J-P. Damseaux/Carolyn Swan - Picture by Evan Rothman.

Witbank and Bronkhorstspruit play host to the HMC Rally this weekend, Round Three of the South African Rally Championship. Team Total’s four-car squad will once more be tackling South Africa’s most demanding rally roads in their bid for puncture-free stages, points and podiums.

Team Total, South Africa’s largest privateer team, is represented in Class S2000 and Class, and also features its first all-female rally crew in its illustrious fifteen-year history.

After last month’s punishing event in Nelspruit, Jean-Pierre Damseaux brought his Toyota RunX S2000 to the finish in fourth position in South Africa’s premier rallying Class S1600. His impressive speed and determination in 2011 sees him occupy second in the Drivers’ Championship standings, while his co-driver Carolyn Swan currently tops the Co-Drivers’ standings.

Mohammed Moosa and Grant Martin powered their Team Total Toyota RunX S2000 to a strong eighth place at Round Two, and are confident of moving closer to the podium in only their second season in what is the world’s biggest National-level Class S2000 field. The Tzaneen-based driver thrilled fans on Day One in KwaZulu-Natal, but severe damage to his car’s rear suspension after an “off” left the RunX an ill-handling machine for the remainder of the event. Their run in the forests around Nelspruit last month saw their confidence return as Moosa set increasingly faster stage times to record a strong eighth place overall.



Mohammed Moosa/Grant Martin - Picture by Evan Rothman.

In Class S1600 (formerly A6), Craig Trott and co-driver Robbie Coetzee continue to mount the pressure on their Class rivals with their fast yet consistent performances. Leading his Class on Day One of the Total Tour Natal Rally, Trott suffered two unfortunate punctures on Day Two and with a few wrong turns adding to his lost time, Trott fought bravely to finish 17th overall and fourth in Class. In last month’s outing Trott and Coetzee were robbed of Class victory on the penultimate stage, and the consistent pace of their Toyota RunX is not to be underestimated.

Team Total’s first all-female crew of Stefanie Hugo and Angela Shields have experienced the hasher side of the sport, as their Toyota RunX was retired on Day Two in KwaZulu-Natal with terminal electrical problems and most recently an engine sensor failure 10km into the first stage of Round Two resulted in them having to retire from the event. Their determination and enthusiasm has not been dampened, and Hugo and co-driver Shields aim to wow their fans on the HMC Rally this weekend.

The rally will be based in Witbank, with the Rally HQ at the Portuguese Club. Eleven stages and 180 competitive kilometers lie in wait for the rally teams, with the action on Day One taking in 45km and three fast speed tests in the Witbank area. Day Two offers competitors and spectators two gravel stages in the Witbank area before moving off to tackle high-speed gravel stages in the Bronkhorstspruit region before returning to the Portuguese Club for the finale.

Press release issued by Evan Rothman on behalf of Total South Africa.








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