriller in the penultimate round of season four at Brands Hatch in Great Britain this weekend. With just two rounds and four races remaining, South Africa will be aiming to score a rich haul of points to improve its current championship position of joint 11th out of 21 with the United States and get closer to the overall fifth posi-tion it achieved in season three.

Switzerland with 88 points enjoys a slim two-point margin over Ireland, with Portugal third on 82 points. South Africa has 19 points. Maximum points on offer at each round are 10 for a win in the Sprint race with a bonus point for fastest lap of the race, and 15 points in the Feature race with a bonus point for fastest lap.

South Africa will have a brand new driver at the wheel of Vulindlela follow-ing Adrian Zaugg signing for a team in the World Series by Renault competi-tion. The next round of the Formula Renault 3.5 series clashes with the Brands Hatch weekend and Zaugg will be competing for his new team at Spa-Francorchamps.

“The WSR opportunity is important for

Adrian’s racing future and he has our full support,” said Mike Carroll, gen-eral manager of A1 Team South Africa. “WSR is an established stepping stone to Formula 1, with drivers like Poland’s Robert Kubica and Germany’s Sebas-tian Vettel among recent graduates.

“Adrian’s non-availability for Brands Hatch presents a golden opportunity for another young South African racing driver to represent his country in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport and further his motor racing career. We will be announcing the name of this driver as well as our rookie driver later in the week,” said Carroll.

Distinctively-liveried in the six colours of the South African flag, Vulindlela (‘clear the way’) proudly carries the prison number of Nelson Mandela, 46664, to promote the former president’s founda-tion and its HIV/AIDS initiatives, and also sports the logos of sponsors SABC Sport, Aon and Ericsson.

The Brands Hatch circuit, located less than 32 km from the centre of London, is an undulating 4,2 km with fast sweep-ing corners that is driven in a clockwise direction and features nine turns. It hosted the very first A1GP in September 2005.

Saturday’s qualifying will be broad-cast live on SABC3 from 15h00 to 17h00 and Sunday’s sprint and feature races will be broadcast from 15h00 to 17h30 (the recorded sprint race will be screened from 15h00 while the feature race will be live from 16h00).

Championship points after 12 races:1 Switzerland 88 2 Ireland 863 Portugal 82 4 Netherlands 66 5 France 466 Malaysia 437 New Zealand 36 8 Australia 30 9 Monaco 27 10 Great Britain 2411 South Africa and United States 1913 Brazil 18 14 Italy 15 15 India 1116 Mexico and Lebanon 818 China 7 19 Korea 420 Indonesia 3 21 Germany 2

A1GP thriller expected at Brands Hatch

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South Africa will field a new driver for the first time since the Brands Hatch round in 2007 when Alan van der Merwe returns to take the wheel of Vulindlela at the Kent, England circuit in round seven this weekend. The 29-year-old former British Formula 3 champion (in 2003) and one time Honda F1 test driver last represented his country in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport in Shanghai (China) in round 10 of season two.

His recall comes as a result of the non-availability of regular driver Adrian Zaugg, who will be competing in round two of the World Series by Renault at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium for the Interwetten.com team this weekend.

“The WSR opportunity is important for Adrian’s racing future and he has our full support,” said Mike Carroll, general manager of A1 Team South Africa. “WSR is an established stepping stone to Formula 1, with drivers like Poland’s Robert Kubica and Germany’s Sebastian Vettel among recent graduates.

“We’re delighted to have secured the services

of an experienced driver like Alan at such short notice,” added Carroll. “He already has eight A1GP races for South Africa under his belt and has a good racing knowledge of Brands Hatch.”

Van der Merwe has kept his hand in with various different drives in the intervening period, including being involved last year with Aston Martin in an endurance racing GT2 sports car development project and, in 2009, driving the Formula 1 medical car (a modified Mercedes C63 AMG).

He was naturally delighted to receive the call-up while at last week’s Bahrain Grand Prix. “It’s the best news I’ve had in a long time. It’s a brilliant opportunity and quite unexpected. I’m really looking forward to driving the new Powered by Ferrari A1GP car. I know Brands Hatch well (he won the annual Formula Ford Festival there in 2001 and was crowned British F3 champion at the Kent circuit in 2003) and hope I can help South Africa improve its position in the championship this weekend.”

