Zulu and Arries celebrate Polo S2000 podium position at the 2015 Sasol Rally
Volkswagen Sasolracing had reason to celebrate at the recent Sasol Rally, when Gugu Zulu and Pierre Arries finished the event on the third step of the winners’ podium. The 17-18 April event in Nelspruit was the second round of the 2015 South African National Rally Championship as well as Zulu’s first winning result in his Polo S2000.
‘It was fantastic to enjoy my first S2000 podium finish and stage win, here at the Sasol Rally,’ said a jubilated Zulu. ‘The Sasol Rally is one of my favourite events and to share that victory with the packed stadium of fans here who have been supporting me since I started rallying 12 years ago it is absolutely awesome. A nice way to end a very tough weekend.’
First S2000 podium
‘This was my first S2000 podium – it has been in the works for a while, but I always seemed to miss it by just a position or two. We made it work here thanks to my crew who played a big role in getting me here. My navigator Pierre and I are working together really well and it can only get better from here on.’
The extremely slippery conditions favoured few and the 15 stages saw heavy mist and constant rain prevail throughout, aiming conditions less than ideal. Henk Lategan and Barry White were due to complete the event and were posting second and third place stage results when a puncture slowed the pair down. An accident on day two saw them retire.
The Sasol Rally was equally unkind to third Polo S2000 crew Hans Weijs Jnr and Björn Degandt. They were out of contention on the first day. A fourth Polo S2000 driven by Thilo Himmel and Armand du Toit scored a fifth place result.
Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa said: ’I’m very happy for Gugu and Pierre. They had a very steady rally and made good progress to get to the finish, a good result for the Volkswagen Sasolracing team. Henk and Barry proved yesterday we have a very fast car in the Volkswagen Polo S2000, finishing within 35 seconds of the rally leaders overnight even with issues.’
The Volkswagen Sasolracing rally team will next do battle at the Secunda Motor Rally which runs around Secunda in the Mpumulanga region from 15-16 May.
