Mind blowing VW Rally

This past weekend i had the opportunity to get into one of the most awesome rally machines in the country, a class A7 VW Golf 4, the opportunity came up when Barry Grobbelaars regular navigator Mike Burrows could not make the event.

It was all a bit of a rush as i was contacted on the monday before the event , getting the pace notes etc, but all came together when i arrived in PE on thursday afternoon, the car was immaculate, prepared by Fields Auto in P.E , these guys do a great job, the car looked brand new, and i was excited

The event started on friday morning with 4 tar stages, unfortunately at the beginning of stage 2 the car wouldnt start, the starter had given up and we ended up pushing the car into the stage and for a further probably 300m to get to a downhill and enough momentum to get the car going, all the spectators wanted to help, but as it is against the rules we had to do it all ourselves, the cheering kept us going , eventually we lost 14min in the stage, but got going.

The rest of day 1 was absolutely awesome, a 170Kw, front wheel drive rally car with a sequential gearbox has to be one of the most exciting cars to drive, and i enjoyed every minute of it in the nav seat!

Day 2 started well, after downloading the data after the first 2 stages, top speed 186mk/h in 6th gear at 8000rpm, it may not sound like that fast , but on dirt over blinde rises it is something to behold!!

after stage 12, all came to a disappointing end when the clutch seized completely arrving at service, the motor wouldnt turn over at all and our rally was run.

I have to thank Barry Grobbelaar and his Sasol golf for a great rally, and an awesome first experience in a seriously fast car.

The Total, a total disaster

Well i hoped it would come in 3's and that would be it, but i guess i put the mockers on it by saying it out loud.

The total international rally took place in Ermelo this last weekend, the event starting on thursday night with 2 super special stages. Dust played a major role in proceedings, and the 2nd stage was cancelled.

We went into day 2 3rd in class, we were immediately on the back foot when we realised we had a leaking front shock, seems like it broken on a bridge on the super special on which i was told we did some major low flying. With no time to change the shock we had to take on the first 2 stages of friday with the faulty part , we took it easy and surprisingly were right on the pace in any case. At the next service the shock was changed in 11 min, giving us 9 min to sip a cold drink!

the next set of 2 stages were a bit rougher , we slowly but surely got faster, catching the leaders in class . The third round of 2 stages were a repeat of the first 2 of the day, Allen gave it some welly on these stages and we took the lead in class A6 by 15 sec with one stage left in the day.

Stage 9 was a nightmare for most of us, with the setting sun and zero breeze the dust was ridiculous, you couldnt see more than a meter in front of the car, we over shot twice, the 2nd time the car struggled to start again! Salie du toit running on his old class N4 seeding had an advantage of having faster cars ahead of him was at less of a disadvantage and took 29sec out of us in the stage, leaving us 14 sec behind at the end of day 1.

it all came to an end 3.5km into the first stage of day 3, we hit a yump, and landed on an exposed rock, it snapped the rear shock off completely, Allen did well to keep the car from going over as the car flicked from one side to another! luckily no more harm was done, however our rally was over, very disappointing after such a promising day 2.

We will not be making the trip to PE for the next event, Allen has elected to do some extra work on the car, and we will be back for the Osram rally in Aliwal North, more from the national car then.

Fun and games for Team ELB Catering supplies

The 3rd round of the Total Northern Regions championships The Imperial Toyota PMC Rally took place the 9th of June in the Bapsfontein area.

The ELB Catering Supplies Toyota made it to the finish once again, but not without fun and games with the normal dry winter conditions in Gauteng, no one could have predicted the muddy quagmires that were experienced by the 65 entrants.

Our rally started off at a leisurely place through stage 1, with a taste of the mud and water holes to look forward to, we wrong slotted once and also slid as most of the field did in one of the hairpin bends only a few hundred meters from the finish. We then started regretting the lack of rain tyres in the service van.

Stage 2 got a bit worse, mud water, and very slippery grass, a particular grass patch where we felt like we were standing still for a good few hundred meters.

Stage 3 was the icing on the cake, with a particular water hole that claimed probably half of the field for a good few minutes before they could get out. We were warned by spectators, however even a slow deliberate course caused us to get stuck, luckily Ernie stayed calmed and slowly reversed and by a miracle we managed to get to the other side of the lake.

Stage 4 was the best conditions of the rally, drier and faster than the other stages.

Stage 5 was the sting in the tail for many particularly the organizers, as the stage was a repeat of stage 1 with a change in direction close to the end to add some distance and a variation, the result being a number of competitors taking the wrong route and thus short cutting. This caused massive headaches for the scorers and COC to sort out. Our stage was quite eventful almost rolling, in Ernie’s words if he had lost a few Kg’s we would have gone over. The conditions were slightly better than the first time around, and I’m proud to say we stayed on the right road, no shortcuts for us.

An eventual 18th overall and 6th in class was not the best result ever, but without wet weather tyres it was just fine, continuing our perfect record of finishes since the beginning of last year.

The next event in the Total Northern Regions championships is the Carletonville Rally on the 7th of July.

Hopefull it only comes in 3's

Well there isnt much to report on the Zulu Rally 2007.

We started off well, running 2nd in class for the first 2 stages, only for it all to come to an end in stage 3 when we came over a blinde rise to fast , the tyres were totally finished after the previous stage. We slid off going into a hairpin left , hit an earth bank and broke a lower control arm! that was our rally over!

