Fifteen of the 16 original starters of the event took to the country roads around Ruwa yesterday morning, with the youngest competitors, Rowan Whyte and Craig Archenoul, having been unable to finish Friday’s opening super special stage and going out of the rally on day one.
By lunchtime yesterday six more were out – Craig Green and Mike Exton; Chase Attwell and Miles Skinner; Mohammed Essa and Moses Matovu; Schalk Burger Junior and Armand du Toit; Stuart Haddon and Dave Milner; Michelle Yorke and Steve Murton.
This left only nine vehicles on the road, with Conrad Rautenbach and Nicolas Klinger ahead of the pack and on course for a fourth win of Zimbabwe’s premier motorsport event. The pair had tied in the opening super special stage on Friday, when their time of 5:13 gave them cause for satisfaction.
Today’s action sees the remaining field move out to Norton, where rallying will be concentrated on forest roads around the Norton Country Club. Another super special stage in the open area outside Rainbow Towers will end the rally, with a ceremonial finish and prize-giving on the ramp at Rainbow Towers.
Hanging in and hoping for consistency and competitiveness are Jamie Whyte and Phil Archenoul, last year’s Challenge champions and winners of the FIA African Rally Championship for 2009 and 2010.
