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| In the left corner, the defending champ with a new Toyota Yaris nose job. |
IF the sugar cane fields around Scottburgh were a giant boxing
ring, the one corner has the rally-spec Toyota Yaris, while the other corner has
the all-wheel drive Ford Fiesta.
These two brands are the favourites in the national rally
championships, which starts tomorrow with the Tour Natal, again based at
Scottburgh.
The exciting championship pit the crews against each other in eight
flat-out races across SA through to mid October, when the last leg of the rally
takes place in Polokwane.
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| In the right corner, keen to reclaim the title with the same car that won it twice, the AWD S2000 Fiesta. |
Behind the wheel of the S2000 four-wheel drive Fiesta are double
national champions Mark Cronje and co-driver Robin Houghton.
The pair has established themselves as the team to beat in recent
years, having claimed consecutive S2000 titles in 2012 and 2013. Although their
challenge for a third title was dogged by bad luck last year, they were
consistently fast and are keen to reclaim “their” title.
Houghton said the team will start off their season on the Tour
Natal with the same spec vehicle they used last year, but they will have the
benefit of the latest specification for the Sasol Rally in April. “We sent one
of our Fiesta body shells back to M-Sport in the UK at the end of last year, and
it is currently being updated to the latest level. This will ensure we have the
new upgrades for the rest of the season as we fight for championship
glory.
“We have the best car out there and know that we will be right at
the front challenging for stage wins and overall victories,” said Mark
Cronje.
“It is fantastic having the backing and support of Ford Performance
and Ford South Africa, and we hope to add even more silverware to the trophy
cabinet throughout the season.”
Ford Motorsport manager John Nagel said this year sees Ford’s
strongest assault yet on the respective titles. “We have every confidence that
the crews will be challenging for victory in every round and doing Ford and its
loyal supporters proud.”
In the Castrol Team
Toyota corner
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| Toyota's fast rally racers Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee. (Photo: Francois Germishuys) |
Leeroy Poulter, who won
his first South African National Rally Championship in 2014, will again campaign
the proven Toyota Yaris S2000 rally car partnered with Elvéne Coetzee, who in
2014 became the first female navigator to win the championship in more than five
decades. The pair have now proven their mettle by winning four rounds of the
eight-round championship in 2014, backed up by two second-place finishes.
They will be joined in the second Yaris by Dakar veteran and
multiple national motorsport champion Giniel de Villiers. Fresh from a stunning
second-place finish on this year’s Dakar Rally in South America, De Villiers
will have highly experienced navigator Carolyn Swan alongside him in the Toyota
Yaris S2000.
Toyota South Africa Motors is also proud to be associated with a
number of privateers, who campaign a variety of Toyota products.
The most notable performances in 2014 were by Guy Botterill and
navigator Simon Vacy-Lyle in their Toyota Etios R2 S1600.
They won six of the eight rounds and had the title in the bag with
a round to spare. Their S1600 Etios is locally developed and supported by
Yato.
