Handbrakes & Hairpins Issue 178

Handbrakes
&& Handbrakes
Issue 178 • 14 April 2011 http://wp.me/pkXc
MINI WRC Team has officially launched
Start Ramp
Service Park
Parc Ferme
Hairpins Hairpins
your your insight insight into into the the world world of rallying rallying
WRC Jordan Rally news, updates and preview
Dakar Rally goes electric in 2012
Sasol Rally previewed
“It’s been a process of collaboration and everyone is committed to
making the Jordan Rally a success” - Simon Larkin, North One Sport.
The world’s only dedicated rally eMagazine - every Thursday

Editorial Information
All content copyrighted property of
HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 2007-11. This
publication is fully protected by copyright and
nothing may be reprinted in whole or in part
without written permission from the editor.
While reasonable precautions have been taken
to ensure the accuracy of information from
sources and given to readers, the editor cannot
accept responsibility for any inconvenience or
damage that may arise therefrom.
Contact
Editor Evan Rothman
E-mail us evan.hhmag@gmail.com
Call us +27 83 452 6892
Surf us http://wp.me/pkXc
To receive your FREE weekly HANDBRAKES
& HAIRPINS eMagazine, or if you’d like to
share this with a friend please send your
e-mail address to evan.hhmag@gmail.com.
HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS is not a SPAM
e-mail: email addresses are added to the mailing
list voluntarily.
&
Photojournalist Eva Kovkova
Contributors RallyBuzz, Motorpics, Newspress,
Liga Stirna, Kriss Karnitis and Olivia Gauch.
FOLLOW US!
Handbrakes
Hairpins
your insight into the world of rallying
04 News
04
05
06 Feature Features
06
08
10
12
Start Ramp - News Shorts
WRC Jordan Rally news and preview
MINI WRC Team launched
Ken Block launches Dirt 3 videogame
Competitors ready for Sasol Rally 2011
Dakar Rally to go electric in 2012
14 Events
12
14
SAORRC Toyota Dealer 400 review
SARC Sasol Rally 2011 preview
IRC Rally Islas Canarias preview
Welcome to H&H!
Welcome to issue 178 of HANDBRAKES &
HAIRPINS, your FREE weekly insight into
the world of rallying.
Yours in Rallying,
Evan and Eva
Bringing you the latest international rally news,
extensive event previews and reviews, indepth
feature and technical articles, awardwinning
photography and insightful columnists,
HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS is distributed to your
e-mail inbox each week for FREE in the form of a
high-quality 2MB .PDF file.
To receive this FREE eMagazine (in .PDF format),
please send an email to evanrothman@gmail.com.
http://handbrakeshairpins.wordpress.com

OMP Bolt&
Dynamo FIA
Approved Race
Suits
(Place your order now)
Telephone +27 11 6708400
E-mail: info@ats-motorsport.co.za
Website: ats-motorsport.co.za