Alan van der Merwe to drive Vulindlela at Brands Hatch

A1GP : BRANDS HATCH

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A1GP thriller expected at Brands Hatch

Cape Town’s Killarney circuit will be the venue for round three of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship on 9 May 2009. With five weeks having passed since the previous race Mazda Motorsport will be at full strength for the upcoming event.

The long straights and sweeping high speed corners have always favoured the Mazda 3 MPS and Heinz Bose rates the circuit as one of his favorite in the country. “If ever there was a track that I could almost guarantee our maiden victory, it would be Killarney. The cars go really well down there and we have always been super-competitive. I’m really looking forward to it,” he says.

The Mazda team will have another slight advantage in the weight department after a recent shuffling of the class T base weights. The Mazda duo tips the scales at 1 300kg’s (including driver) and although the disparity (VW Golf GTI-1310kg and Ford Focus ST– 1 325kg) may seem small in racing terms, every advantage however incremental, is accepted with glee.

“I have seen a huge change in the team since Kyalami and the determination to win seems palpable. The guys are all very focused and have been putting in a major effort in order to get Mazda onto the top step of the podium,” claimed Team Manager, Hennie Prinsloo.

Mazda3 MFC driver, Heinz Bose managed to record the second quickest time of the race weekend in November last year en route to his second place, the team’s best result thus far.

The Bizhub backed car of Etienne Prinsloo managed a fifth place at the season closer last year, only fractionally slower than Heinz. “My car has good pace this season and we have managed to overcome the reliability problems that dogged us last year. I am aiming for a brace of podium finishes,” comments an upbeat Etienne.

Practices begin at lunch time on Friday and qualifying will take place on Saturday morning.

MAZDA MOTORSPORT SET OFF FOR THE

FAIREST CAPE

“The Mazda team will have another slight

advantage in the weight department”

Bridgestone Production Cars

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Bridgestone Production Car Championship in confident mood after two good showings in the previous rounds held at Kyalami and Port Elizabeth.

“I’m really looking forward to the Killarney races as the long straights are key to a good lap time and the track itself, a thrilling drive. The Malmesbury Sweep is a double apex right hander and if you hook that up properly, you can have a fantastic run down the straight”, Olivier enthused.

Olivier continued: “Killarney has quite an undulating surface with mainly right hand corners – there’s only one proper left hand corner so tyre wear will become a factor if it’s hot”.The Subaru Impreza STI driven by Dawie Olivier will be at something of a disadvantage at the coastal circuit where normally aspirated competitors gain around 18% more power compared to the turbo-charged Impreza STI, which only gains around 3%.

“We’re concentrating our resources on the new Subaru Impreza STI hatchback and minimizing development of our existing car. I was very happy with the handling at Kyalami where we ran third until the tyres overheated so we’re leaving the basic setup as is”, Olivier explained.

Team Sasol Subaru’s driver is always excited about racing for the fans. “Killarney attracts more spectators than at any other circuit in the country. The Cape fans are

enthusiastic and knowledgeable. It’s an inspiration to see them lining the circuit. The Cape branch of the Subaru Owners’ Club of South Africa will be out in force while our Cape Town dealers; Barloworld Subaru Culemborg, Subaru Kenridge and Subaru Somerset West will have a boma to entertain guests and clients”.

Grant Bowring, Sasol Subaru Manager: “I expected the season to be a bit stronger in terms of results, but we’ve shown really well on both occasions until some unruly driving in Port Elizabeth and bad luck at Kyalami affected our final points tally.

“The coastal races are not our strongest playgrounds”, said a realistic Bowring. “We’re ready to take on the best that the series has and will capitalize on every opportunity presented to us”

Between the races @ Team Sasol Subaru: Work continues at a steady pace on the new Sasol Subaru Impreza STI hatchback,which is on schedule to make its debut mid-year.

The homologation process is complete and paperwork has been submitted to the controlling body while the series’ technical delegate witnessed the engine and gearbox assembly and sealed both components. The suspension is being produced after which the chassis build can start. Some cockpit work has also been completed. The entire team is very excited about the new Subaru Impreza STI and putting in maximum effort to get the car ready on time.

Team Sasol Subaru geared for thrilling Killarney challenge

Bridgestone Production Cars

w w w . s u b a r u b r u m a . c o . z a

Round three of the WesBank Super Series will take place at Cape Town’s Killarney circuit on 9 May 2009 and the Bridgestone Production Car Championship will headline the day’s racing.

