Preview: BP Ultimate Rally 2009 (18 - 19 September)

Johnny Gemmell and Peter Marsh head to Cape Town for the BP Ultimate Rally, the 7th round of the Sasol South African Rally Championship determined to eliminate the three point gap to the championship leaders. The Castrol Toyota Auris pair knows that this is make or break time for their title aspirations after storming back into contention after dominating the recent Osram Rally.

Of the rally itself, Johnny said: “I’m really looking forward to it and doing again what we did last month. I have a plan but the S2000 cars are so evenly matched that it is not possible to predict the outcome. One little problem can cost you a couple of minutes which is impossible to make up again unless your rivals also have a problem. It’s flat out racing from start to finish – the spectators are in for a real treat”.

Toyota has a healthy 271 point lead in the all-important Manufacturer’s Championship, ably assisted by a fleet of privateer teams in all the major classes. Toyota has 18 Rally manufacturer’s trophies in their cabinet and a 19th will further entrench the marque as the most successful manufacturer in the sport.

Heading the privateer S2000 entry is Japie van Niekerk and Robin Houghton in their New Africa Developments Toyota RunX, fresh from their best outing of the season last month. The Pretoria property developer can be expected to mix it with the major players and with a bit of extra effort and luck, keep one or two Volkswagens lower down the finishing order.

The class A7 title fight is coming Toyota’s way after the 6th round with off road champion Evan Hutchinson and Elvene Coetzee leading the way in their Motorite Toyota RunX. Hutchinson has been one of the most consistent performers this season, scoring on every round to date which could see his current four point advantage wiped out if dropped scores to date are considered (his lowest score is four), leaving the class fight as a nett dead-heat for the lead.

Vusi Mabanga/Shaun Visser (Team Total Toyota Yaris) heads Toyota’s class A5 challenge, third on the class log. Mabanga has developed as a driver to be reckoned with since slipping behind the wheel of his Yaris and he will be looking for another win to add to his maiden victory on the Sasol Rally.

Dave Compton and Pierre Jordaan have already clinched the Class N3 championship in their Sasol Toyota RunX and hold second place on the overall Production Car Championship, ahead of bigger engined machinery. Compton will have to work hard to keep his overall position, but freed from the pressure of delivering the championship to Sasol, can go a lot harder in his new quest.

The BP Ultimate rally starts at 15h00 from Burchmore’s Auction House in Montague Gardens and takes in one gravel stage and two tarmac stages at Killarney on the first day. An early 07h45 start on Saturday takes the teams to Malmesbury and Moorreesburg for four long stages before heading back to Cape Town for a short 7km gravel stage and a final thrash around the Killarney racetrack, when a clearer picture of the championship situation will emerge ahead of the Toyota Dealer Rally Gauteng, the final round of the 2009 season.