Jimmy McRae
back in Porsche
Words: Evan Rothman
Following on the recent success
of Francois Delecour in the Tuthill
Porsche Challenge 911 in the
Bulldog Historic Challenge Rally,
series runners Tuthill Porsche have
announced that Jimmy McRae will
take to the Pirelli Historic Rally’s
stages on 30 April.
The 67-year-old Scotsman will
replace Andrew Barnes in one of the two
JLT Rally Team-backed entries. Barnes
has a prior commitment and the JLT
team has invited McRae, a fi ve-time
British Rally Champion, to deputise.
McRae, from Lanarkshire and
father to Colin and Alister, has driven on
a number of rallies for Tuthill Porsche,
the U.K.’s foremost preparation fi rm
of historic Porsche rally cars, and
fi nished second overall on last year’s
Karcher Summer Stages Historic
Rally in Barbados, winning his class in
the process with the Banbury-based
operation.
“It’s great to have Jimmy back
in one of our cars and driving in the
Tuthill Porsche Challenge,” said Tuthill
Porsche director and Challenge founder
Richard Tuthill. “Jimmy has driven for us
on plenty of occasions in the past and it
goes without saying that he has lots of
experience.”
McRae, who will be co-driven
by Pauline Gullick, said: “Nobody knows
historic Porsches better than Tuthill
Porsche. The desire is always there to
drive. The Kielder Forest is a great place
to go rallying and Tuthill Porsche always
prepares a good car.”
John Lloyd, who fi nished second
on the Tuthill Porsche Challenge opener,
the Bulldog Historic Rally, said he was
delighted to call on McRae and Gullick’s
services. “Pauline has co-driven for me
in the past and Jimmy has done a lot
of events under the JLT banner, so I’m
pleased to welcome them back into the
team.” H&H
New route for
Wales Rally GB
Words: Staff Writer
Team News
Videos
Wales Rally GB, Britain’s round of
the FIA World Rally Championship,
will visit a far greater proportion
of Wales this November, with an
opening stage on the legendary
Great Orme set to kick off 2011’s
Wales Rally GB. The event will also
include central service at Builth
Wells and forays to the classic forest
stages of North and Mid Wales,
culminating on the spectacular Epynt
military ranges near Brecon.
The Royal Welsh Agricultural
Society’s (RWAS) permanent
showground in Builth Wells, Powys will
be home for the main service area,
which will be under cover for the fi rst
time in recent years in Rally GB. The
RWAS showground will also play host
to the Shakedown on Wednesday, 9th
November.
The event gets underway on
Thursday, 10th November in Llandudno,
where two stages on the Great Orme Toll
road – last used on the Lombard RAC
Rally in 1981 – and one at Clocaenog –
last used on the Network Q RAC Rally
in 1996 – will make up the competitive
mileage for the fi rst day. An opening
ceremony will take place outside the
picturesque castle in Conwy in the early
evening, before competitors and their
cars return to Llandudno for overnight
Parc Ferme.
Friday will begin with an early
morning start and the three stages
in Dyfi Forest – fi rst used on the
1961 Rally of Great Britain – before
heading to Dyfnant Forest, south
of Lake Vyrnwy and onto the RWAS
showground for midday service. The
loop will be repeated in the afternoon
and competitors and their cars will stay
overnight in Cardiff after travelling south
from service in Builth Wells.
On Saturday, 12th November,
the event moves on to the much-loved
stages in Hafren, Sweet Lamb and
Myherin, before a repeat loop in the
afternoon. The day will fi nish with a
special stage in Cardiff Bay.
Sunday will bring the 1,850
kilometre event – and the 13-round,
2011 FIA World Rally Championship – to
a close. Six stages in total – including
the FIA WRC ‘Power Stage’ which will
be televised live – will be based around
Event News
Breaking News
Epynt, centering on the Halfway, Crychan
and Monument timed stages. After a
fi nal visit to Builth Wells for servicing,
the surviving WRC teams and private
competitors will head to Cardiff for the
ceremonial fi nish in Cardiff Bay.
Andrew Coe, chief executive of
Wales Rally GB’s organiser, International
Motor Sports Limited, is thrilled with the
new route for 2011 – and commented:
“It has always been a fi rm commitment
of Wales Rally GB to innovate and bring
new thinking to the British round of the
FIA World Rally Championship. And, we
are doing that this year by visiting a far
larger part of Wales, as well as some of
the most iconic stages in rallying history.
“For 2011, we have tried hard
to break the mould and give the event
a fresh, re-invigorated approach. There
is an extremely strong relationship
between us and the Welsh Assembly
Government and, as a team, they were
supportive of our desire to take the
event to the north of Wales.”
H&H
R4 IS GO!
Words: Staff Writer
MML Sports Ltd has confi rmed
that the offi cial Mitsubishi kit of
components to convert Group N
Mitsubishi Lancer EvolutionX rally
cars into the new international
specifi cation, R4, has now been
homologated by the FIA. Following
confi rmation of its successful
homologation, MML Sports, charged
by Mitsubishi Motor Company
and working in partnership with
Ralliart Italy, will begin large scale
production of the components to
satisfy demand for the new breed of
rally cars.
MML Sports has been working
with Ralliart Italy for some time to
develop and fi nalise the specifi cation
of the Mitsubishi R4 kit of components
and is delighted that the FIA has
accepted the components and agreed
homologation.
Fundamentally, the R4
specifi cation allows a range of
lightweight parts to replace what are
standard or road-going components on
the Group N car. For example, a heated
windscreen can be used, eliminating
the need for a heater/blower to keep
the front screen free from misting in
damp conditions. The rear windscreen
and door windows can be replaced
with Perspex while several of the car’s
THE LATEST NEWS FROM THE WORLD OF RALLYING
RallyBuzz.com features European rally championships,
British rallying, RallyCar events, international rally
results and videos, as well as S2000 and WRC news.
www.RallyBuzz.com

