Volkswagen Sasolracing gears up for the 2014 South African rally season
With just a month until the South African National Rally Championship gets underway, Volkswagen Sasolracing is looking forward to the challenges 2014 may bring.
The first event is in KwaZulu-Natal and there will be three Polo S2000s fielded by the German carmaker, who last week announced a new driver line-up.
Henk Lategan will pair with Pierre Arries for 2014, and will drive a Polo S2000, building on his first year in the series during 2013. Lategan’s previous co-driver, Barry White, takes on a non-competitive role for Volkswagen Sasolracing in 2014.
Joining Lategan are longstanding pairing Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin. Moving up to the premier S2000 class, they trade in their Polo Vivo S2000 Challenge car for a full-fat fifth-generation-based Polo rally car.
The final combination of drivers, Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt, saw Volkswagen Sasolracing action during 2012. Now they join the team for the duration of 2014, and will travel to South Africa for each round of the championship.
Previous Polo S2000 drivers Hergen Fekken, Enzo Kuun and Douglass Judd departed the Volkswagen Sasolracing team at the end of 2013.
‘For the Volkswagen Sasolracing team the competitor line-up this season has been carefully selected to create a strong and balanced challenge for the national championship,’ said Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport.
‘We have made a careful selection of talent and experience to create a team that is young, energetic and holds significant promise for the future.
‘Hans’ and Björn’s presence during the 2012 season gained the local rally championship a lot of attention from Europe. Returning to the field should provide another boost for our local profile and they will add diversity and interest.’
Rowe continued: ‘I can confirm at this stage is the inclusion of a number of exciting, young privateer teams who will be competing on the national stage in Volkswagen Polo rally cars.’
The newcomers will be led by Thilo Himmel and Armand du Toit who will tackle the S2000 Challenge category.
In the S1600 class Paulus Franken, Marco Himmel, Chad van Beurden and AC Potgieter, along with each of their navigators will keep this category highly competitive.