A full 30-car field is expected to thrill Western Cape crowds with two action packed races. The Class A driver line-up will be slightly altered with Lee Thompson taking the wheel of the Team Afrox BMW 330i in the absence of Robert Wolk. Wolk will be using this event to serve a race ban imposed on him following a massive accident at Aldo Scribante in March. Current Championship leader, Anthony Taylor will be in action alongside Thompson.

Posing a big threat for race honours will be the Nissan Dealer Team. Leeroy Poulter (GP Windscreens) won the final race of the year at Killarney and will be in good form on the circuit that suits the Nissan 350Z chassis. Poulter will be backed by teammate Marco da Cunha (Tubular Tech).

Winning three of the four races in Cape Town last year, is the Audi A4 Force. Engen Xtreme drivers Michael Stephen and Shaun Watson-Smith will have a weight advantage over the other Audi drivers, but IndyOil’s Johan Fourie should be the favourite to win in front of his home crowd. Melvill Priest (VMP Motorsport) has shown good pace and is capable of challenging for the win.

Dawie Olivier will round out the class in his Sasol Subaru WRX Impreza.

Fans will be delighted by the Class T line-up which is headed by Graeme Nathan in an IndyOil backed VW GTI. Other GTI front-runners include Curt Alchin (Bodyman), Michael van Rooyen (Rustenberg Steel) and Peet Visagie (JS Laboratories) all of whom have achieved podium finishes. George Smalberger (Ensync), Nizaam Esa and Mark Carver are expected to complete the GTI entries.

Ford will be represented by Gary Formato and Shaun Duminy in

Nandos backed Ford Focus STs. Their quest for race victory will however be made more difficult by the Mazda 3 MPS entries of Heinz Bose (MFC) and Etienne Prinsloo (BIZHUB).

Andre van der Merwe (ACC Airconditioning) is expected to compete in his Renault, while Opel fans will be hoping that Reghard Roets will complete the Class T entry list with his Opel Astra OPC.

Four manufacturers will be represented in Class B. Toyota by Shaun Pike (TOSCO Racing), Andries van Eeden and Kosie Swanepoel (Barnett Auto Spares). Alfa by Gary Green, Renault by Production Car newcomer Ralph Kernes and Ford by Danie van Niekerk.

Qualifying and both races will take place on Saturday 9 May 2009, ensuring a full days entertainment for racing fans.

Bridgestone Production Cars head back to the Coast

BRIDGESTONE PRODUCTION CARS

The Audi Motorsport teams are preparing for round three of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship, which will take place at Killarney (Cape Town) on 9 May 2009.

The teams, competing with Audi A4 3.2 litre Quattro models will be looking to continue where they left off at Kyalami four weeks ago. Between the four drivers, Audi achieved a pole position, three podium finishes and the fastest lap.

Johan Fourie (IndyOil) had a solid outing at Kyalami, setting the fastest lap in qualifying and taking third place in the first race. Johan is Cape Town based and will be the crowd favourite at Killarney.

After a tough start to the race weekend at Kyalami, Shaun Watson-Smith (Engen Xtreme) drove the wheels off his Audi to take a podium finish. He has been exceptionally fast at Killarney in the past and is expected to be out in front.

Melvill Priest (VMP Motorsport) put in a sterling performance at Kyalami, finishing second and setting the fastest lap in the second race of the day. Melvill will be hoping to repeat this feat at Killarney.

Perhaps the most determined of the Audi drivers is Michael Stephen (Engen Xtreme). He will be looking to bounce back from a disastrous Kyalami weekend. He will, together with teammate Shaun Watson-Smith, be the lightest of the Audi challengers and will be a definite front-runner.

The Western Cape circuit is traditionally a Nissan stronghold and suits the 350Z’s chassis. That being said, Audi won three of the four races run at Killarney in 2008 and will be looking to continue this winning trend in 2009. Practice sessions will take place on Friday 8 May, with qualifying and both races being run on Saturday 9 May.

Audi looking strong for honours at Killarney

The fastest racing saloon cars to have ever raced on the Historic Killarney Motor Racing Circuit are in Cape Town this Saturday (9th May) for Round 3 of the Wesbank V8 Super Saloon Car Championship.

The WesBank V8 Series has been turned on its head, almost like Formula 1, where young drivers are starting to dominate. At the moment it looks like an Auby/Correia Family Show.

