Jan Habig Rallying

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Rallying moves from the forests to the farms

31 May 2013

Next week sees rallying move from the tight forest stages of Sabie to the long, flat roads in the heart of the Gauteng mealie fields.

“This is truly bringing rallying to the people, and is an ideal opportunity to actually experience the thrill of the sport,” said Jan Habig. “This is where the saying ‘Like chalk and cheese’ is really very appropriate. The recent Sasol Rally left absolutely no room for error in the tight forest stages, with torrential rain, mist and treacherous conditions; it was a bit of a tough event for everyone.”

The Toyota Dealer Rally in Gauteng on the other hand, will be a high speed event, hopefully on dry roads, and obviously there are not the dangers of hidden wood stumps on the roads.

“This certainly is not one of my favourite events, it is very flat, the roads are long straights with sharp 90 degree turns,” Habig said.

This was a very controversial event in 2011 and 2012. Top crews were eliminated in the first special stage with punctures caused by protruding rocks. Habig led this event last year in the Basil Read Ford Fiesta from the second stage to the penultimate stage, and was side-lined with not one puncture, but two, handing victory to Jon Williams.

There is always a surprise element in each event, and organisers have warned that the roads will not be graded into highway conditions and there could be rocks on the side of the road!

The level of competition in the South African Championship is phenomenal and one will appreciate what the cars and drivers are capable of in this event. Victory could go to any one of the top eight crews, and the Ford Fiestas have been dominant in the first two events.

“Although road position is not critical in this event, at least we won’t be sweeping the roads and it is never a bad idea to see the markers of the crews ahead of you,” said Jan.

Toyota will be out to win their own event, as this honour has eluded every sponsor this year, and Volkswagen are hungry for an overall victory. The Basil Read crew of Habig and Paisley are currently in third position overall in the SA Championship race with only one point separating them from Leroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee, with Mark Cronjé and Robin Houghton leading in another Ford Fiesta.

The Toyota Dealer Rally starts at the Toyota Distribution Centre near Boksburg at 10h30 on Friday, 31 May.

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