The Volkswagen Sasolracing partnership of Gugu Zulu and Pierre Arries stepped things up a notch with a podium finish at the Sasol Rally in Nelspruit on Saturday. This is Zulu’s first podium result in the S2000 category – and his best result to date with Arries at his side.
“It was fantastic to enjoy my first S2000 podium finish and stage win, here at the Sasol Rally,” says Zulu. “The Sasol Rally is one of my favourite events and to share that victory with the packed stadium of fans here who have been supporting me since I started rallying 12 years ago it is absolutely awesome. A nice way to end a very tough weekend.”
“This was my first S2000 podium – it has been in the works for a while, but I always seemed to miss it by just a position or two. We made it work here thanks to my crew who played a big role in getting me here. My navigator Pierre and I are working together really well and it can only get better from here on.”
The extremely demanding conditions of Sasol Rally 2015 saw competitors tackle slippery, muddy conditions
that included heavy mist and rain across the 15 stages. From Sabie to White River and on to Nelspruit, there was seldom respite from the challenges which saw teams pushing hard to make the finish.
“I’m very happy for Gugu and Pierre. They had a very steady rally and made good progress to get to the finish, a good result for the Volkswagen Sasolracing team,” says Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. “Henk and Barry proved yesterday we have a very fast car in the Volkswagen Polo S2000, finishing within 35 seconds of the rally leaders overnight even with issues, including a puncture.”
Lategan and White put in stage times that saw them finish second and third in the stage results for most of Friday, with just the two stages with problems – like the puncture – able to slow them down. The pair were on track for a good result but were eliminated from the rally due to an accident on Saturday morning. For Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt the Sasol Rally was equally unkind, removing them from the running on day one and relegating the pair to the role of spectators for the second day.
The Volkswagen Sasolracing rally team now prepare for the Secunda Motor Rally on Friday and Saturday, 15 and 16 May.
Alan Straton
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