COLIN WINDELL 
___________________________________________________________ 

A total of 40 cars left the start ramp in the Mpumalanga town of Sabie
this afternoon for the first of the 24 special stages that make up the
Sasol Rally, the fourth round of the South African Rally Championship.

However, missing from the lineup were the Hyundai Accent of Billy
Rautenbach and Johan Sieling and the one half of the Autotech
Rallyesport Team entry, the Volkswagen Golf of Alan Mitrovitch and Mike
Burrows - both potential front runners over the 449 kilometres making up
the two-day event.

Rautenbach, managing director of Hyundai Motor Distributors in South
Africa, had to withdraw from the event to fulfil urgent business
commitments with Hyundai in Korea.

The Mitrovitch/Burrows car, a completely new VW Golf III could not be
completed in time for the start. First off the ramp were current South
African Champions and log leaders in this year's championship, Serge
Damseaux and Vito Bonafede in their Castrol Toyota Conquest 4x4 - the
ninth version of the Conquest built for the pair. Their previous car was
comprehensively destroyed in the Castrol International Rally and the
new car, probably the last of its kind to be built for South African
rallying before regulation changes for next year make it obsolete, is
museum quality while being the cutting edge of current technology.

Damseaux started to 'stretch his legs' immediately, blasting through
the 4,06 kilometre stage in 2m50s, four seconds quicker than Peter
Alterskye/Allan Bissett in the ex-works, ex-Damseaux Toyota Conquest
4x4. Honours for third quickest in the opening stage went to the Crisp
Air Toyota Conquest of Hergen Fekken and Dave Lewkowicz with Leon
Botha/Francois Jordaan in the ex-works Nissan Sentra 4x4 sharing the
same time of 2m56s.

Jan Habig and Douglas Judd in the StanBrik VW Golf in Formula 2
specification (Class A7) were fifth fastest ahead of Enzo Kuun/Guy
Hodgson in the Hyundai Accent 4x4. Tony Ball and Brian Duncan (Team
Total VW Golf) were next, ahead of multiple former SA Champions Sarel
van der Merwe and Franz Boshoff in the 2,0-litre SASOL Daewoo Cielo.

Damseaux's charge continued into special stage 2, the Castrol Toyota
driver emerging from the 12,43 kilometre section 21 seconds quicker than
the next fastest competitor - around two seconds a kilometre speedier!

Enzo Kuun/Guy Hodgson (Hyundai Accent) and Sarel van der Merwe shared   
honours for second quickest with Hergen Fekken continuing his good      
showing in the Crisp Air Conquest third fastest. Tjaart van der         
Walt/Cindi Harding in the Class A7 Rieks Towing VW Golf were next up    
ahead of Etienne Lourens/Robert Paisley in their Toyota Conquest.       

This stage also claimed the first victim of the event with the Leon
Botha/Francois Jordaan Nissan Sentra stuck in the stage.


PROVISIONAL TIMES (After 2 Stages)

1. Damseaux/Bonafede (Toyota Conquest), 00:09,46 2. Kuun/Hodgson
(Hyundai Accent), 00:10,17 3. Fekken/Lewkowicz (Toyota Conquest),
00:10,18 Van der Merwe/Boshoff (Daewoo Cielo), 00:10,18 5. Van der
Walt/Harding (VW Golf), 00:10,24 6. Miranda/Pretorius (VW Golf),
00:10,30 7. Alterskye/Bissett (Toyota Conquest), 00:10,33
8. Lourens/Paisley (Toyota Conquest), 00:10,40
9. Habig/Judd (VW Golf), 00:10,53
10. Brand/Olivier (VW Golf), 00:12,33
_


RELEASE 2 
COLIN WINDELL 
___________________________________________________________ 

At the end of the first leg of the Sasol Rally, the midway point of the
South African Rally Championship, defending champions Serge Damseaux and
Vito Bonafede had built up a comfortable lead of 1m10s over the rest of
the field.

From the midday start in Sabie, Mpumalanga, this afternoon (Friday)
the pair powered their Castrol Toyota Conquest into an immediate lead,
finishing the first section of six special stages having won five of
them outright.