original suspension components can
also be replaced with fabricated items,
reducing weight and allowing for better
suspension geometry.
MML Sports is anticipating that,
comparing like for like, an R4 version
of the Lancer Evolution X will weigh in
the region of 60kg less than a Group N
version. The company also estimates
that, based on previous experience and
testing, this will equate to a performance
advantage in the region of 0.5 sec per
kilometre, depending on the stage
conditions and the surface.
MML Sports Managing Director,
John Easton, said: “I am delighted
that the R4 components have been
successfully homologated. This means
that we can now begin large-scale
production of the components and I
anticipate full kits will be ready for
shipping by mid/late April. We already
have several customers who have
pre-ordered kits and they are keen to
reap the benefi ts that we expect from
converting to R4 specifi cation. With
these schedules and the relatively fast
conversion from GpN to R4, which we
would expect to take no more than a
couple of days, potentially teams could
have R4 EvoXs ready for the third round
of the FIA SWRC, Rally d’Italia or the
third round of the IRC, in France.”
MML Sports is also in the
process of building its own R4 Mitsubishi
Lancer Evolution X which will debut soon,
at the hands of a well-known driver, to
demonstrate the car’s potential. More
information MML Sports’ website which is
available at:
http://www.mml-sports.com. H&H
SPECIAL
REPORT: WRC
Jordan Rally
news update
Words: Evan Rothman
Last night’s hopes of the boat
carrying the WRC trucks and
equipment docking were not
realised. This time, a storm off
the coast of Haifa, Israel was the
reason, further delaying the arrival
and transport of the WRC circus to
Jordan Rally headquarters.
The event’s Day One recce went
ahead, albeit with non-recce cars and in
standard 4WD vehicles, with organisers
pulling out all the stops to enable the
event to go ahead.
Speaking to www.wrc.com last
night, North One Sport event manager
Simon Larkin said: “Thanks to the cooperative
and open-minded approach of
all the stakeholders we have been able
to make progress in spite of the logistical
challenges.”
“This has been a 100 per cent
collaborative decision, starting with
consultation with the FIA, the teams
and rally organisers during the last
event,” said Larkin. “We chose this route
because it was the only realistic option
from a cost and timing perspective. Any
other option would have ruled out all
but the two manufacturer teams from
participating.
“We wanted this to be a
collective solution so that nobody got left
behind. As a sport we have to recognise
the needs of all the competitors, not just
the ones at the front.”
The boat is expected to be
unloaded this morning (Wednesday)
and all equipment and trucks will then
only reach Service Park in Jordan late
this afternoon ahead of the rally’s start
tomorrow. A meeting at 22h00 last
night to decide certain aspects of the
event has revealed that the teams and
organisers will once again meet at 11h00
today to determine a new schedule for
the event. To qualify for FIA’s regulations
for WRC events, a route has to complete
66 percent of the standard route set
out by the WRC. This means that simply
cancelling a leg of the rally will not be
allowed for the event, but the organisers
and teams are working on creative
solutions to work around this problem
should it arise.
“It’s been a process of
collaboration and everyone is committed
to making the Jordan Rally a success,”
said Larkin.
This event has proved to be
a demanding event, with its highspeed
gravel tests and hard-compacted
surface. Sebastien Ogier/Julien Ingrassia
(Citroen Total World Rally Team) won
the last outing in Portugal and will be
Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 05
looking to carry that momentum through
to the fi nish of this weekend’s event.
Stiffest competition will come from his
teammates Sebastien Loeb/Daniel Elena,
but the Ford Fiesta RS WRC of Ford
Abu Dhabi World Rally Team’s Mikko
Hirvonen/Jarmo Lehtinen and Jari-Matti
Latvala/Miika Anttila will be aiming to
bring their team the silverware.
Petter Solberg/Chris Patterson
(Petter Solberg World Rally Team) will
most likely be a threat for a podium
position, and will be fi ghting off M-Sport
Ford World Rally Team’s Mads Ostberg,
Matthew Wilson and Henning Solberg.
This the fourth round of the
2011 World Rally Championship makes
its third appearance on the calendar and
is unique in that the majority of stages
are run 400m below sea level.
Currently being overshadowed
by the drama of the logistical problems
faced by the teams, the rally offers much
in the way of rally action, excitement and
close rallying. H&H
THIS WEEK’S BEST VIDEO

MINI offi cially launches their
2011 WRC Team and Rally Car
Words: Evan Rothman
Pictures: MINI Motorsport
The latest manufacturer and team to
join the World Rally Championship
was offi cially launched on Monday
to the world’s press. The giant
media machine that is BMW
has for months, ever since their
announcement of their WRC
campaign, been churning out news,
videos, pictures and spectacular
media opportunities. With the iconic
MINI badge driving their aims, and
with the technological know-how
from WRC Championship winners
Prodrive, the MINI WRC Team is
a welcome sight for rally fans the
world over.
MINI’s fi rst WRC event for 2011
will be the Rally d’Italia Sardegna (5 - 8
May 2011), but the brand has already
claimed their fi rst win in Italy last week
with an S2000 version of their rally car.
The launch of the WRC team took place
at the MINI plant in Oxford, U.K., where
Interviews
Features
the two drivers Dani Sordo and Kris
Meeke revealed their six-event calendar
to the assembled journalists, supporters
and the industry’s biggest players.
This season’s events will be
used to gain experience and engineering
insight into the MINI WRC Rally Car to
makeit a championship contender for the
full 2012 season.
Drawing on a rich history of
rallying success, with Paddy Hopkirk,
Timo Makinen and Rauno Aaltonen
having won the Rallye Monte Carlo at rhe
helm of Mini Coope S machines in 1964,
1965 and 1967, Dani Sordo and Kris
Meeke are proud to carry the MINI name
back to the world’s rally stages.
It was Hopkirk and Aaltonen
who stole the initial spotlight at the
glittering launch function, that is until
the MINI John Cooper Works WRC drove
onto the stage in its fi nal World Rally
Championship design as seen in the
above photographs.
“On the one hand, MINI can
look back on a unique success story,”
Profi les
Technical
said Ian Robertson, Member of the Board
of Management of the BMW AG for Sales
and Marketing. “On the other hand, MINI
is the epitome of excitement for millions
of fans around the world and thrills them
with its energy. This is precisely what
we are able to authentically represent
through our motorsport involvement in
the World Rally Championship. Thrilling
rally events, ultimate performances by
man and machine, and as much success
as possible, of course: motorsport is
pure emotion – just as MINI is for its
fans.”
David Richards, Chairman and
Chief Executive, Prodrive Group, is also
looking forward to the fi rst rally for the
new MINI John Cooper Works WRC. He
said: “We have been working towards
this moment for more than two years
and it is truly exciting to be launching
the MINI WRC Team and what I believe
is the most stunning car in World
Rallying, the MINI John Cooper Works
WRC. We have an experienced team,
a talented driver pairing and, most

