Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich emerged from the 5th round of the Sasol South African Rally Championship with the 2009 SA Production Car and Class N4 championships firmly in the team’s trophy cabinet after a storming drive through the 12 stages of the Volkswagen Rally which saw the pair end a strong 7th overall after leading the rally after four stages.
The Sasol/Konica Minolta car was running with a FIA rule change allowing production cars a larger 33mm turbo restrictor instead of the 32mm approved previously. “The car is easier to drive because of the wider rev range”, was Wilken’s initial feeling on the new rule.
Wilken and Godrich, arguably one of the most prolific championship-winning driver pairings in the country with ten rally championships since 2003, set a blistering pace on Friday’s stages to take the overall rally lead after stage four, having set the fastest time on the 5km long second tarmac stage, beating the faster, more powerful factory S2000 machinery in the process.
As the teams headed to the Longmore Forest for the first time, Wilken had what he described as a poor stage, dropping 20 seconds to the S2000 teams. “I really don’t know why we were so slow relative to the guys we were leading”, said Wilken. “We had a problem with the intercooler water spray system and that may account for a couple of lost kilowatts”. Wilken and Godrich were happy with their 4th overall at the end of Friday’s six stages.
Saturday brought another good run over the Jagtvlakte stage, and Wilken and Godrich were up into a podium place, holding 3rd overall. A puncture in the dreaded 48km long ninth stage, 15km from the end, cost the pair any chance of retaining the podium place.
“We lost about two minutes to Enzo Kuun and dropped down to 7th place. That’s how close it is at the front in rallying. You can’t work on ‘what ifs’, but we could well have ended on the podium”, Wilken rued. “On the other hand, with the championship out of the way, we can drive to our full potential on the remaining three rounds and see how far up the overall order we can get, which is going to be a lot of fun”.
Sasol’s Head of Sponsorships, Dean Somerset, was thrilled with the first titles of the year; “Charl is a natural racer and this result is a proud moment for the team and the Sasol brand. It is the first year in their new car, demonstrating the level of talent in the team. I’m thrilled that we’ve pocketed the championship so early in the season”.
The Sasol/Konica Minolta Team Director Flip Wilken added: “We’ve been the dominant team in production car rallying with five wins from five starts and we are the first team to win a title this year”.
Tjaart Coetzee and Etienne Lourens (SAC Trucks Subaru Impreza) were time barred on Friday after changing a gearbox at the final service of the day. The newcomer to rallying had earlier lost 25 minutes in stage five when a fuel line came adrift and the pair had to stop and repair it in-stage. Coetzee ran under SuperRally regulations on Saturday, allowing the driver to gain experience of the route.
In class N3, the dominant Dave Compton/Pierre Jordaan pairing retired their Sasol Toyota RunX with a blown engine in stage four, bringing an end to their run of four wins from four starts and putting the formality of their championship on hold for another month.
Chad Lambert/Nic Prinsloo drove a borrowed Toyota RunX to take a maiden class win after overcoming a catalogue of mechanical problems on the first day. Lambert and Prinsloo are the 2007 Northern Regions Champions.
The next outing for the Sasol/Konica Minolta Team is the Osram Rally on 22 August.