Although not a stage winner, Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson in the Hyundai
Accent 4x4 turned in sufficiently quick times through the opening
stages to move themselves into second place overall by the time the
rally returned to Sabie for the rest halt, prior to starting the second
leg and night stages in the forests on the way to Nelspruit for the
overnight break.

Just three seconds behind the Hyundai came the second of the Korean
manufacturers contesting the event with the 2,0-litre SASOL Daewoo
Cielo of multiple former South African Rally Champions and winners of
the recent Castrol International Rally, Sarel van der Merwe and Franz
Boshoff. Behind them, in fourth place were Peter Alterskye and Allan
Bissett in the ex-works ex-Serge Damseaux Toyota Conquest, some 12
seconds adrift of Van der Merwe.

However, the pair also finished the section as the only other winners of
a special stage - on stage 4 and sharing the honours with Damseaux on
stage 3, and this after spinning the car twice during these proceedings.

Certainly the most impressive drive of the opening section came from
young Hergen Fekken and Dave Lewkowicz in the 1700cc Toyota Conquest in
Class S18. The youngest member of the Fekken family to participate in
rallying, Hergen follows in the footsteps of former SA Champion Lambert
Fekken and his brothers Harry and Roelof, both top drivers in their own
right during the 1960's and early 1970's.




Fifth overall at the end of the section, Fekken and Lewkowicz in the
Crisp Air Toyota were 22 seconds behind the more powerful Alterskye
Conquest and less than two minutes behind the rally leader.

Natalian Jan Habig and Douglas Judd in the Stanbrik Volkswagen Golf were
fighting their back into contention in sixth place after losing a minute
to the leader in special stage 2 when they suffered a puncture.

Flat tyres played an important role in the opening stages causing delays
for a number of other competitors including Tjaart van der Walt/Cindi
Harding (VW Golf) who lost two minutes in special stage 5 and Barry
Grobbelaar/Neil Fourie (VW Golf) who lost nearly three minutes in stage
3.

The first major retirement of the event came in stage 2 when Leon Botha
and Francois Jordaan in the ex-works Nissan Sentra were forced out with
a broken front rose joint. In stage 3 Paolo Piazza-Musso/Nic Hadden
(Fiat Uno) went off the road, losing 33 minutes before being able to get
the car back onto the stage and mobile.

Terry Brand and Martie Olivier (Autotech Rallyesport Golf) lost 90
seconds in the very first stage when a gear linkage came adrift, while
Allen Worms and Ashley Gericke (Toyota Conquest) had their day turned
upside down when they comprehensively rolled the car in stage 5 -
fortunately without injury to either of them.



RELEASE 3
COLIN WINDELL         

Massive crowds lined the spectator points from the restart of the Sasol
Rally in Sabie tonight (Friday), braving the sudden - and unexpected -
winter rain to watch as Serge Damseaux and Vito Bonafede continued to
pull away from the rest of the field.

By the time the Castrol Toyota pairing reached the overnight stop in
Nelspruit they were 2m17s ahead of second-placed Enzo Kuun and Guy
Hodgson (Hyundai Accent), the latter pair 1m10s ahead of the SASOL
Daewoo Cielo of Sarel van der Merwe and Franz Boshoff.

Natalians Peter Alterskye and Alan Bissett continued to hold fourth
place, their Toyota Conquest 4x4 comfortably placed ahead of the
Stanbrik VW Golf of Jan Habig and Douglas Judd now in fifth place after
having fought back into contention following time lost with a puncture
in the second special stage of the event.

Their charge - and superior horsepower - moved them ahead of the 'Young
Turk' of the event, Hergen Fekken. The Pretoria-based driver with Dave
Lewkowicz in the hot seat has maintained a sparklingly swift pace since
the start in Sabie earlier today (Friday) and, despite the fact the
Crisp Air Toyota Conquest has only a 1700cc engine, has managed to stay
well in contention.

The unexpected rain which started to fall as the cars line up for the
restart in Sabie at 18h00 last night gave the four-wheel drives of
Damseaux, Kuun and Alterskye an extra advantage through the additional
traction they were able to claim on the slippery surfaces.