We sat in the stage for around 5 hours before the service crew could get to us, we fixed the car and drove it out. We could have re-entered for day 2 under super rally rules, but would not earn any points! So we decided against risking damaging the car for no reason.

Next national rally is the Total International Rally in Ermelo next month.

Consistency pays of for team ELB Catering Supplies

After around 2 months since the last round of the Total Northern Regions championships, the regional rally fraternity moved onto the to the picturesque town of Tzaneen this past weekend.

The ELB catering supplies corolla has undergone another change in the engine department, reverting back to the reliable standard 1600 20 valve motor for the remainder of the year.

Other forced changes included having to make alternative arrangements for tyres as ATS would not supply 14” tyres to regional competitors as there is a shortage of the size and have decided to give national competitors preference. This caused us to use an alternative make which was slightly narrower, and unfortunately did not suite the car at all, altering the handling and making the car a handful to drive.

With poor handling the pace was far from electrifying , however did force us to be consistent and more cautious, which at the end of the day proved to be a blessing .

The rally went by without any major happenings, apart from a puncture in stage 4, which cost a bit of time.

In the end a 9th overall and 3rd in class S3 was an excellent result for the team, opening our points tally after a dismal opening round of the season.

The next rally in the Total Northern Regions series, is the PMC Rally on the 9th of June.

Finally back to regionals

Finally after what seemed like another off season the Total Regional series starts again this weekend with the Tzaneen Rally.

The event is a favourite amongst most competitors including Ernie, the classic Mineshaft and Canal stages where guys have been known to put their cars in the canal with the slippery surface under the leaves that cover the forest floor catching them out, is an awesome experience, what a pity the national wont be going back there again!!!!

We have reverted back to our standard motor for the rest of the season due to unforseen problems, however the upgraded ECU and exhaust should make a big difference in the performance of the standard package.

I will report back next week!

Dejavu for Worms and Martin on the Sasol Rally.

After a disappointing opening round of the Sasol National Rally Championships in the Western Cape with the Turf Quip backed Corolla suffering gearbox problems throughout the event until it cried no more, the team of Allen Worms and Grant Martin went into the Sasol Rally with high hopes of a good finish to open their points tally.

The event started without any issues on the opening stage, only to be followed in stage 2 by what can be referred to as a soft fall over. The car slid through a muddy patch in a right hand bend hitting the bank on the outside and falling softly onto the drivers side. The only damage being a wing mirror and drivers side broken window. Around 3 minutes were lost with getting the car upright and getting re-started.

The rest of the day continued without any issues for the team. The rest of the A6 field except Salie du Toit and Gert van Rensburg in their brand new Total backed Toyota RunX, had problems with punctures and other problems bringing the Turf-Quip corolla back into contention.

Going into day 2 the team lay 2nd in A6 only 36 seconds behind leaders du Toit and van Rensburg, in confident mood taking back a second on the days opening stage the Nelspruit Super Special.

All came to an end at the 2nd stage of the day when the gearbox gave up on the start line for stage 8.

A disappointing end to what looked to be a positive result. The team will however be back with guns blazing in Kwazulu Natal next month for the Zulu Rally.

Worms and Martin have a tough season opener.

Allen Worms and Grant Martin teamed up in a Turf-Quip backed Toyota corolla Rxi for the opening round of the Sasol National Rally Championships , the Toyota Dealer Rally.

The intention going in to the event was to have a solid finish and get rid of the rust for returnee Allen Worms who last rallied around 3 years ago, and getting comfortable with new navigator Grant Martin

The event however started badly for the team with a puncture in the stage 1, which cost around 20seconds and immediately put them on the back foot. Stage 2 only got worse with yet another puncture only 9 km into the stage, with a faulty jack causing the car to fall off constantly the team had to make their way out of the stage at a snails pace , the tyre causing serious damage to the front right fender and bumper. In the same stage 3rd gear gave up , around 12 minutes were lost.

The rest of day 1 continued without any problems except the frustration of having no 3rd gear , which left the stage times off what they should have been.

Day 2 started off as day 1 ended, a clean stage 6 without 3rd, and then finally in stage 7 the gearbox cried no more. Stopping almost half way through the stage, a heart breaking end to a very frustrating event.

The team will be back with guns blazing at the Sasol rally in April.

A new year and new challenges for Team ELB catering supplies

The 2007 Total Northern regions championships kicks off this weekend with the RMC Belfast rally. This was the scene of the first rally that Ernie Boshoff and I did together12 months ago, we return this year more experience and more power.

The bullet proof Corolla’s engine cried no more as we pulled into the parc ferme on the final event of the 2006 season. It has now been undergoing a rebuild and upgrade at the Raceprep concern in Randburg. The question of reliability as apposed to power or speed is going to be on the mind as we enter our 2nd season together.

Apart from the upgrades to the car is the enormous increase in competition in class S3 this year. The entry list for the event looks somewhat different to last years regular runners, with a few noticeable absentees, as well as a number of old and new names added to make the 2007 series an interesting one.

I look forward to keeping you up to date with the teams news and results throughout the season , and seeing those of you who aernt competing , spectating at what looks like a very competitive season.