Volkswagen Sasolracing’s Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin claimed fourth place overall at the 2014 Sasol Rally in Nelspruit on Saturday. The Sasol Rally, round two of the national rally championship season, lived up to its reputation as a tough event, taking its toll on both man and machine throughout the field.
All of the Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000s were there at the finish, racking up four stage victories in the process,” says Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. “We knew, and were expecting, extremely tough conditions at the Sasol Rally, it is one of the events where experience counts – and I believe that shows, we brought all of our cars home where not every team can claim that achievement.”
For Zulu and Peskin, multiple punctures on the event – two of them within the first 10 km of day one – proved a significant stumbling block, but this could not prevent them from finishing in fourth place overall after day one – and overall.
The Sasol Rally didn’t smile on us this year,” says Zulu. “We recovered to fourth overnight and I did think we were in with a chance for a podium. It didn’t work out as this event is very unpredictable, but it felt good bringing home the first Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000 at the Sasol Rally.”
Henk Lategan and Barry White were just two places back, getting their Volkswagen Polo S2000 across the line in sixth place, having contested the highly demanding 14 stages that took place over the two days.
“This is one of the toughest events I’ve ever done,” says Lategan. “There were times when things were just perfect, clean and fast sections in the stages, but three punctures and some issues took their toll. We worked hard to make it to the finish, winning stage 11 in the process.”
Hans Weijs Jnr and Bjorn Degandt completed the 2014 Sasol Rally under Super Rally rules on Saturday, showing good pace and claiming three stage victories. Stages 10, 12 and 13 fell to their determined attacked at an event they regard as a favourite amongst South African rallies.
I like these stages a lot,” says Weijs. “Our times were good and it proves we are going in the right direction. I like this event, especially with the conditions, it is a big challenge and a very nice event.”
Alan Straton
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