For Jose Ferreira and Jose da Costa who completed a brand new rally
Class A7 Golf only days before the event, the thought must have crossed
their minds it should have been a 4x4 as they rolled in front of a crowd
of spectators on stage 7, run through the streets of Sabie itself.

The rain also proved the undoing of the Autotech Rallyesport Team Golf
of Terry Brand and Martie Olivier when they were forced to retire,
unable to see where they were going when the windscreen wiper motor
packed up on stage 8.

In stage 9 Johann Fourie and Danny van Vuuren rolled their Nissan
Sentra.

With Damseaux firmly ensconced in the lead the chase when the rally
restarts from Nelspruit tomorrow morning (Saturday) will mostly be for
second place honours - although with 13 special stages still to be
contested, anything could happen.

PROVISIONAL TIMES (After 11 Stages)

1.  Damseaux/Bonafede (Toyota Conquest), 01:11,34
2.  Kuun/Hodgson (Hyundai Accent), 01:13,51
3.  Van der Merwe/Boshoff (Daewoo Cielo), 01:15,01
4.  Alterskye/Bissett (Toyota Conquest), 01:15,45
5.  Habig/Judd (VW Golf), 01:16,37
6.  Fekken/Lewkowicz (Toyota Conquest), 01:16,52
7.  Lourens/Paisley (Toyota Conquest), 01:17,55
8.  Miranda/Pretorius (VW Golf), 01:18,08
9.  Ball/Duncan (VW Golf), 01:19,18
10. Viljoen/Vermeulen (Toyota Conquest), 01:21,29


SASOL RALLY PRESS ROOM
RELEASE 4
COLIN WINDELL
___________________________________________________________

Engine problems for Sarel van der Merwe and Franz Boshoff in the SASOL
Daewoo Cielo have brought about the biggest change in the running order
in the 1996 Sasol Rally since Mpumalanga Premier Matthews Phosa flagged
the cars away for the final two sections from Nelspruit this morning.

The rain, which started on Friday night, continued to provide some
advantage for the four-wheel drive cars, allowing the Castrol Toyota
Conquest of Serge Damseaux and Vito Bonafede to streak away to a 3m08s
lead by the end of special stage 17.

Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson in their Hyundai Accent 4x4 remained fairly
comfortable in second place, but behind them Peter Alterskye and Alan
Bissett had moved into third spot, the ex-works Toyota Conquest making
the most of the conditions and the fact there were problems for Van der
Merwe and Boshoff.

In third place at the overnight halt in Nelspruit last night, Van der
Merwe started losing time through stages 16 and 17 when the Daewoo's
engine began to cut out - allowing Alterskye through to third place
overall.

Van der Merwe currently lies 1m12s behind the Toyota with little real
prospect of being able to make up the deficit, particularly if the rain
continues through the rest of the day.

Jan Habig and Douglas Judd in the StanBrik VW Golf could also pose a
threat to Van der Merwe, the superior horsepower of the Golf allowing
them to eat away at the Daewoo's lead but, with just seven special
stages left it is a question of whether there are enough stage kilometre
in which to catch up.

Hergen Fekken and Dave Lewkowicz in the Crisp Air Toyota Conquest
are maintaining station in sixth place ahead of Etienne Lourens and
Robert Paisley, also in a Toyota Conquest - the latter pair performing
exceptionally well in a car running a 1600cc Group N engine in place of
its usual 1700cc rally powerplant which was not completed in time for
the start of the event.

Eliso Miranda and Francois Pretorius in their VW Golf are currently
lying eighth overall and coming under some pressure from Natal driver
Tony Ball and navigator Brian Duncan. Ball has reduced the deficit
between the two cars from 1m10s at the restart this morning to just 38
seconds.

The other change of morning is for 10th place overall with Tjaart van
der Walt and Cindi Harding in the Rieks Towing VW Golf moving up one
spot to take the place away from Theunis Viljoen and Andre Vermeulen in
their Toyota Conquest.