importantly of all, a strong partnership
with MINI. We are now eagerly
looking forward to demonstrating the
performance of the car on its debut in
Sardinia in just a few weeks.”
“The excitement of everyone
involved in the comeback of MINI to
the rally stage is building with every
day we get closer to our maiden rally
appearance,” added Dirk Hollweg, Head
of MINI Motorsport. “With the MINI
WRC Team we not only want to please
the loyal fans of the MINI brand, but
also aim to address new motorsport
enthusiasts. We want to thrill them with
fascinating pictures, technical know-how
and pure performance. In addition, the
special MINI lifestyle is always part of
the equation. For us, it’s always about
a bit more than just motorsport. I think
the rally fans will love it.”
David Wilcock, Technical
Director of the MINI WRC Team,
presented the guests with the most
important details of the MINI John
Cooper Works WRC and said: “This
team launch is really perfectly timed
for us. We look back at some extremely
demanding and busy months. Now
we are entering the crucial phase of
our preparation programme for the
fi rst rally. We started the development
of the MINI John Cooper Works WRC
early. It was important to make sure
the ratio between development and
actual building of the car was right.
Our goal was to maximise every area
of performance we could get from the
technical regulations. Our fi rst rally
appearances will show how well we
achieved this. In any case I can say that
the partnership between MINI, Prodrive
and BMW Motorsport on the engine side
is running exceptionally well, everyone is
contributing to the project with a lot of
enthusiasm.”
Having already completed
several thousand kilometres of tests
behind the wheel of the MINI John
Cooper Works WRC, drivers Kris Meeke
and Dani Sordo can hardly wait to
fi nally compete in the fi rst rally for the
MINI WRC Team. “This launch is the
next milestone on the long way to our
fi rst rally,” said Meeke following the
presentation of the car. “I cannot wait
to get the season started. It’s nice
for everyone in the team to see the
result of their work presented in such a
spectacular way. The heritage of MINI
in motorsport is fantastic. Now we want
to make sure we play our part in adding
Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 07
some more chapters to the success
story.”
Sordo is also highly motivated
ahead of his sixth season in the World
Rally Championship. “It’s about time
we get the ball rolling,” said the 2005
Junior World Rally Champion. “The
break since my last rally has been long
enough, now we want to show how good
we are. Everything is new for me this
year. Bearing this in mind, the additional
time to get accustomed to my new
environment has defi nitely been helpful.
Now I’m really looking forward to the
new challenge and to fi ght for strong
results with the MINI John Cooper Works
WRC.”
The MINI John Cooper Works
WRC is powered by a 1.6-litre turbo
engine also used in MINI production
cars, which was developed by BMW
Motorsport for use in series complying
with FIA S 2000 regulations, including
the World Touring Car Championship. As
well as being responsible for the works
team’s MINI John Cooper Works WRC
cars, Prodrive also supplies customer
cars to teams lining up in the World Rally
Championship. This applies to the WRC
and S2000 versions of the new rally
MINI. H&H

Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 08
Ken Block and Mikko Hirvonen
star at Dirt 3 launch
Words: Olivia Gauch
Pictures: Newspress
King of freestyle driving Ken Block
was at Battersea Power Station in
London for the Dirt 3 – Gymkhana
Uncovered event.
The award winning and oldest
British games developers, Codemasters,
release the anticipated Dirt 3 rally
game on 24th May 2011 for Xbox 360,
Playstation 3 and Games for Windows
Live.
Players will start as a seasoned
professional in the off-road world and
the game features more locations,
routes and over 50 rally cars. An
addition is the ‘Gymkhana’ section, made
famous by the American which involves
‘hooning’ around a specially set up route
around various stunts and obstacles.
The Monster World Rally
Team driver is a YouTube sensation –
Gymkhana 2 was 2009’s fourth most
viewed viral video and in the game,
players can publish their runs to the
video-sharing website.
As in Dirt 3, Block replicated
this part of the game in the real world
and under the sweltering sun and the
four iconic chimneys at Battersea, he
handbrake turned, jumped and drifted
his way around the obstacles in his
Gymkhana Ford Focus RS World Rally
Car, kicking up dirt and gravel in front of
the crowds.
Plenty of cameras captured the
live driving from every angle, so watch
out for the trailer coming soon! More
stunts, action and plenty of dirt! H&H

G.B.S Survivors’ Network
Southern Africa
Reaching out. Connecting survivors.
This support group offers patients and survivors
of G.B.S. (Guillain-Barré Syndrome) and
C.I.D.P. (Chronic Infl ammatory Demyelinating
Polyneuropathy) with:
• emotional support and informational booklets
• hospital/rehab visits to patients (when possible)
• online network at http://gbsrsa.wordpress.com
Your South African GBS/CIDP Foundation International Chapter is led by:
•Evan Rothman •http://gbsrsa.wordpress.com
•evanrothman@gmail.com •083 452 6892
GBS/CIDP Foundation
International
104 1/2 Forest Avenue
The Holly Building
Narberth, PA 19072
www.gbs-cidp.org

Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 10
Competitors revving up for
demanding Sasol Rally 2011
Words: Staff Writer
Picture: Evan Rothman
The skill of drivers and performance
of their vehicles will once again
come under the spotlight at the
2011 Sasol Rally where those who
have been “born to perform” will
cross the fi nish line fi rst.
Rally teams are preparing for
the much-anticipated rally, which has
become the pinnacle of rallies on the
country’s annual motorsport calendar.
This is South African petro-chemicals
group Sasol’s 20th year as title sponsor
of the three-day event, which fl agsoff
at 10h00 on 14 April in Sabie,
Mpumalanga.
This year’s rally is the second
leg of the eight-round South African
National Rally Championship and the
second leg of the FIA African Rally
Championship. For the fi rst time, the
Sasol Rally will feature participants from
seven African countries outside of South
Africa. More than twelve teams are
expected to show their mettle through
the timber forests and tar roads in
Mpumalanga.
Sasol Oil managing director,
Alan Cameron, says Sasol is marking
this year’s event with the sponsorship of
the Ford Rally team, which is made up
of two class S2000 Ford Fiesta rally cars
driven by Jon Williams and Mark Cronje,
with their respective co-drivers Robin
Houghton and Cobus Very.
“The Sasol Rally has been an
integral part of our lives over the past
two decades. It’s a major event for Sasol
and we are delighted to be able to share
the experience with South Africans in
general and the Mpumalanga community
in particular.
“We’re particularly excited
about sponsoring Team Sasol. The new
Ford Fiestas embody the technology and
innovation that is the hallmark of our
fuels and lubricants products, which are
truly put to the test during Rally,” says
Cameron.
The new Team Sasol rally cars
will serve as a “real-time laboratory”
where Sasol Techno Oil and Sasol Turbo
Fuels Plus are put to the ultimate
test in a very stringent environment.
In collaboration with the University of
Cape Town, Sasol invests extensively in
fuels research and development. This is
evident through its state of the art fuels
testing facility situated in Muizenberg,
Cape Town. The output and knowledge
gained from this research plays a
signifi cant role in fuelling the Motorsport
industry in South Africa.
KaNyamazane will be included
as a stage in the Sasol Rally starting at
15:00 on Saturday 16 April in front of
the Ncakini Senior Secondary School.
Cameron says this is the second
consecutive year KaNyamazane has been
included in the race. “This was done with
the specifi c aim of ensuring that part of
our community, not previously exposed
to the sport, get the opportunity to
share in the thrill of this event,” he says.
Sasol will be actively engaging
with the community on rally as a
sport this year. A critical element to
watching rally live is safety. Sasol will
hold sessions with school children in
KaNyamazane on the importance of
safety when watching rally, as spectators
are often located on the course.
The Sasol Rally culminates at
the Nelspruit Stadium where the prize
giving will be held and all fi nishing teams
applauded for their achievements. H&H

OMP Bolt&
Dynamo FIA
Approved Race
Suits
(Place your order now)
Telephone +27 11 6708400
E-mail: info@ats-motorsport.co.za
Website: ats-motorsport.co.za

Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 12
Dakar Rally to go electric with “Oscar eO” in 2012
Words: Liga Stirna
Pictures: Kriss Karnitis
Next year’s Dakar Rally will have
something really unique on its entry
list: its fi rst electric-powered rally
car built in Latvia, the “Oscar eO”, is
the fi rst type of this car in the world!
This technical challenge was
undertaken by the head of the OSC
Engineering Centre, Latvian racing
driver, inventor and engineer, Andris
Dambis. Using the latest technological
advances in the electric car fi eld,
Andris Dambis has built the electric car
specifi cally for rally marathons such as
the Dakar Rally.
“Electric cars have been used
in different races, but not in the Dakar
Rally,” said Andris Dambis. “We will be
fi rst. Goal of “Oscar eO” project is no
more and no less than the participating
in planet’s most challenging endurance
race, the Dakar Rally in 2012. We have
decided to participate there, reach the
fi nish and to win.”
“It sounds audacious, but we
are really aiming at some kind of victory
in Class for cars with an alternative type
of drive,” states the project sponsor and
participant of multiple Dakar Rallies,
Māris Saukāns.
“Oscar eO” will compete in a
special Class introduced several years
ago, but still not contested in the Dakar
Rally. During his visit to the Dakar Rally
organisers, the French company ASO,
the Latvian rally team or “Team Latvia”
received an enthusiastic reception. Any
kind of assistance is promised for the
“Oscar eO” project because organizers of
the rally, after discussions with Dambis
and Saukāns, quickly realized that
this project opens up new engineering
and sporting perspectives with an
environmental prospective so important
for FIA.
One of the major components of
“Oscar eO”, no doubt, are the batteries.
They will be exclusively delivered for
this project from the Winston Battery
company in China, which is one of the
leading electric battery manufacturers
in the world, “and better batteries we
cannot imagine for my eO,” said Andris
Dambis.
With two powerful neodymium
magnet electric motors with a total
capacity of 180kW, “Oscar eO” will be
able to develop a speed of 140km/h.