Marc Auby (ELT International Jaguar) with two wins, a second and a third in the four races held so far, leads the championship on 52 points. The other two wins have been taken for the first time by Marc Auby’s father, Deon (ELT Corvette) making a bit of WesBank history, and Jaco Correia (LiquiMoly Corvette) who also took his maiden win after years of trying to be first past the chequered flag.

Whilst Marc Auby leads the championship, his brother and 16 year-old driving sensation, Brandon – also in an ELT Jaguar – who has proven he can handle these 450 kW racing machines, lies joint second with Jaco Correia’s younger brother, Danie (LiquiMoly Corvette). Both have 28 points.

Another youngster, Wade van Zummeren (Border Towing Mustang) who picked up 16 points at Kyalami, heads a bunch of talent consisting of veteran Franco di Matteo (Varta Batteries Jaguar) who flies in a V8 on 25 points, with aforementioned

Auby Snr on 24 points, and Welkom’s Jaco Correia on 23 points. It can’t get much closer than that.

Terry Wilford (Fuchs Titan Jaguar) started the season off in P.E. with a car that liked to get its tail out and get away from him in corners. That has been sorted out by his father and Chairman of the WesBank 8 Racing Association, Larry Wilford. Terry got 3rd place

Wesbank V8s for Killarney

at Kyalami. As a former champion a few years ago he can now get on with scoring big numbers of points each meeting.

Languishing In 10th spot overall in the championship is three-times WesBank V8 supremo, Hennie Groenewald (Team Timken Jaguar). In the four races held so far he has picked up a second, an eighth place and has been punted off the track. His come-back effort to retain his title for the fourth time starts at Killarney. His form is not a problem as he has just returned from a successful racing car test in America where he was super quick.

Hennie’s Team Timken team-mate, Richard Pinard, who started the season with 13 points in P.E., was also pushed off the road at Kyalami. He too needs to start getting back into the serious points.

Back into WesBank V8 Racing with a bang after a year’s sabbatical is Steve Smith (Cool Catz Racing Jaguar). He picked up 14 valuable points at the last meeting at Kyalami and looks set to keep on scoring.

Talking about returning to WesBank V8 Racing is Mackie Adlem in the Mackie Adlem Racing Jaguar. He has been out of racing for a year as well after coming home fifth overall in the championship in 2007. He is no mean competitor and shouldn’t have lost any of his speed. Killarney is the circuit where he shines.

Now into her third season of racing these 300 kmh racing saloon cars, Clare Vale (Gatorback/RAM Mustang) started well in P.E. but ran head-on into Deon Auby at WesBank Corner at Kyalami, which put paid to her chances of scoring any more points that day.

Johnny Eekhout (Johnspeed Cobra Corvette) is making a pilgrimage to Killarney with Steve Herbst (Prei Instrumentation Corvette).

Killarney and its huge crowd of fans is going to thrill to the genuine speed and noise of American V8 power when a strong field of these cars take to the track for the two WesBank V8 Races on Saturday.

Visit our new web site www.wesbankmotorsport.co.za for all the lastest results,

news and information.

Team Timken heads to Killarney for round three of the Wesbank V8 Supercar Championship confident of a return to form.

The last race at Kyalami turned into a nightmare weekend when the two Team Timken Jaguar XKRs of Hennie Groenewald and Richard Pinard were sent spinning into first lap retirement after contact from Brandon Auby. “It only took him half a lap of racing,” commented Pinard afterwards.

But Pinard was philosophical, “let’s just say we have got a lot of work to do, and I’m pretty sure everything will be back on track at Cape Town. “

During the six-week break between Kyalami and Killarney, Groenewald has done some racing in the USA where he shared a Porsche 997 GT3 with Dion von Molkte in back to back Rolex Grand Am races at Virginia and New Jersey.

Racing in the popular one make Engen Volkswagen Cup for specially prepared 2-litre 20-valve Polos that also feature close ratio 6-speed transmissions, Bryan Morgan has shown tremendous pace. Despite a huge accident in testing prior to the last round the likeable Capetonian qualified fifth fastest where the top eight were only covered by a second. Not bad for a new car that was built in only three days.

The opening race resulted in fifth place but he retired from race two on lap five after holding second place in the early laps. “Killarney is my home circuit and I think my luck will change for the better,” he said.

Many companies around the world use motorsport to showcase their products, as Team Timken technical guru Carel Pienaar explains. “It subjects components to conditions that demand reliability and durability much more so than can be tested in a laboratory.”