PROVISIONAL TIMES (After 17 Stages)

1.  Damseaux/Bonafede (Toyota Conquest), 01:39,25
2.  Kuun/Hodgson (Hyundai Accent), 01:42,33
3.  Alterskye/Bissett (Toyota Conquest), 01:44,15
4.  Van der Merwe/Boshoff (Daewoo Cielo), 01:45,27
5.  Habig/Judd (VW Golf), 01:46,01
6.  Fekken/Lewkowicz (Toyota Conquest), 01:47,01
7.  Lourens/Paisley (Toyota Conquest), 01:48,26
8.  Miranda/Pretorius (VW Golf), 01:49,19
9.  Ball/Duncan (VW Golf), 01:49,58
10. Van der Walt/Harding (VW Golf), 01:52,31


SASOL RALLY PRESS ROOM
RELEASE 5    FINAL WRAPUP     
COLIN WINDELL
___________________________________________________________

From the first special stage of the 1996 Sasol Rally which started in
Sabie, Mpumalanga on Friday, reigning South African Champions Serge
Damseaux and Vito Bonafede went out to win the event and to extend their
lead in this year's series.

The plan came together without a hitch and the pair powered their
Castrol Toyota Conquest 4x4 to the finish, never really challenged for
the lead they established in the first of the 24 special stages that
culminated with the final stage in the centre of the town of Nelspruit.

Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson in the Bankfin Hyundai Accent 4x4 held second
place through the event, finishing some 4m31s behind the Toyota. Behind
them though, the battle for third place throughout the event was a
classic case of power versus tactics.

Multiple former South African Champions Sarel van der Merwe and Franz
Boshoff put all the knowledge and ability of all their rallying years
together to get into third place in the first section of the event on
Friday. When rain began to fall in the final stages of the first day and
through into the second section of the rally yesterday, the four-wheel
drive cars began to gain the upper hand.

For the two-wheel drive Daewoo this meant tremendous pressure from the
ex-works Toyota Conquest 4x4 of fourth-placed Peter Alterskye and Alan
Bissett and, when the Daewoo developed overheating problems in stage
16, the Toyota pairing moved ahead. By stage 20 the Daewoo pair had
been demoted again, this time by the StanBrik VW Golf of Jan Habig and
Douglas Judd - the pair having fought back from ninth place following a
puncture in stage 2.

However, Alterskye and Bissett threw it away on stage 22 near the flying
finish when they almost rolled the car but escaped with a damaged wheel
and lost time as the only penalties, the time factor allowing Habig and
Judd through to finish third overall.

At the finish Van der Merwe, a two-time winner of the Sasol Rally, had
to be content with fifth place overall.


However, the drive of the event came from young Hergen Fekken and
navigator Dave Lewkowicz in the Crisp Air Toyota Conquest, the 1700cc
car ably driven to finish up in the points among the quicker 2,0-litre
engined entrants in sixth place. Seventh overall went to the Natal
pairing of Etienne Lourens and Robert Paisley in a Toyota Conquest ahead
of Eliso Miranda and Francois Pretorius (VW Golf).

The battle for ninth place ended sadly for Tony Ball and Brian Duncan
just a few short stages from the finish when they were forced to retire
when their VW Golf got bogged down in the stage, allowing Tjaart van
der Walt and Cindi Harding (Rieks Towing VW Golf) to move up a place,
bringing with them the Toyota Conquest of Theuns Viloen and Andre
Vermeulen into 10 spot.

Of the 40 starters in Sabie on Friday afternoon 23 made it through the
450 kilometres of special stage to the finish in Nelspruit.

PROVISIONAL RESULTS

1.  Damseaux/Bonafede (Toyota Conquest), 02:20,46
2.  Kuun/Hodgson (Hyundai Accent), 02:25,17
3.  Habig/Judd (VW Golf), 02:29,25
4.  Alterskye/Bissett (Toyota Conquest), 02:30,03
5.  Van der Merwe/Boshoff (Daewoo Cielo), 02:31,08
6.  Fekken/Lewkowicz (Toyota Conquest), 02:31,33
7.  Lourens/Paisley (Toyota Conquest), 02:32,20
8.  Miranda/Pretorius (VW Golf), 02:34,51
9.  Van der Walt/Harding (VW Golf), 02:37,46
10. Viljoen/Vermeulen (Toyota Conquest), 02:39,29