Handbrakes & Hairpins Issue 178

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