The exhilarating Sasol Rally drew to a close this past weekend in Mpumalanga, with the Volkswagen Sasolracing team’s Gugu Zulu scooping overall victory in the S2000 Challenge.

The Sasol Rally is the second leg of the South African Rally Championship and has become one of the premier rally events on the motorsport calendar. This year marked the 22^nd anniversary of the Sasol Rally in Mpumalanga. Amidst fierce competition between the participating teams, contenders had to deal with wet weather conditions coupled with a thick and heavy mist. According to Alan Cameron, Managing Director of Sasol Oil, the rally was once again a successful event. “This popular rally drew local residents, motoring enthusiasts as well as teams from around the country. We are delighted at yet another great event as we are extremely passionate and committed to our motorsport investment in South Africa,” he added.

Not only is Sasol the title sponsor of the rally, but this year, the company partnered with York Timbers, investing R600 000 for three social upliftment projects, to ensure that a legacy remains after the rally.  One of the projects was the construction of stalls for street vendors at Sabie Square, who will further be equipped with essential business development training. Eleven classrooms at Graskop Primary School were refurbished along with four ablution facilities, administration offices and a kitchen. The classrooms at Memezile High School have been furnished with 200 new desks and chairs.

“Through these projects, Sasol and York Timbers are contributing to infrastructure development, in a bid to address the challenge of unemployment and supporting education – which is key to socio-economic growth and well-being of communities in Mpumalanga,” remarked Cameron. The economic benefit that the Sasol Rally event brings to the region each year is significant. The support of motorsport, in particular rallying, is testament to the commitment that Sasol has to the sport and ensuring that it continually develops its products to meet the exacting demands of motor racing.

Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton, in their four wheel drive S2000, won the rally for the second year in a row, with a lead time of 2min 46.6 sec. Matthew Wilson and Chris Patterson were 1min 09 sec behind the winning team. Third, a further 1 min 15 sec behind, were Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee, who gave the Castrol Team Toyota Yaris, its first podium finish in only its second rally.

VW Sasolracing team’s Henk Lategan and co-driver Barry White were in fourth place, 2 min 26 sec behind the winners. The 18-year-old Lategan scored his first stage win in the premier class with victory in the last of the day’s gravel stages.

The next rally is taking place in Gauteng on the 31 May – 1 June.

Ends

Issued by:

Alex Anderson, Group Media Manager
Direct telephone +27 (11) 441 3295; Mobile +27 (0) 71 600 9605;
alex.anderson@sasol.com

Jacqui O’Sullivan, GM: Group Communication
Direct telephone +27 (11) 441 3252; Mobile +27 (0) 82 883 9697;
jacqui.osullivan@sasol.com