THE Volkswagen Sasolracing rally team roars into action at the first of their home events, the Sasol Rally on Friday, April 19. The event will pit the four Volkswagen Sasolracing entries against 210 km of demanding stages in Mpumalanga.
For this, the 22nd running of the Sasol Rally, fans can look forward to an enthusiastic Volkswagen Sasolracing team eager to make their mark on the event. A change in the team will see a familiar face return to the Volkswagen Sasolracing ranks, a temporary change that could create an interesting dynamic at the rally. Douglas Judd is no stranger to rally supporters.
He campaigned under the Volkswagen banner for many years as a navigator and he has six Sasol Rally victories under his belt as a member of the team. Judd will join Enzo Kuun for the 2013 event and Kuun has racked up five victories at this event. “We think that Douglas will be a good match for Enzo.” says Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. “Each is a talented national rally competitor who has a wealth of experience, so we expect they will be up to speed together very quickly.”
An accident involving Kuun and Guy Hodgson at round one this year has necessitated the change for this second event. “The decision to put Douglas in the navigator seat at the Sasol Rally is to ensure that Guy Hodgson is fully fit before competing again,” says Rowe. “While Enzo is ready to rally, Guy is not quite fully fit and missing this event ensures he has enough time to make a complete recovery.” Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries are raring to go at the Sasol Rally. The pair are in the hunt for their first rally victory of the season and this second round of the 2013 championship is their opportunity to aim for the top step of the podium – in Volkswagen Sasolracing colours. Henk Lategan and Barry White tackle the Sasol Rally in their Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000 for the first time – both as members of the team and also in the top-flight S2000 category.
The Sasol Rally is known as a demanding event, but the pair showed promise in round one and can more than match the challenge that awaits them. For Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin the Sasol Rally will see them in another outing in the Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo Vivo S2000 Challenge entry. The pair claimed second place at round one this season and, as defending champions in the S2000 Challenge class, go into this round of the championship confident of their abilities.
For two days in Mpumalanga the Volkswagen Sasolracing team will race through the stages of the Volkswagen Rally, testing man and machine to the limit and providing rally fans with all the excitement and entertainment they can handle.
