SARC: Volkswagen Rally report

• colin.windell@digitec.co.za (Colin Windell)
• Digitec Online - South Africa
• Sun Jul 21 07:25:55 EDT 1996

TOYOTA'S 1-2-3

PORT ELIZABETH :A faultless drive by reigning South
African Rally Champions Serge Damseaux and Vito Bonafede gave their
title defence a major boost with victory in the Volkswagen Rally which
finished in Port Elizabeth yesterday.

Driving the Castrol Toyota Conquest the pair led the event from the
opening special stage in Uitenhage on Friday, some of their task made
easier by the high rate of attrition during the two-day event.

At the end Toyota scored a 1-2-3 and finally broke the record held by
Ford to become the manufacturer with the highest number of victories
in South African rallying.

The Bankfin Hyundai Accent of Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson, potentially
the most serious challenge to the Toyota, expired in a cloud of smoke
with a blown engine on the first stage. Peter Alterskye and Alan
Bissett nearly ended their rally in the same stage when they slid into
a curb, destroying the rear suspension on the 'Mr Mr' Toyota
Conquest.

They managed to get it repaired and overcame the penalties incurred
for the time taken on the repair to storm through the thinning field
to claim second overall at the finish, ahead of Natalians Etienne
Lourens and Robert Paisley in their 1600 cc Toyota Conquest.

At the overnight halt on Friday night Jan Habig and Douglas Judd in
the Stanbrik VW Golf were second overall but they became the first
victims of the final day, retiring with flywheel problems. Tjaart van
der Walt and Cindi Harding in the Rieks Towing VW Golf inherited the
position briefly before they too joined the list of retirements when
gearbox problems sidelined them in stage 11.

A steady drive by Barry Grobbelaar and Mike Constable (VW Golf)
brought them the reward of finishing fourth overall while a delighted
Gys Kleyn and Trisha Ivins (VW Golf) celebrated their highest ever
placing on a national event by finishing fifth.

With three events left to run in the 1996 championship the
Damseaux/Bonafede pairing look set to retain their national titles but
the chase for the other top positions has become wide open.

RESULTS

1.  Damseaux/Bonafede (Toyota Conquest), 2hr44,51
2.  Alterskye/Bissett (Toyota Conquest), 2hr54,28
3.  Lourens/Paisley (Toyota Conquest), 2hr58,47
4.  Grobbelaar/Constable (VW Golf), 3hr02,04
5.  Kleyn/Ivins (VW Golf), 3hr04,56
6.  Goosen/De Jongh (VW Golf), 3hr05,36
7.  Brewin/Coombes (Opel Kadett), 3hr08,22
8.  Esterhuyse/Barnard (VW Golf), 3hr11,36
9.  Woodhead/ Hertz (VW Golf), 3hr13,11
10. Trott/Fryer (Toyota Conquest), 3hr14,23

ends

colin.windell@onwe.co.za