Here - HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS

aggressively towards the ground and
the scenery out the side windows now
becoming less of a speed blur, we were
in the corner and already powering
through it. It still astounds me the
braking power of these machines and
the grip actually made available by the
tyres on this loose surface.
A quick tug of the handbrake
lever, bashing down the gearbox and
we’re booting out of the corner and
focusing on the next corner to attack.
His movements on the controls results
in directness: there was no wild drifting
or sideways antics as I’d have imagined
from the speed that we entered the
corner and the quick jump of his
right foot from the brake pedal to the
accelerator.
The revs climb quickly, the
sound of the S2000 engine’s cacophonic
howl rising as Mohammed punches up
to fourth gear. Suddenly we’re hard on
the brakes for two or three seconds,
and then down the gears once more,
another fl ick of the steering wheel and
we are pointing in yet another direction.
Of course, strapped into the car I don’t
get a true sense of the speed but a look
towards the digital tachometer and gear
indicator gave me an indication. That,
and the scenery seemingly zipping by.
I can just peer over the bonnet
and notice rocks and bumps in the road
ahead. I would’ve been in orbit in a road
car, but this machine stays planted and
his right foot is still pinned to the fl oor!
Talking about his family and
home in Tzaneen, and then my work,
all the while we are shooting through
a left-right section and over a jump.
The dust and sand sprays onto my side
of the windows, and the scenery fl icks
past very fast… There’s no wafting into
corners: its fl at-out, hard on the brakes,
feed the power and then fl at-out again.
There’s no in between pace, not even
on this Shakedown Stage. It takes an
aggressive and forceful input to keep
this car in line, and the Toyota RunX
S2000 responds immediately. The car
tracks accurately with his steering
wheel inputs, and requires no coaxing
to stay to his desired line. Direct are
his movements, with precise little
adjustments to the steering wheel and
the accelerator pedal and feeling out
the corner and the surface beneath his
tyres.
Corners approach rapidly: short
straights merely serve for Mohammed to
set his car up for the next corner, before
pitching the car into it; it is in corners
that this rally car truly shines and shows
its worth.
We approach a blind rise that
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drops away into a set of zigzags that
I look forward to. From having walked
into the stage to spectate at this specifi c
spot, I noticed the commitment needed
to tackle this seemingly easy section.
In fact, it’s a violent left-right-left-rightleft
section that demands respect and
concentration. Needless to say, each side
of the road is lined with berms, boulders
and tree stumps. To boot, the road is not
wide either and a few of the other S2000
machines clipped the banks in places
during their shakedown runs.
We enter the fi rst fl ick at speed:
on-and-off the power quickly, and we’re
through the fi rst two. Then it’s fl at-out
through the following three corners
as the car sidesteps in and out of the
turns. Still, there are small movements,
adjustments of the steering wheel. He
uses every inch of the road, and we
shoot out of the zigzags and into the
fi nish zone.
The Team Total Evolution Toyota
RunX S2000 of Mohammed Moosa isn’t a
graceful machine; it needs to be strictly
directed and bullied to travel over roads
at that speed on gravel and asphalt.
It’s raw: an action has an immediate
response and effect. It’s a fantastic rally
car, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed sitting
inside the cockpit beside one of the
bravest drivers in South Africa.
Contact us on 011 670 8400 to take advantage.
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