SWAZILAND: Springboks Serge Damseaux and Vito Bonafede realised an 
ambition when they led the 24th Castrol International Rally from 
start to finish, eventually winning the 1 100 km event by nearly 12 
minutes.

Damseaux and Bonafede, driving a Castrol Toyota Conquest 4x4, were 
unchallenged following the early demise of last year's winners 
Hannes Grobler and Pierre Arries (Bankfin Nissan Sentra 4x4) and 
problems encountered by top-seeded Kenyan crew Ian Duncan and Dave 
Williamson (Castrol Toyota Celica 4x4)

The South African Rally Champions stamped their authority on the 
event right from the first special stage in the centre of Ermelo on 
Friday, and immediately went into the lead.

The Kenyan crew, winners of last year's World Championship Safari 
Rally, and third overall in this year's Safari, lost time at the 
beginning of the rally when they got stuck after going off in their 
own dust, and late yesterday with a punctured tyre.

Indeed, tyre problems dogged them throughout the event, the fast 
roads causing more wear than expected, quickly cutting down on their 
stocks, and forcing them to "scrounge" tyres from other crews.

Toyotas dominated the rally, with the top three placings, and eight 
in the top 10.

Third placed was the Brady Dabner/Guy Hodgson Toyota Conquest 
followed by the Ford Escort RS Cosworth of Namibian entry Frits 
Flachberger and Wicus Bruwer.

But the dice of the event was between former rally Springboks Kassie 
Coetzee and Richard Leeke, and Coetzee's former rally navigator, 
Wiley Harrington - now turned driver -  teamed with Nic Hadden.

Now top members of the off-road racing fraternity, Coetzee and Leeke 
kept pace with the leading rally cars in a Toyota Hilux 4x4 bakkie 
designed for "bundu bashing" rather than high-speed rallying, 
holding fifth overall for much of the event before finally relenting 
that position to the Toyota Conquest of Glen Derman and Dave 
Lewkowicz.

And then in the closing stages of the rally, the Class A Toyota 
Conquest of Wiley Harrington (former navigator to Coetzee) and Nic 
Haddon slipped through to eventually push the Hilux back to seventh 
overall.

Eighth place was filled by the spunky little Fiat Uno Turbo of Paulo 
Piazza-Musso and Mike Connolly, while Trevor Graham and Peter 
Chadwick, Toyota-mounted, came home ninth, and the top 10 was 
completed by the Toyota Celica 4x4 of Kenyans Harbinder Setthi and 
Surinder Thatthi.

Some 31 crews made it to the finish from the 55 which left the 
Ermelo start on Friday, including no fewer than nine off-road cars!.

Results

SOUTH AFRICAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, ROUND 3
AFRICAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP, ROUND 1

1. Serge Damseaux/Vito Bonafede (Toyota Conquest), 6h04m37s; 2. Ian 
Duncan/Dave Williamson (Toyota Celica), 6h17m08s; 3. Brady 
Dabner/Guy Hodgson (Toyota Conquest), 6h33m06s; 4. Fritz 
Flachberger/Wicus Brewer (Ford RS Cosworth), 6h39m45s; 5. Wiley 
Harrington/Nic Haddon (Toyota Conquest), 6h47m06s; 6. Glen 
Derman/Dave Lewkowicz (Toyota Conquest), 6h42m28s; 7. Kassie 
Coetzee/Richard Leeke (Toyota Hilux), 6h43m56s; 8. Paolo Piazza-
Musso/Mike Connolly (Fiat Uno Turbo), 6h47m14s; 9. Trevor 
Graham/Peter Chadwick (Toyota Conquest), 6h49m37s; 10. Harbinder 
Sethi/Surinder Thatthi (Toyota Celica), 6h52m16s.

ends 


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Colin Windell  
CyberRace Inc  (c) 1995. All rights reserved
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