The Tour is Back
So us poor folk in Natal are somewhat deprived in that we don’t have a race track to have fun on at the weekends. Terrible I know. However, all is not lost, as a few dusty roads out in the cane fields are more often than not a darn sight more exciting.And what event is better than the Tour Natal when it comes to rallying? Just ask reigning Tour champs Hergen Fekken and navigator Pierre Arries who will be defending their title in two weeks time in a new look VW Polo.
The Tour takes on a slightly different format this year, thanks to some blokes and their mountain bikes clogging up the roads. Apparently the Sani2C organisers weren’t too happy with the idea of being knocked over while taking the scenic route to the coast. So the Tour will run on the 6th and 7th March, with the South Coast stages shifted to the Sunday to avoid such an unfortunate meeting in the cane.
As has become tradition, Gateway will host a sort of super special stage on the Friday night for the fans. After which the real action gets under way up North on Saturday morning with four stages throughout the day. Saturday night sees more entertainment for the crowds at Sun Coast Casino, before the final push over seven stages on Sunday.
Aside from the reigning champs, the usual suspects from the National scene will be present on the Tour. VW teammates Jannie Habig and Ralph Pitchford as well as Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson will be in a hurry to show they have what it takes to match Fekken and Arries.
Team Castrol Toyota have yet to announce their drivers after Glyn Hall recently took the reigns – it will however be a surprise if Johnny Gemmell and Peter Marsh don’t find a seat in one of the Auris’.
Team Total will have four cars down in Durbs, three of which are S2000’s. These will be piloted by Fernando Rueda, Jean-Pierre Damseaux and a new face to the four-wheel drive class, Mohammed Moosa.
“The NMCC [Natal Motorcycle and Car Club] and Total worked very well together in 2009 and the Total Tour Natal was highly successful. It goes without saying that we are proud to have been selected by Total SA as their partner to organise the Durban leg of the SA Rally Championship again in 2010. We are refining and improving the event for 2010 and will also be adding a few surprises to make the event more exciting and spectator friendly. After all, it is the premier motorsport event in KZN,” says NMCC’s Richard Vaughan.
The Tour has all the ingredients for a great weekend of motorsport. Just what we Natalians need.
Miles Downard