Toyota on top of title chase
After three of the eight rounds of the 2014 South African Rally Championship, the top five contenders are clearly identified.
Castrol Toyota Yaris S2000 crews Leeroy Poulter/Elvéne Coetzee and Hergen Fekken/Carolyn Swan occupy the top two positions, tied on 57 points.
Henk Lategan (Sasol VW Polo) lies third in the drivers’ championship with 44 points after his season’s best in Gauteng.
Co-driver Barry White, who missed the opening round, is fourth in the co-drivers’ championship with 36 points.
Volkswagen team-mates Hans Weijs and Björn Degandt produced their second top-three result of the year in Gauteng to see Weijs move up to fourth in the drivers’ championship and Degandt into third in the co-drivers’ championship on 43.5 points.
Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton are fifth with 31.5 points after recording their first win of the season in round three.
The expected dominance of the Ford pair has put them within a win of the current leaders.
Thilo Himmel and Armand du Toit lead the S2000 Challenge for older specification four-wheel drive cars in an Investec VW Polo.
They lead Piet Bakkes and Shaun Visser (Toyota RunX), plus Wilro Dippenaar and Kes Naidoo (PZN Panelbeaters Toyota Auris).
Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle (Yato Tools Toyota Etios R2) continue to enjoy a trouble-free run at the top of the S1600 championship for two-wheel drive cars.
The battle for the remaining podium positions has turned into an exciting sideshow with a nice blend of youth and experience.
Joint second in the drivers’ championship on 43 points are Willie van Straaten (Toyota RunX) and Ashley Haigh-Smith (Castrol Ford Fiesta R2). Their co-drivers, Scott Howden and Damian van Ass, are respectively third and fourth in their championship.
Second in the co-drivers’ championship with 49 points is the experienced Pierre Jordaan.
Fourth in the drivers’ championship is Matthew Vacy-Lyle (Fragram Tools Toyota Etios R2)
Schalk Van Heerden is fifth in the co-drivers’ championship after the first three rounds.
The Richard Leeke Jnr (ATS Ford Fiesta R2), at 18 the youngest driver in the championship, is fifth with 38.5 points.