It’s not much, but this time the task
is not to compete with the big and
rich manufacturers and private teams.
“Temporarily, for about 45 seconds,
the “Oscar eO” engines will be able to
develop a capacity for up to 315kW. This
is necessary to, for example, deal with
ultra-high dunes, in the Atacama Desert
region in Chile,” says Andris Dambis.
With a fully charged battery
in the diffi cult conditions of the Dakar
Rally, “Oscar eO” will be able to make
150kilometres, but on easy sections - at
least 300km. As the special stages in
the Dakar Rally are usually several times
longer, the car will be equipped with
additional generators and powered by a
small petrol engine. “Without this engine
we can’t go otherwise we have to take
another battery pack with us, but the
entire car literally is already stuffed with
them. We will also sit on the batteries,
as part of them will be located just below
the cockpit,” explains the engineer.
“Therefore, we chose the Nissan engine
to produce the necessary electric power.”
The petrol engine in “Oscar eO” will be
equipped with a 200-litre fuel tank.
“But the drive will be 100%
electric,” says the creator of “Oscar eO”.
“The gasoline engine won’t even be
placed in the front of car, but in the back
and will be connected only to an electric
generator.”
To test this new electric car in
three month’s time, the test car will be
built and based on a Nissan Navara pickup.
As an added power source in
the “Oscar eO”, shock absorbers will
be designed by the project’s partner
Donerre Amortisseur company in France.
The company was established in 1994
by Pierre de Frenne after 20 years in
race car suspension development. The
company continues to work on a variety
Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 13
of innovations and they currently own
approximately 10 patents that provide
a demonstrable appreciation in many
motor sport disciplines. By joining
“Oscar eO” project, Donerre Amortisseur
wants to offer an effective solution for
electricity generation using a damper
oscillating motion with a view to
obtaining alternative sources of energy
for the charging of the batteries.
The Dakar Rally 2012 will take
place from 1 - 15 January in Argentina,
Chile and, for the fi rst time, in Peru.
Participants will take in more than
9,000km along a very challenging route.
The Latvian rally team plans to start with
“Oscar eO”, “Oscar O3”support cars and
technical assistance trucks. H&H

Tough weekend for off-road
racers at Toyota Dealer 400
Words: Staff Writer
Pictures: Motorpics
Production Vehicle Category:
Maiden win for Regent Racing Team
Regent Racing Nissan Navara crew Mike
Whitehouse and Mathew Carlson scored
a stunning maiden victory on a dramatic
Toyota Dealer 400 this past weekend.
Bookmakers would have offered
generous odds for a Whitehouse/Carlson
victory, but a crew that has built up a
reputation for reliability and consistency
drove with their heads to simply grind
the opposition into the Mpumalanga
mud. Recent good rains in the area
turned much of the course into a slippery
slide with a couple of river crossings and
mud holes wreaking havoc.
Whitehouse and Carlson
eventually fi nished a mammoth 22min
ahead of Thomas Rundle/Juan Mohr
(Barden Nissan Navara).
There was also a fi rst podium
for reigning South African champions
Chris Visser/Japie Badenhorst in their
second appearance for the Ford Racing
Ranger factory team. Visser/Badenhorst
produced a typically stubborn
performance to fi nish well in areas
behind the Barden entry.
“We are ecstatic,” said
Whitehouse afterwards. “We managed to
run at a good pace throughout the race
and avoided the troubles and pitfalls
that hit other crews. When we realised
we had a sniff at winning, we took the
decision to simply keep it steady and not
do anything stupid.”
The treacherous conditions
forced the organisers to alter the route
after the second of the three loops
that made up the race. This cut out a
particularly problematic river crossing,
and cars were regrouped before starting
at one-minute intervals.
The Team Castrol Toyota pair of
Duncan Vos/Rob Howie led for much of
the event before a late wrong slot cost
them time. The pairing then rolled out
Event Reports
Results
of contention 30km from the fi nish, with
the same fate befalling Free State crew
Pieter Ruthven/Rudi Britz in the Ruwacon
Racing Toyota Hilux. Earlier Anthony
Taylor/Chris Birkin, in the second Castrol
Toyota Hilux, ran into the back of a
Special Vehicle competitor, and radiator
damage forced them to retire on the fi rst
of three loops that made up the race.
There were only eight
Production Vehicle fi nishers. Gutsy
performances saw Dewald van Breda/
Johan de Klerk (Potch Plastics Toyota
Hilux D4D), Gary Bertholdt/Andre
Vermeulen (Atlas Copco Toyota Hilux)
and Terence Marsh/George Smalberger,
in the second Regent Racing Navara,
fi nish fourth, fi fth and sixth respectively
in the premier SP Class.
The fi nal fi nishers also saw less
fancied crews score maiden national
victories. Brothers Sarel and Jack
Oosthuizen (Land Rover), were the only
fi nishers in Class D. And, in their fi rst
outing at National level Dirk Putter/Koos

