2004 Automark Toyota Rally
author: Patrick Vermaak
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Peter Hayer-Cleave and Brendon Schultz
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Starting at 09h00 on Saturday 5 June 2004 an expected entry of 25 teams will contest the nine special stages that CPMCC have plotted for the 2004 edition of the Automark Rally. Round three of the 2004 WP Rally Championship will start and finish at the Rollbar at the Killarney racetrack, Milnerton and spectators can flock to the well known “roly-poly” straight next to the N7, just outside Malmesbury. With no less than six spectator points it should be a great event to follow as the prospect of rain could turn this event into quite a slippery spectacle. Officially no rain is expected in the Swartland until end June, but there is always Murphy!
Clerk of the Course, Hilton Africa, have stated that two stages included in the 2004 event have not been used for three years, some new stages are included and two will actually be repeated on the day. At Killarney cars will start at one minute intervals and the entry list for this event features a few interesting names.
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Shaun, Anette and Billy
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Fresh from their first regional victory Stephan van Dyk and Mark Pym will be back in their Revolution Technologies / House of Subaru GpN4 Subaru STi 4x4 Turbo and the yellow Synchro Golf of Shaun Jones and Billy Thorpe will once again be ready to pounce should the Scooby crew slip up. Trailing the Scooby by many years with regards to technological development this crew really pedals hard to stay in touch. The return of Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson might just be the answer to their prayers as the works VW crew do not rally for second place finishes and will represent the first real pressure on the Scooby duo. Expect the No 19 VW to start first on the road! Will Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Cobus Vrey really sit out this event if their Team Total class A7 Toyota Corolla RXi 2.0 after having so much work done on it?
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Oeps! No names.
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Spectators will be overjoyed to hear that Werner Koekemoer is back. Having taken a sabbatical to get his Autospot Dealership off the ground the “not so big anymore” will once again be entertaining with his M3 engined class S5 Autospot BMW 328i. Undoubtedly a firm crowd favourite it wil be great to see the tail wagging BMW back in action again and he should be third off the line with the Synchro Golf ideally poised to watch their every move. However, Werner still owns a Subaru Impreza 4x4 Turbo rally car! A quick rebuild will see the yellow CPMCC Gp N2 Harkers Automotive / Shell Helix Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 of Wessel Venter and Patrick Johnson back in the hunt for points and they consider this their home event.
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Patrick Johnson and Wessel Venter with remains.
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An interesting partner swop sees Andy Haigh-Smith sharing the CPMCC class A6 Team REACT Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 with Douglas Williams. Do not know why as yet? André Cleenwerck and Carl Peskin were one of the VW crews that created the “roly-poly” straight near Malmesbury, but this time they will return with the CPMCC class A7 Adez Motorsport VW Polo Playa 2.0 and a good finish is priority. Jon Williams will have experienced navigator, Gerald Brace, alongside in the SWMC GpN2 Trident Press / Wicked Cars Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 and they want another class win. Charl Strydom and Sakkie Bosman return in the CPMCC class A6 Sabre Paints VW Golf A3 CSL 1600 and they would certainly enjoy their first finish for 2004.
Mike Nathan and Pieter Euvrard have been showing a good turn of speed and consistency in the CPMCC class A6 Aluminium Window Industries Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 and should it prove reliable they too could surprise at the sharp end of the field. Twenty year old, Ettiene du Toit, have quietly been finding his feet on gravel and the McCarthy Toyota N1 City GpN2 Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 driver have shown great promise despite his lack of rallying experience. Another determined drive will be on the cards in what must rate as the most competitive class in the region. Abduraghman Amlay and Yusuf Ganief will be hoping for a finish after having two consecutive retirements, despite having completed all the special stages. The Amlay Motorsport class A6 Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 consistently posting very competitive times.
Burning midnight oil to rebuild their class S4 BMW 325i, Clinton Sassman and Andy Schreuder will hopefully be back for another entertaining run. Their performance in Ceres was quite impressive until they lost the plot in the final stage. Peter Heyer-Cleave and Brendon Schultz still represent a somewhat unknown element as their CPMCC Hydron Hydraulic Mitsubishi Lancer Evo III 4x4 Turbo have been getting more and more competitive. The Swartland contours should not provide too much headaches for this very strong Safari entry and it could surprise. Les Faasen and Annemarie McCracken will once again share the CPMCC class S4 Schus Kuilsrivier Nissan Sentra STi 2.0.
Jacques Brits and Johan la Grange have shown great improvement this year and their WBMK GpN2 Lize Signs Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 is getting more competitive with each event. André George and Hilton Auffray is another crew improving with each outing and their CCMCC class S2 M&H Removals VW Golf GT 1600 can score another class win. Quick at times, but struggling to find consistency is the Melvins Transport class S3 Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 of Thenswille Overmeyer and Wesley van Heerden with Kobus Edas and Denzil Isaacs also hoping for a good result in their class S2 Toyota Tazz 1300. A broken clutch dropped them out of the running in Ceres.
Jean du Plessis and JC Barnard enjoyed a fine debut in their WBMK class S4 All Parts BMW 325i and will want to built on this on the Automark Rally. Jean is quite capable behind the wheel of a rear wheel driven car and younger brother, Inus, have now also acquired a 325i BMW. Now should Thorsten Pey eventually get his E36 325i ready there could be as many as six BMW rally cars on the local scene. Vetpret 1 and Kosie Swanepoel hopefully returning at some stage as well?
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Kesevan Naidoo and Garth Scholtz
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With a finish under their belt and fifth gear functional again Nishaad Murudker and Adrienne Swart will be turning in some speed with the CCMCC class S3 Murway Motors Toyota Conquest RSi 1700. Rupert van Zyl and Christo de Bruin have repaired the damage sustained on their class S3 VW Golf 1800 and will also be going for a good finish. Kesevan Naidoo and Garth Scholtz lost third gear on their class S2 Fix-A-Smash Toyota Conquest 1300 and a new CV will see John Peiser and Brian Hoskins back on track in their SPEED Components GpN1 VW Golf Citi 1.4i.
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Rupert van Zyl and Christo de Bruin
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Lance Slabbert and Deon van Greunen will once again be campaigning their Fetch & Carry Express Couriers class S3 VW Golf GTi 1800 and Shaun Lipshitz and Kurt Eriksen make a welcome return in their ex-Pierre Goosen CPMCC class S3 VW Golf GTi 1800. Leon Esterhuyse and Marco Hamilton will hopefully debut their ex-Mike Wyngaard WBMK GpN3 Opel Kadett 2.0 and at this stage the final team off the line will be the ex-Leon Esterhuyse CPMCC class S4 VW Jetta 2.0 of Leon Oosthuizen and Rodney Pedro.
With 27 teams entered (and a few more potential entries ready to roll) regional rallies are back on track to entertain. Martin Esterhuyse, Robbie Robertson, Douglas Cleenwerck, Harry Giliomee, Inus du Plessis, Thorsten Pey, Neels van Wyk and even Berto Mostert aim to get going again.
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