PoloDriver

Following on from a top five finish at the Toyota Dealer Cape Rally, Hans Weijs Jnr and Hans van Goor claimed a podium spot for the Volkswagen Sasolracing team at the Polokwane Rally.

A second place was due reward for the pair at the penultimate round of the South African National Rally Championship, which took place in Limpopo Province from 17-18 October.

A mix of rocky conditions and tight corners made the two-day, 11-stage Polokwane Rally tough. Weather varied from cold and windy on day one, to hot and sunny on day two.

New co-driver van Goor stepped in for Björn Degandt at the last minute, making Weijs Jnr’s rally that little more challenging.

‘The result is good for the team and good for us as well,’ said a pleased Weijs. ‘Hans did a good job for Volkswagen Sasolracing at short notice and it is nice to be back on the podium.

‘This means we are in a strong position for the final result this season. It is a pity that Björn missed this event, our best finish of the year so far.’

It was good news for Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin, too, who finished fourth overall and third in the S2000 category, their first S2000 podium result of the season.

‘It is always a good feeling to produce strong results,’ said Zulu. ‘The Volkswagen Sasolracing team does a lot of work behind the scenes in preparing the cars and it is nice to express our appreciation for their effort by delivering strong rally performances.’

It wasn’t the same fortunate story for Henk Lategan and Barry White, as technical problems prevented them from taking the finish.

‘Henk and Barry showed good pace at the event,’ said Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport. ‘It is unfortunate that small issues kept them away from the finish, their opening at this event had them on track for a very strong finish.’

Over all though, he was pleased with his team’s performance. ‘This is an excellent result for the Volkswagen Sasolracing team. These are the results we’ve been working hard to achieve and it is good to be back on the podium.’

‘For Volkswagen Motorsport the spirit of competition is as important as winning,’ he continued. ‘We were able to provide a top-notch navigator to a rival, keeping the excitement of rallying alive for the rally fans.’

Other Polo finishers included Paulus Franken and Henry Kohne who came second in the S1600 class and seventh overall; 10th place S1600 Polo drivers Andrew Heine and Robbie Coetzee; 13th place Marko Himmel and Francois Schoonbee; and AC Potgieter and Tommy du Toit who finished one place behind.

The final rally in the SANRC is the Toyota Gauteng Dealer Rally on 21 and 22 November, which takes place in the Northwest region.