The final round of the South African National Rally Championship will be a tense time for the entire team as the Tzaneen event has a reputation of being a tough event on cars and crews alike.
Serge Damseaux (pictured) and Robert Paisley are looking to end their season on a high note with another outright victory to add to their win on the Subaru Rally in September, which saw Damseaux claim his 70th career win.
“It will be fantastic to end the year with a win as that will sustain the whole Castrol Toyota team through the months of hard work that lie ahead as they prepare for the 2007 season," said Damseaux.
"The Tzaneen Rally is a hard event on man and machine. If it rains, as it has so many times before, it will be a case of survival of the bravest. I expect Jannie (Habig) to go flat out from the start to win, as he could still give Douglas (Judd) the co-drivers' title. Enzo (Kuun) will be trying everything to give Guy (Hodgson) the title and Etienne (Lourens) can still end the season as runner up so he will be going as hard as he can as well.
“We’ll match them for pace. It will be quite a show for the spectators. I wish I could stand outside the car and watch it!” Damseaux added.
“I’m delighted that Toyota has stepped in to support the event and it would be great to give them a win to celebrate their new sponsorship of the Tzaneen Rally," continued Damseaux. "South African rallying is set to grow to a new level next year with DVD route notes and the promise of more Super 2000 cars in the field. I intend to be in the thick of the action, winning more rallies for Toyota.”
Leading the way in the premier two-wheel-drive Class A7 championship war are Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich, five points ahead of rivals JP Damseaux/Cobus Vrey. The Castrol Toyota RunX pair started the year slowly but gained momentum after some serious development work mid-season, which has benefited Wilken and secured him two class wins and a second in class on the last three events.
The Toyota Tzaneen Rally starts from the Limpopo Tourism Centre in Tzaneen on Friday, October 20. The route comprises five stages on Friday and nine on Saturday, in and around the Duiwelskloof, Modjajdi and Magoebaskloof areas. Twelve stages are accessible to spectators and include two runs over the daunting Mineshaft stage. The crowd-pleasing Tzaneen Showgrounds stage will run as the first and last stage on Saturday.
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