Klaasens (Toyota Hilux), were the only
fi nishers in Class E.
Special Vehicle Category:
Sullwalds storm to victory
Reigning South African champions
Kallie and Quintin Sullwald won a war
of attrition to score their fi rst Special
Vehicle Category victory this weekend.
The father and son team, in the
Elegant Fuel BAT, fi nished around 09min
ahead of the husband-and-wife team of
Marius and Jolinda Fourie (PHB BAT) who
produced a superb result to fi nish second
overall and fi rst in Class P. It was a fi rst
podium and maiden Class P victory for
the Fourie’s who are in their fi rst full
season of National competition.
Herman and Wichard Sullwald
(Sullwald Racing SVR) took the fi nal
podium position after what turned out
to be a long day at the offi ce for all the
crews. The Sullwald’s suffered gearbox
problems throughout the race, and
fi nished the fi nal 120km loop with the
car stuck in third gear.
“That was a tough race in tough
conditions,” said Kallie Sullwald at the
fi nish. “When we hit a tree on the fi nal
loop I thought we had crashed out of the
race, but the car was not the slightest
bit damaged. It was also a nightmare
event for co-drivers, but Quintin was at
the top of his game and never made a
wrong call throughout the race.”
The Fourie’s have made a huge
impression since moving up from the
regional ranks, and never put a wheel
wrong. They were a whopping 02hr
26min ahead of the next Class P car and
reported clean run with a lone puncture
their only hiccup.
Only 13 fi nishers were among
the Special Vehicle brigade.
The high attrition rate produced
a few surprises with Boela Botes/Johan
Pretorius (Botes Vervoer BAT) and
Jacques Wheeler/Siegfried Rousseau
(Orangeworks BAT) completing the fi rst
fi ve cars.
Perseverance also paid off for KwaZulu-
Natal pair Clint Gibson and Gary
Campbell who brought the Gibson Racing
SVR into sixth place in their fi rst outing
of the season. They were followed by
former SA champion Evan Hutchison
and Danie Stassen (Motorite Revo 4×4),
and brothers David and Gary White
(Ruwacon Racing BAT) who both scored
their fi rst points of the season.
The top ten were completed
by two Class P entries in the hands of
rookie Richard Fuller/Geoff Minnitt (Atlas
Copco BAT) and Nick Goslar/Joe Lima in
the Men’s Health International Zarco.
Among the high profi le
retirements were the Donaldson
Prologue pacesetters Mark Corbett/
Rudi Balzer (Century Racing CR4) and
Adenco 400 winners Colin Matthews/Alan
Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 15
Smith (Century Racing CR3). Corbett/
Balzer retired with windscreen wiper
failure that made visibility impossible,
while Matthews/Smith lost a wheel in an
altercation with a hidden rock.
Nick and Ryan Harper also
fell by the wayside to be joined by
Naeem Moosajee/Rayhaan Bodhanya in
the Maxxis Tyres Porter. The race also
took its toll on Class B runners with no
classifi ed fi nishers in the category.
The next event on the Absa
calendar is the Atlas Copco 400 in
Dundee on 20 - 21 May. H&H
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
Production Vehicles Category
01) M. Whitehouse/M. Carlson
Nissan Navarra SP - 06hr 37m 41s
02) T. Rundle/J. Mohr
Nissan Navarra SP + 21m 23s
03) C. Visser/J. Badenhorst
Ford Ranger SP + 47m 28s
04) D. Van Breda/J. De Klerk
Toyota Hilux SP + 01hr 29m 07s
05) G. Bertholdt/A. Vermeulen
Toyota Hilux SP + 01hr 32m 17s
OVERALL CLASSIFICATION
Special Vehicles Category
01) K-H. Sullwald/Q. Sullwald
BAT Spec 4 - 06hr 28m 48s
02) M. Fourie/J. Fourie
BAT Spec 0 + 09m 45s
03) H. Sullwald/W. Sullwald
SVR + 17m 02s
04) B. Botes/J. Pretorius
BAT Spec 2 + 30m 08s
05) J. Wheeler/S. Rosseau
BAT Spec 4 + 37m 17s

Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 16
Ready, set and go: Sasol Rally 2011
Words: Staff Writer
Pictures: Evan Rothman
Judging by the results of the Total
Tour Natal Rally on 25 - 26 March,
the South African rally championship
could see a changing of the guard
in 2011. Although it might be a
little early to write off the more
experienced and older competitors
after just one round of the eightevent
series, youth prevailed in
what was a sizzling season-opener
on the South Coast of KwaZulu-
Natal.
Zimbabwean privateer Conrad
Rautenbach (G-Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000)
heads the overall Championship as well
as the premier S2000 Class with 25
points after upstaging the factory teams
in the Total Tour Natal Rally to score
his second victory in South Africa since
joining the Championship last year. The
26-year-old’s previous win was in Round
Two of the 2010 series in the Toyota
Dealer Rally in the Western Cape.
The next three places in the
Championship points standings are fi lled
by three of the four factory Volkswagen
drivers, who between them have won
the last six Championships. Veteran Jan
Habig, six times a champion, is second
with 21 points after coming so close in
KwaZulu-Natal to winning the opening
round in his BP VW Polo. Third is reining
champion Enzo Kuun, who also won the
title in 2006, with 19 points.
Hergen Fekken, champion
in 2008 and 2009, is fourth with 17
points in another two-litre four-wheel
drive BP VW Polo. Privateer Jean-Pierre
Damseaux (Team Total Toyota RunX)
is fi fth with 16 points after a solid if
unspectacular outing in KwaZulu-Natal.
Former circuit racing superstar
and Dakar Rally winner Giniel de Villiers
scored a useful 13 points in his rally
debut in the fourth factory VW and
currently lies 10th. A lot is expected
of him and he is unlikely to let his
supporters down.
Notably out of the top 10
at this early stage of the season are
the two factory Castrol Toyota Auris
S2000 drivers, Johnny Gemmell and
Leeroy Poulter, and Charl Wilken (Basil
Read/Bizhub Ford Fiesta S2000). Both
Toyota drivers experienced problems
in KwaZulu-Natal. Gemmell is 12th
with 11 points while Poulter, in his fi rst
full season of S2000 after winning the
S1600 class last year, is yet to score
after accident damage put him out of the
opening round. Wilken suffered electrical
problems on the Ford on the Friday, but
recovered from 24th overnight to 11th at
the fi nish, winning a stage and signalling
that he too will be a force to be reckoned
with this season.
Other prominent drivers who
failed to score in KZN, but who will
undoubtedly make their mark on the
Championship this year are Mark Cronje
(Sasol Ford Fiesta S2000) and Hein
Lategan (Pirtek Peugeot 207 S2000).
Cronje made a sensational debut in the
new Ford with co-driver Robin Houghton,
winning all fi ve of the fi rst day’s stages
on the Total Tour Natal Rally and leading
after the fi rst four stages on Saturday
before accident damage ruled him out.
Lategan did not make it past the fi rst
stage after an engine problem caused
by a faulty alternator on the brand new
Peugeot.
Leading the new Super 1600
Class with 12 points after the opening
round is young Ashley Haigh Smith
(React Ford Fiesta R2 S1600), one
of the future stars of South African
rallying, ahead of the experienced
Tjaart Conradie (Silverton Engineering
Toyota Auris S1600) with ten points and
Christoff Snyders (VW Polo S1600) with
eight points.
Megan Verlaque leads the
Super 1400 Class in a BP VW Polo with
three points (full class points were not
awarded due to only three starters in
the class) after an impressive debut in
a factory car. No points were awarded
in Class A7, where the only two entries,
Gugu Zulu/Carl Peskin (BP VW Polo A7)
and Rocky Reyneke/Christo Ackerman
(VW Polo A7) both failed to complete the
rally.
With Rautenbach’s French
co-driver not eligible for points, the
overall co-drivers’ championship is led
by Habig’s co-driver Robert Paisley
(25 points) from Kuun’s co-driver Guy
Hodgson (21 points) and Fekken’s
co-driver Pierre Arries (19 points).
Damseaux’s co-driver, Carolyn Swan, is
fourth with 17 points.
Haigh Smith’s co-driver Hilton
Auffray leads the S1600 Class standings
with 12 points from Conradie’s co-driver
Kes Naidoo (10 points). Verlaque’s codriver,
Lirene du Plessis, leads the S1400
Class with three points.
The next round of the
championship is the Sasol Rally in
Mpumalanga this weekend. It is also a
round of the African Rally Championship
and the event seems some 25 Class
S2000 entries. H&H

