The 2014 VWSA Rally saw 42 competitors taking part in 6 classes over two days on the weekend of 11 and 12 July 2014.
Conditions this year were dry and dusty with an overcast first day as the precursor to a sunny Saturday for the final stages.
Changes to the route this year included special stages at the Port Elizabeth Oval Track Raceway and the final special stage around the outer grounds and parking areas of Port Elizabeth’s Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
Seven teams failed to finish the rally with no major crashes or visits to the depth of the forest.
The top 3:
- Ford Dealer Team: Mark Cronje / Robin Houghton – S2000 Ford Fiesta
- Team Castrol Toyota: Leeroy Poulter / Elvéne Coetzee – S2000 Toyota Yaris
- Volkswagen Sasolracing: Hans Weijs Jnr. / Bjorn Degandt – S2000 Volkswagen Polo
Detailed and final results here.
Have a look at some of the GoPro videos from the Rally.
2014 VWSA Rally – The Quick and the Slow
2014 VWSA Rally Clipping Point
2014 VWSA Rally Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Images from the 2014 VWSA Rally:
The local Volkswagen Sasolracing team completed the demanding Volkswagen Rally by finishing on the podium with Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt in their Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000.
In addition to the podium result, Volkswagen also received the Manufacturer’s Award for the most points scored, while Hans Weijs and Björn Degandt and Henk Lategan and Barry White received the Team Award for the rally as well.
Weijs and Degandt crossed the finish line at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium for third place overall, just ahead of their teammates, Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin in fourth after the 15 stages.
“The Longmore Forest stages were just as good as I expected,” says Weijs. “We are doing well in the championship and our goal now is not just to finish on the podium, now we want to win.”
While Degandt and Weijs kept it steady on the Volkswagen Rally, ending the first day in third place and then maintaining that position through the eight stages of day two, Zulu and Peskin went from sixth at the end of day one to finish in fourth by the end of the final stage.
“The Volkswagen Rally is renowned for being a very testing event, it rates as one of the best events in the country,” says Zulu. “We have some work to do in terms of rhythm inside the car to make it a bit smoother, but the team have provided me with a fantastic car, now we just have to get it all together.”
With two second-fastest stage times for the pair in the Volkswagen Rally, Zulu and Peskin are picking up the pace in their first S2000 season. For Henk Lategan and Barry White the weekend started well, producing the second-quickest time in the opening stage and amongst the top five in nine of the 15 stages. Unfortunately hitting one of the many tree stumps in the forest forced them into a ditch and early retirement.
“Hans and Björn drove well to achieve a podium position,” says Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. “The team is making good progress and now, with a second in the championship with four rounds to go, we are in a strong position for the fight to the end of the season.”
The Volkswagen Sasolracing team heads to round five of the season on 15 and 16 July in Gauteng.
Alan Straton
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