Rautenbach Takes 5 Second Lead From Spectator Stage
By Ignatius Mazeko
FIA AFRICAN Championship Rally (ARC) leader Conrad Rautenbach of Zimbabwe started his Zambia International Rally campaign on a winning note by taking five seconds off Zambia’s Mohammed Essa to scoop the twice run 1.63km Super Special Stage at the Lusaka Motor Club in the Showgrounds.
Rautenbach’s G-Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000 was a marvel to watch, coming home a second quicker than Essa’s Madison Subaru Impreza N11 on the first run and three seconds faster than a sister Madison Subaru N10 on the final loop much to the delight of a cheering capacity crowd that included former First Lady Vera Chiluba who was accompanied by Miss Zambia.
The 26-year-old former Citroen Total Junior Team driver, who leads both the South Africa Rally Championship (SARC) and the African race, has the pace and only retiring his beast can halt him from his second Zambia International Rally title.
It is already clear that this rally will be a three-horse-race for Rautenbach, Essa and Zambian champion Muna, who is desparete for his maiden maximum continental points of the season.
Local favourites Muna and Essa have dominated the last two editions of this rally and now they have a challenge of launch an onslaught to overhaul favourite Rautenbach who is equally relishing for a hat trick of maximum points.
Zambia’s Geoffrey Chulu and his younger brother Lastone nearly retired their Struts Travel Toyota Corolla RSi right at the flying finish of the second run where countrymen Muna and Azim Ticklay, driving a standard Toyota Landcruiser, came on two wheels.
The Chulus rolled their Corolla once, smashing the rear windscreen in the process before the car landed on four wheels and managed to get past the stage’s TC out and through to the Service Park and later overnight Parc Ferme at the Rally HQ, InterContinental Hotel.
Zambia International Rally debutant Lorraine Marufu of Zimbabwe and her caretaker Zambian co-driver, Muna’s sister Tinky Naidu had a nightmare on the final run in a Corolla RSi overshooting twice, worse on the last loop, in the stage that has now become the home of the rally's opening session and increasing in length by the year!
Marufu said she did not push her Corolla as much as she would have loved to for fear of breaking the car before the rally proper tomorrow and Sunday. Ten stages will run tomorrow at Graham Ray Farm in Chisamba followed by six on Sunday around the farming block of Silverest in Lusaka.
Azim thanked Toyota Zambia for the company’s continued support providing him with service material while his son Imran paid tribute to Lola Verlaque’s father giving him 10 tyres and the crews have promised to fire on all cylinders in the next two days. (c)ZMSA
Super Special Stage provisional results
1. Conrad Rautenbach/ Nicolas Klinger (G-Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000) 3:29
2. Mohammed Essa/ Ajit Naik (Madison Subaru Impreza N11) +5
3. Muna Singh/ Dave Sihoka (Madison Subaru N10) +7
4. Craig Green/ Mike Exton (Mitsubishi Evo 8) +9
5. Paul Monge/ Ray Thornicroft (Subaru N12B) +11
6. Jamie Whyte/ Phil Archenoul (Jialing Subaru N10) +14
7. Richard Robinson/ Colin Schreiber (Guard Alert Mitsubishi Evo 8) +15
8. Giancarlo Davite/ Sylvia Vindevogel (Subaru N10) +19
9. Ken Mukosa/ Ken Mukosa (Subaru N8) +21
10. Imran Ticklay/ Oswald Chibebe (Subaru N10) +23
11. Ashish Patel/ Shital Patel (Subaru N6) +24
12. Mohammed Salim/ Tyson Miti (Oriental Quarries Subaru N10) +31
13. Geoffrey Chulu/ Lastone Chulu (Struts Travel Toyota Corolla RSi) +35
14. Dani Beaini/ Adrian Sutherland (Toyota Landcruiser) +38
15. Azim Ticklay Mali Chulu (Toyota Landcruiser) +43
16. Jassy Singh/ Liam Jolly (VW Golf 2) +44
17. Lorraine Marufu/ Tinky Naidu (Toyota Corolla RSi) +64
