GUGU ZULU TAKES 2009 A5 RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

This past weekend saw several championships being sewn up in the off-road world. One of them was the Class A5 which was clinched by none other than Gugu Zulu and co-driver Carl Peskin in a BP Ultimate VW 1400 cc Class A5 CitiGolf. The pair just edged out André Cleenwerck and Des de Fortier in the same car.

“Stepping back into A5 for 2009 was certainly not a welcome position to be in after having won the class championship in 2007 and having moved up into A7,” says Zulu. “But the economic recession certainly affected sponsorship and one had to appreciate the opportunity of still being in the game.

“That said and done,” he continues, “I had to focus and ensure that we give the best we have and win the championship. The season started well as we notched up the first two wins of the season. At mid season, we had mechanical malladies that affected our good form, but this gave my team mates Andre Cleenwerk and navigator Des De Fortier to catch up. We both drove identical VW/BP backed CitiGolfs. Throughout the season we both commanded the class A5 field often leading the rest of the field by 5 minutes or more.

“Between my teammate and I, we battled and swapped seconds throughout the season. This past weekend going into the last round we had to finish 4th or higher in order to clinch the championship. But after Friday’s stages we were lying 10 minutes behind our teammates and in 9th place. On day two we drove like possessed demons to eventually make up the time to fourth placed competitor and eventually everyone had issues of sorts and in the end we finished 2nd and took championship honours for the 2009 National class A5 Championship. This could possibly be the last Citigolf/Golf Mark 1 official works entry Champion in the world.”

The last statement could prove prophetic because Volkswagen is set to announce something major concerning the Citi Golf and its future. The expectation is that this iconic but controversial car will finally be pulled from production after over 30 years in various guises.

Zulu first burst on to the motor racing scene as a 22-year-old in 2000 without the usual background of motocross or karting experience.  His first taste of the sport was as a participant in the inaugural Vodacom-backed Isondo Development sports car series called Sports 2000.  He won 16 out of 18 races and the title at his first attempt.  He graduated to senior circuit racing as team-mate to the legendary Sarel van der Merwe in the WesBank V8 championship, driving a Ford Mustang in 2001 and a Chevrolet Camaro in 2002.

He joined the factory Volkswagen rally team in 2003 and competed in class A5 with Carl Peskin as his co-driver in a Citi Golf.  In between winning their two class A5 titles in 2007 and 2009, the pair campaigned a factory VW Polo in class A7 in 2008.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY Peter Burroughes Communications

PICTURES BY: MOTORPICS