Timken also make a range of grease specifically formulated for the extreme operating conditions of bearings in racing hubs. “Applying the correct grease is essential to the successful performance of any bearing,” adds Pienaar.

Special additives provide enhanced protection against wear, rust and corrosion while synthetic PAO (polyalphaolefin) ISO 220 enables greater bearing roller traction (less slippage) resulting in:

• Reduced operating temperature • Extended bearing fatigue life • Improved wheel torque efficiency

Not many people know that Timken has a rich history in motorsport. Founder Henry Timken judged one of the world’s first auto races and by 1911, Timken products were helping win races - including the first ever Indianapolis 500.

Team Timken stronger than ever

Being a first timer out on the race track with no driving experience, not knowing what to expect, it was a good day.

18th April 2009 – Pro Tour race day at Zwartkops Raceway.

The day began with a great start out on the grid with an early morning practice before my first race. Going into practice I was imagining all the lines, apex corners and breaking points that I have learned the previous week. With every corner approaching I could feel my lap times are getting better, then suddenly out of nowhere the car start to smell like fuel, going into turn 7 the scenery started to change, I was now testing my off-road skills! The fuel pipe burst and I was slipping in my own fuel. I had to do one more lap to get my car off the track, luckily practice was over, but then all the race cars was weighed. The fuel pipe was still spraying fuel everywhere so I had to turn the engine off and pushed the car onto the scales. Second problem came up very quickly

when the car was underweight. So now we started to put weights in the car. Being a 100kg underweight one would need a lot of it. So we did put in all the lead we could find, still needing 20kg. The best solution to this problem, a spare rally tyre… Yes, being a Rally Nav I am used to tyres in the car, so me and my rally tyre did the first race together.

Race 1 was very interesting; the breaking points had to be adjusted because of the car being a 100kg heavier than this morning when it started. This was no problem. I was having fun and doing good times at the same time. People was very surprised of the times I did, I was running 2 seconds off-pace to the winner on my first race out.

Race 2 and the last one for the day was a bit of an adventure. On the first lap of the 10 the clutch cable broke and the gears were stuck in third. I made the decision to stay on

the track, and finished the race, even if it meant by losing a lot of time and running last on the grid. This was very frustrating being one of the cars doing good times and now not doing great times, but then you remember that this is a sport and setting my first goal for this race I was desperate for a finish, and I did. I ended pushing the car into the parc ferme.

This was a day to remember. I started and finished the day pushing the car and yes I did finish, fourth in class C. The competitors were great to compete against, the spectators was cheering all the way and the media was there to catch all the action. I had a great interview with Rapid Motion; they also wished me well for the next race to come.

A Special thank you to Dave Ledbitter, who took a lot of snap shots during this event, my family always there to support, my sponsors Accolade / MFC / Venditor Konica Minolta / Etienne Lourens Auto who gave me the car to drive. Thank you for your support.

Article by : Elvene Coetzee

What a day, what an experience…

Elvene CoetzeePhoto Credit : Dave Ledbitter

Rally Navigator turns Racing Driver

SCOOP : RALLY NEWS

During an interview by The Independent it was reported that Valentino Rossi is hoping that he has a future in WRC, possibly with Ford, after his retirement from MotoGP. Rossi (30) managed a 12th overall finish during the Rally GB in Wales in 2008 in a Stobart Ford Focus WRC and has stated that he had built up a great relationship with M-Sport. During a second interview, this time with Motorsport News, he said that he would only consider switching to the WRC if he had the best car available. M-Sport are currently working on a Fiesta S2000 vehicle for the new WRC regulations and should be campaigning it in 2011. This means that Rossi could be behind the wheel of one of these if he drives for Ford.

“ I do hope to switch to four wheels but I think it’s too late for Formula One. I had my chance to go into F1 at the end of 2006 and had a serious plan to be the test driver in 2007 and then start to race in 2008 but I decided to stay with bikes, so it meant me and Formula One were finished. It’s (rallying) always been my great passion. I grew up beside my father (Graziano), who also drove rally cars so I hope when I finish with bikes I have another 10 years with the car. I think the World Rally Championship is the main option, I have a great relationship with Ford so maybe it will be Ford. In the summer of 2010 I will decide” said Rossi.

ROSSI HOPING FOR WRC FUTURE

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By : David Taylor

What the 2011 Ford Fiesta Super 2000

Could look like

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