2010 TOYOTA ZIMBABWE CHALLENGE
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JAMES WHYTE AND PHILLIP ARCHENOUL ARE 2010 FIA AFRICAN RALLY CHAMPIONS AGAIN AFTER A DOMINANT WIN IN THE 2010 TOYOTA ZIMBABWE CHALLENGE ON SUNDAY
Double African Rally Champions Jamie Whyte and Phil Archenoul finally achieved success on their home event when the pair powered their Subaru Impreza N10 to a dominant victory on the 2010 Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally.
The action was always going to be fierce during the three day event as there were no less than three former champions amongst the 21 entries. Former Citroen WRC driver Conrad Rautenbach set the initial pace when he beat his own stage record around the opening test! Rautenbach, now driving a Ford Fiesta Super 2000 machine, was the man to beat over the opening six stages but was destined for retirement when the power steering failed on his car.
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Jamie Whyte and Phillip Archenoul from Zimbabwe on the way to win the 2010 FIA African Rally Championship
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This then allowed Craig Green in a Mitsubishi to take the overall lead but with both Jamie Whyte (Zimbabwe) and Muna Singh (Zambia) close behind the rally was far from over. Singh, a former African Champion, lost time towards the end of the second day with a damaged rear differential but still entered the third and final leg third overall.
Sunday saw the remaining crews tackle a further seven stages before returning to the Rainbow Towers back in Harare for the ceremonial finish. Green was the first front runner to experience problems as his transmission failed. This elevated Rwandan Giancarlo Davite into third position. But the Subaru pilot then had an off road adventure on the penultimate stage and lost two wheels on his Subaru! Fastest through this test was junior driver Quentin Mitchell, from Kenya, and such was his time that the 24 year old was elevated to third overall!
With Whyte, the 2009 and 2010 African Rally Champion, now holding a comfortable lead of over two minutes over Muna Singh, the final spectator stage was a mere formality as the Subaru pilot took his first ever home victory on this challenging rally!
The Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally was also the scene for the African Pirelli Star Driver selection. Two young talents would be chosen to represent Africa in the worldwide Pirelli Star Driver programme. Zimbabwe Chase Attwell and Zambian Mohammed Essa were both chosen after setting impressive stage times before ultimately retiring their respective Subarus’.
The 2011 season begins in Zimbabwe next March.
The full rally results are:
1. James Whyte/Philip Archenoul ZIM (Subaru Impreza 162.26
2. Muna Singh / David Sihoka ZAMBIA (Subaru N10) 164.52
3. Quentin Mitchell / Chris Davis KENYA (Subaru Impreza) 169.35
4. Stuart Haddon / Dave Milner (Mitsubishi Evo) 170.34
5. Sherwin Evans / Malcom Thornicroft (Mitsubishi Evo) 185.29
6. Ian Howden / Gary Kirk (Mitsubishi Evo) 191.38
7. Big Chitima / Amos Chamunokara (Mitsubishi) 192.09
8. Michelle Fortman / Miles Skinner Toyota 213.50
9. Laureen Murufu / Clint Ashdown Toyota 218.58
ARC DRIVERS CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 - After Zimbabwe last round
1. James WHYTE (Zimbabwe) 212 points
2. Giancarlo DAVITE (Rwanda) 111 points
3. Fitides CHRISTAKIS (Rwanda) 62 points
4. Alain DETHISE (Burundi) 30 points
5. Jas MANGAT (Uganda) 28 points
6. Valery BUKERA (Burundi) 12 points
7. Mohammed ESSA (Zambia) 7 points
ARC NAVIGATORS CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 - After Zimbabwe last round
1. Phil ARCHENOUL (Zimbabwe) 210 points
2. Sylvia VINDEVOGEL (Rwanda) 107 points
3. Guy DEKELVER (Rwanda) 67 points
4. Moses MATOVU (Tanzania) 37 points
5. Fabrice MASAFIRI (Burundi) 29 points
6. Nital KETHIA (Burundi) 16 points
6. Olivier MEGANCK (Uganda) 3 points
MANUFACTURERS 2010 - After Zimbabwe last round
1. Subaru 232 points
2. Mitsubishi 26 points
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