2009 National Championships Round 1
Wednesday, 21 October 2009 17:59
Dramatic start as the BP Volkswagen rally team claimed their first podium position at the Tour Natal
Defending champions, Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries finished third overall in the S2000 class. Their team mates Jan Habig and Douglas Judd, crossed the line in fourth place after a hard-fought event.
Enzo and Guy had a very dramatic start to the rally when, just four kilometres into the first stage, an aggressive cornering manoeuvre had unexpected results. A hard right into a steep downhill saw their BP Volkswagen Polo tipping over onto two wheels.
Kuun managed to control the car and prevent it from rolling, however, the suspension was damaged and they were unable to continue. This accident proved an effective roadblock to the following two competitors which happened to be their BP Volkswagen teammates, Habig and his navigator Judd as well as the defending champions Fekken and Arries.
Officials at the event decided that the delays experienced by the two BP Volkswagen S2000 competitors would stand and this included the several minutes delay.
Jan and Hergen then simply upped the pace and, by the end of the 15 stage event, Fekken and Arries had posted the fastest times on five of the 15 stages with Habig and Judd winning stage 10. Both BP Volkswagen drivers managed a fantastic pull back by the finish and saw them reducing the points damage to a minimum.
While there was drama aplenty up front, the class A5 BP Volkswagen Citi Golf entries of defending class champion André Cleenwerck and 
navigator Des de Fortier as well as Gugu Zulu and Carl Peskin got down to the serious business of rally competition. Cleenwerck and De Fortier built up an early lead, easily leading the pack and it looked certain they were in for a win. However, a gearbox change on Friday evening saw the duo incur a lateness penalty and this provided the opportunity for Zulu and Peskin to slip into the lead . Zulu took lines honours just a few seconds ahead of team mate Cleenwerck.
With just three weeks until the next rally in the Western Cape be assured the BP Volkswagen team are now even more determined to repeat their one, two, three championship-winning performance of 2008.
Final Standings
- Johnney Gemmel, Castrol Toyota, Auris
- Charl Wilken - Subaru (sponsored by Sasol/Minolta)
- Hergen Fekken - BP Volkswagen Polo
