spotlight when he competes in next weekend’s HMC Hencom Autobody Rally in Emalahleni.
This event is the third round of the 2011 South African National Rally Championship series in which Rautenbach is Zimbabwe’s sole representative.
And the South African national championship rallying returns to Mpumalanga for the second time this year with the running of the HMC Hencom Autobody Rally next weekend.

The third round of the 2011 South African Rally Championship will start at the Portuguese Club in Emalahleni (Witbank) at 12noon on Friday May 13 and finish at the same venue the following day, with the first car expected in at 3pm.

And Rautenbach (26) will be out to consolidate his lead in the South African national championship standings by registering another top three podium finish in this event.
The last time out when the young Zimbabwean driver competed in South Africa, he took a credible third place finish in the Sasol Rally which was held in Nelspruit on April 15 and 16.

The Sasol Rally acted as the second round of both the 2011 FIA African Rally Championship and the South African Rally Championship series.
And after two rounds of the South African Rally Championship, Rautenbach has an 11-point advantage on the leaderboard, thanks to a storming win in KwaZulu Natal and a fighting podium on the Sasol Rally last month.

The G-Fuel Ford Fiesta S2000 team, with the experienced Frenchman Nicolas Klinger reading the notes, fully intends to widen that gap to their rivals when the 187km, 11-stage HMC Rally reaches a spectacular end come next Saturday afternoon. The young Zimbabwean driver is fully aware that he cannot win every round.
“The South African series is one of the most competitive anywhere in the world. There will be days when someone is faster, possibly taking bigger risks, and that is when it’s time to play the averages and bank good points like we did on the Sasol Rally,” Rautenbach recently said in an interview with the respected South African motorsport website, Rallyworld.net.

Rautenbach is equally aware that as a privateer team, the G-Fuel Ford squad will be under immense pressure from the factory teams.
“The VW and Toyota people don’t take kindly to a privateer beating them; I expect them to come back at us stronger than ever so we’re going to have a huge fight on our hands. I’m really looking forward to it though!

“On any given event, there are at least 10 teams capable of winning so everyone is taking points away from each other. Consistency and scoring well on every round will be key to winning the title.
“I have no knowledge of the stages around Witbank and Bronkhorstspruit, but I have been told the event is not nearly as technical in nature as the two opening rallies, while the surfaces tend to be quite soft.
“We will be running first on the road on the opening day which will hamper us a little but there is only 45km on Friday – the real race starts on Saturday so I think strategy will come into play. It will be interesting to see who gets their sums right,” Rautenbach said.

Nicolas Klinger, Rautenbach’s 35-year-old co-driver, is, meanwhile, adapting well to the South African system of using a DVD to make route notes.
“I was a little scared in Durban, especially because we don’t do a real recce! I have to be more careful describing the route and I tend to err on the side of caution.
“The South African series’ level of competition is very high and the battle for victory is closer than some of the continental championships.

“The factory cars are excellent and the drivers are very fast – they exploit what they have been given. When you compare our team to some of the others, we don’t have a big truck or do as much testing as the factory teams, yet we can still fight for victory which means the
South African championship leaves the door open for a talented driver to still win. It’s incredibly exciting.” Klinger continued: “The atmosphere in the G-Fuel team is fantastic because everyone is friends which is important. I’m happy to be here and fighting for victories next to Conrad, who is a very good driver.” Next weekend’s event is being organised by the Highveld Motor Club and will consist of 11 special stages covering some 187km.

The first day’s action will consist of three stages in the Witbank area with a short opening stage opposite the service park followed by two more gravel stages.
Total stage distance is around 45km.The first car will leave the Portuguese Club in Mandela Street at 7:30am next Saturday to tackle two gravel stages in the Witbank area followed by five more gravel stages in the Bronkhorstspruit area before returning to Witbank for the final stage opposite the Portuguese Club and rally headquarters.

Former African rally champion Schalk Burger (Snr) played a major role in finding the route in the Bronkhorstspruit area and providing equipment to ensure that the stages are race ready.
Clerk of the course Jeremy du Plessis promises a compact, spectator friendly event.
“There will be plenty of action on all the stages,” he recently told the well-respected South African motorsport website, Rallyworld.net.

Meanwhile, the HMC Rally will give Rautenbach the opportunity of fine-tuning himself before he competes in the Zambia International Rally in Lusaka later this month.
Rautenbach and Jamie Whyte – the reigning African motor rallying champion – are expected to lead five Zimbabwean crews at the Zambia International Rally.

The Zambia International Rally is this year coming in as the third round of the eight-round 2011 FIA African Rally Championship series and will be staged from May 20 to 22.
And according to reports from Lusaka, seven foreign and 12 Zambian crews are set to participate in this motor racing event, starting and ending at the Hotel Inter-Continental.

The 595.21km-long rally, being defended by Zambia’s Muna Singh, who will be racing in his loved Madison Subaru WRX, will also feature five Zimbabwean crews led by two-time African champion Whyte (50), in a Subaru Impreza, and Rautenbach, driving a G-Fuel ethanol-powered Ford Fiesta S2000.

The other Zimbabwean drivers who are expected to take part in this grueling event are Craig Green, who will be driving a Mitsubishi Lancer, Chase Attwell, in a Toyota Auris S2000, and female driver Laureen Marufu, in a Toyota Corolla Rsi.

Marufu (34) has already indicated that she was likely to travel to Lusaka to compete in this year’s Zambia International Rally where she will be making her maiden appearance in an international motor rallying event outside Zimbabwe.

And the presence of four fellow Zimbabweans – Whyte, Rautenbach, Green and Attwell – will see her in good company and it will make her feel more at home than in a foreign country.
The five Zimbabwean drivers are likely to be joined in the starting line-up for the Zambia International Rally by Schalk Burger (Jnr) of South Africa and Rwanda’s Giancarlo Davite. Burger (Jnr) will be aboard a

Power Line Africa Mitsubishi Evo X while Davite will come in in his Subareu Impreza WRX.
Some of the Zambian crews who have already confirmed their participation are Singh, his son Jassy, turning out in a VW Golf 2, Mohammed Essa, in his faithful Madison Subaru WRX, Paul Monge, Imran Ticklay,

Ashish Patel, Ken Mukosa; all WRXs, Azim Ticklay, Dani Beaini (both in Toyota Landcruisers) and Lastone Chulu, who will be driving a Corolla Rsi.
Zambia Motorsport Association vice-president, Sam Chin’gambu, said from Lusaka this week that the organising committee is expecting 12 local and seven foreign crews to enter the contest. Chin’gambu said the opening stage would be a 1.54km Super Special stage at the home of Zambian motorsport – Lusaka Motor Club – in the show grounds on May 20 after the ceremonial start at the Hotel Inter-Continental.

And all eyes in this event will be on two of Zimbabwe’s top motor rallying drivers – Rautenbach and Whyte – who are the early pacesetters in the year’s FIA ARC series after two rounds of competition.
Rautenbach is currently sitting pretty at the top of the 2011 FIA ARC Drivers Standings with 50 points after he emerged triumphant in the opening two rounds of the series – the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally and the Sasol Rally – in Zimbabwe and South Africa in March and April.

Whyte, the reigning ARC champion, is lying in second place, 13 points behind Rautenbach.
The two Zimbabwean drivers will be jostling for honours in the Zambia International Rally with Muna Singh, Essa, Schalk Burger (Jnr), Davite and Green who are all registered for the FIA ARC series this year.

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