Manitou Group SA rally team finishes second in S1600 on 2015 Sasol Rally
Co-driver of the Manitou Group SA rally team Polo S1600, Henry Kohne explains how the team scored another strong 2015 South African National Rally Championship result at the second round of the series, the 2015 Sasol Rally
The 2015 Sasol Rally, round two of the South African National Rally Championship and also an official round of the African Rally Championship, took place on the weekend of 17-18 April. In history, the Sasol Rally is known to be the benchmark event of the South African National Rally Championship and this year it lived up to its legendary status.
The Mpumalanga region produced heavy rains over the course of the weekend which made the stages around Sabie, Witrivier and Nelspruit extremely challenging to teams. This how ether did not keep the spectators away as there was thousands of spectators surrounding the special stages on Friday and Saturday.
Second in class
The Manitou Group SA rally team managed to deal with the tricky conditions and finished second in the S1600 class and a respectable seventh overall on the Sasol Rally. After winning the opening round of the South African National Rally Championship in Natal earlier this year and with their second position on the Sasol Rally, the team maintains its lead in the S1600 championship.
“The Sasol Rally presented our team with a lot of challenges. We made the wrong tyre choice for the wet conditions on Friday which cost us the time we lost to the leader. We are happy with our second position, as it was a very challenging event for man and machine. Our main aim at this point of the season is to score consistent championship points,’ said driver Paul Franken.
The next event will be the Secunda Rally on the weekend of the 15-16th May 2015. The Manitou Group SA rally team receive support from: Manitou Group, Volkswagen Motorsport, Sasol Racing, and Supa Quick Birchleigh.
[Image: RunRideDive.com]
