2012 A YEAR OF NOTE
author: Leon Botha
Well as you know it is the time of the year again when the Bravehearts and even braver purses get ready to fire the first salvo on the rally scene.
Stories and rumours are quite a bit worse than ever and many aspects are based on speculation while certain things seem to be falling into place.
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Pasop Miesies - hier kom 'n nuwe S2000 Polo!!!!
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One thing is certain, the new Volkswagen Polos will be in action from the first rally. The first car is running already and two more are in the process of being completed.
So fact One for 2012 is the following:
If you intend winning the championship this year you need to have a good look at the Volkswagens and make very sure that they stay behind you!
Hergen Fekken and Enzo Kuun will be supported (I hope for their sake only ‘supported and not beaten’) by a German driver – probably Sepp Wiegand who tested at the Rallystar facility end of last year. His navigator Timo Gottschalk was also present during tests and I was truly impressed by this experienced navigator’s productive input and analysis of Sepp’s driving and ability. Your’s truly would not mind having Timo at Rallystar to help some SA drivers – although very few of them need any help! They do not suffer the problems the poor overseas drivers have which became obvious when Sepp practiced about 2 hours just to get one corner perfect. The fact that he then proceeded and posted the fastest time on a portion of the track where many other drivers test – can be ascribed to pure luck?
After their very impressive three day stint Timo said to me that Rallystar was the best facility he ever tested on as it offered almost every possible rally situation and that we must be very busy?
I laughed while wiping the tears from my eyes and said: “You obviously do not know the SA drivers – they need no more practice than running their cars over a farmer’s road once or twice and then this track you loved is too tight, or too rough or too fast or too loose or too wet for them and then most of all, God forbid, they have to pay for the use of the track!”
Anyway – I suppose that is my problem? As long as I maintain the facility for the three or so teams who come to practise and grade the track at my expense – I suppose the Cape will be Dutch and all’s well that ends sort of OK?
Anyway – Sepp may be here for a few rallies and yet another German driver (Matthias Kahle and Mark Wallenwein?) may be here for most of the rallies? Volkswagen is still a bit secretive on that.
Whatever happens – based on the Skoda’s performance overseas where it seems to annihilate the competition wherever it goes – the Polo’s will without doubt be the rally car to be in for the 2012 SA Rally season.
Don’t get me wrong – although it does not really matter what I say – there is nothing wrong with the Ford S2000 and I refuse to make the same mistake as I made beginning last year, when I did not give the Toyotas much of a chance.
Volkswagen, the holding company is preparing for full participation in the WRC in 2013 and I do not have to tell you that the German manufacturer does not do things half-heartedly? It is either the top of the podium (preferably all three podium positions) or nothing!
So they will not fool around anywhere in the world where any of their cars compete in any event on their way to become Rally World Champions.
Hergen and Enzo will probably not miss Habig’s presence as there have always been some politics hanging over the team regarding who gets what and those who know Jannie will know that he is not inclined to settle for second best. That is probably why he (I hope?) decided to break away from Volkswagen in favour of running his own Ford. He apparently has a substantial sponsor and will probably run under the same colours as an existing car?
This will mean that anyone of Hergen or Enzo will be able to win any rally on the calendar given half a chance and also the Championship while they are at it, or will they?
Having mentioned the Fords it is a sad to see that Ford has still not really come to the party officially as manufacturer to join Volkswagen and Toyota in giving their full support to the incredible effort the private Ford teams are putting up.
Notwithstanding their indirect presence their brand is actually strongest represented by privateer teams!
The leading Ford driver in my book will obviously be Mark Cronje, the still to be crowned 2011 Champion – but he will have his work cut out to stay ahead of Habig in general and Charl Wilken on specific rallies.
Mark will pick up from where he stopped last year and if the 2011 effort was anything to go by, he will be a very difficult man to beat – new age Volkswagens or not!
Jon Williams will also be in a Ford and although he showed improvement towards the end of last year, he still has to prove that he has what it takes to stay there with the best?
Having said all this – there is still one great factor in this equation and that is Glyn Hall!
Beginning last year I thought it would be a miracle if the Toyota drivers managed to pull off a stage win or two as the cars did not seem to be competitive, could not jump and in general seemed to lack in many areas!