Gran Canaria to showcase IRC
rallying at its best once more
Words: Staff Writer
Picture: IRC Media
The waiting is over. Less than
three months since Rallye Monte-
Carlo hosted the thrilling start to
Intercontinental Rally Challenge
(IRC) season fi ve, the all-action
series resumes with Rally Islas
Canarias El Corte Ingles this
weekend.
Based on the island of Gran
Canaria, the third largest of the seven
Canary Islands, the asphalt contest
joined the IRC for the fi rst time in 2010
and proved a hit with drivers and fans
alike. For its second appearance in the
Eurosport-backed competition, event
organisers have made a number of
alterations to the competitive route with
new stages, a return to the Gran Karting
track in the south of the island for the
fi rst time since 2001, plus two tests run
at night. Including stages after dark has
resulted in a more compact itinerary
with the competitive action contained
within a 24-hour period.
This intensity will place a huge
onus on driver fi tness levels and car
preparation and reliability, particularly
as the island’s stages are renowned for
their demanding nature. Although some
of the new stages for 2011 are more
tight and twisty, the fast and undulating
roads that characterise the bulk of the
route mean drivers will experience
signifi cant g-forces. At the same time
they are often exerting tremendous
strain on their cars as signifi cant time
can be gained braking as late as possible
and accelerating out of the corners as
early as possible.
With the stages frequently
climbing and descending, drivers have
to pay close attention to the speed they
carry and the line they take for each
corner to ensure optimum momentum
is maintained at all times. That also
makes precise car set-up and pacenote
accuracy vital.
Ambient temperatures are
high thanks to the Canary Islands being
100km off the coast of Morocco with a
peak of 23˚C expected. And with drivers
not due to return to the overnight halt
in Las Palmas until the early hours of
Saturday morning prior to the restart at
07h30, there is little opportunity for rest
and recuperation.
One of the other notable
features of the stages is the abrasive
surface, which is partly constructed from
a volcanic laver. It means grip levels
are high and in the event of rain will
remain constant, although tyre wear can
be at a premium as a result. However,
because there is little opportunity to
take ‘cuts’ through corners, the road
surface remains relatively clean and
consistent and the risk of punctures is
Issue 178 • 14 Apr 2011 • Page 17
also reduced.
Following a ceremonial start
at the service park in Las Palmas on
Thursday evening, crews will tackle
eight stages on Friday starting with the
1.50km blast at the Gran Karting track
and including the Santa Lucia stage,
which at 24.57km is the longest of the
rally. The day’s action draws to a close
with two night stages run to the south
west of the service park. The fi rst gets
underway at 22h16 with the second
following at 22h49.
Saturday consists of two stages,
each run twice with the fi rst driver due
to start the 23.42km San Mateo stage at
08h35 before arriving at the fi nal service
control in Las Palmas at 13h57.
Event: Rally Islas Canarias El Corte
Ingles
Base: Las Palmas
Starts: Las Palmas, Thursday 14 April
Finishes: Las Palmas, Saturday 16 April
Entries received: 35
IRC appearances: One (2010)
2010 winners: Jan Kopecky (CZE)/Petr
Stary (CZE) Skoda Fabia S2000
Surface: Asphalt
Number of stages: 12
Special stage distance: 190.59
kilometres
Liaison distance: 477.69 kilometres
Total distance: 668.28 kilometres H&H