Then Leeroy popped out of the box and surprised all and sundry! He was not supposed to do what he did and everyone waited for the Big Bang!
Sure – Leeroy had a moment or two and did actually cause a bit of damage to the car but at the same time he proved that given half a chance and he left everyone standing! He caught up from behind like I have not seen in a long time and could keep the pace for longer than many drivers prayed for!
The question is this year not if they will be able to keep up, but if Toyota will run three cars?
I suppose Giniel will run an off-road vehicle but his Red Bull sportsman support will probably make it a lot easier for Glyn to run a third car while it will also not be too difficult to get more sponsors involved who would like to link to his name. The personalities of Giniel and Leeroy are a marketing promoters dream!
Giniel in the right car with a capable navigator next to him will probably pull a few surprises during the year and as consistency is going to be a big factor this year in winning the championship outside of courts, Giniel may just be the man?
Will the Toyota’s be competitive without really having been measured against more than the Ford?
After the world shattering performance during the 2012 Dakar few people will ever doubt the Hall factor again?
I don’t think anyone including Toyota, fully appreciates what happened on the Dakar and what Glyn and his team managed to achieve?
I doubt if Toyota Japan can ignore this opportunity to truly get their motorsport act together? If they do not know this, they should be told by everyone that they got more good publicity from this SA (I am so proud!) effort than they did from the fortune they threw away trying to make a F1 car go around a track.
I don’t think there is a South African enthusiast even driving a Tuareg, Amarok, Isuzu, Mazda, Ford, Nissan or Bolero (whatever you name all the frightful things from India and China) or whatever you call it, who do not have dreams of a Toyota Hilux coming over a sand dune before they fall asleep? The marketing crews of the former bunch must have nightmares of that Hilux landing on them?
Support for Toyota will inter alia come from Mohammed Moosa and JP Damseaux both in Toyota Auris S2000’s. Although both these drivers proved that they can keep up with some of the best it is not likely that they will be able to mix it with the top five during 2012.
Volkswagen will rely on good performances from Gugu Zulu in a factory supported S2000, while Japie van Niekerk, Nicolas Ryan and Henk Lategan will all run private cars from the same stable.
Sebastiaan Klaassen will field a Ford S2000 but he will not attempt to upset any applecart for this year. Werner Koekemoer will compete in the ex-JP Damseaux RunX and he will certainly be a factor in the S2000 2nd Class or whatever they call this.
I suppose I should know the rules of this extra class but I am truly not very interested. This move is actually just a casual add-on to try and please a few as it will not be worth much to the sponsor or manufacturer. Winning this will probably be a “Yea? OK whatever!” win?
I still believe that we would have had at least 20 N4’s running if we were not surrounded by the cousins of Einstein who refused to see the potential of allowing a straight forward and relatively “cheap” SA class car.
Standard Subaru – standard engine, standard 6 speed gearbox, fitted with a roll cage, sump and tank guard. Prescribed shocks, standard brakes, controlled exhaust, sealed computer and no or slight restrictor!
A rule that a competitor must sell his car to another competitor who offers him R250K after the fourth rally on condition that the buyer has to sell his own car to another person who must compete could have been implemented. It will not take more than two weeks to build another car and this will also ensure growth, fights and excitement?
Natal?
If I entered the Total rally and intended to win it, I would have been very, very nervous about Habig in the new Ford. Habig has always been very quick on his home-ground and I do not think there are many roads he does not know.
The extra incentive to prove a point will also play a role, but that may just be what jumps up to bite him? He is not easily rattled and has one of the best “rally philosophies” I know but he may have to go pecking a bit wide?
That’s it – finished with the 2/1 bet – now where the hell do I go to find the winner?
Fact is that the sequence can be absolutely anything: Fekken, Cronje, Kuun, Wilken...... Habig, Cronje, Kuun, Wilken, Fekken.....??
...and until I have seen or heard more I will rather refrain from landing deeper in trouble because as you see I left all the Toyota’s out ....so lets start all over.
Leeroy, Cronje, Habig........................................?????
Man, oh man this is going to be a year on note!
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