HANDBRAKES &HAIRPINS 317

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ISSUE 317/CONTENTS EDITORIAL INFORMATION 01/ Cover Editor/ Evan Rothman 02/ ATS Photojournalist/ Eva Kovkova 03/ Editorial Information Contributors/ Liga Stirna, Kris Karnitiss 04/ Opening Shot CONTACT INFORMATION 05/ Rally Show, Moscow-style 09/ Social Media E-mail us/ [email protected] 10/ One the South African scoreboard Call us/ +27 83 452 6892 11/ 2014 BRC season is set to go Surf us/ http://wp.me/pkXc 12/ Rally America heads to Oregon All content copyrighted property of HANDBRAKES & HAIRPINS, 13/ 1st Race 2007-13. This publication is fully protected by copyright and nothing 14/ Closing Shot may be reprinted in whole or in part without written permission from the editor. While reasonable precautions have been taken to ensure the accuracy of information from sources and given to readers, the editor cannot accept responsibility for any inconvenience or damage that may arise therefrom. #OPENINGSHOT Reigning double South African rally champions Mark Cronje and Robin Houghton have had a tough start to their 2014 season. They’ll be wooing Lady Luck for a change in fortune in the Gauteng Rally on 24 - 25 May. Picture: Dave Ledbitter/Motorpress.

04 H&H • #MOSCOWSTYLE There are some famous motor shows in the world, for example, in Bologna or the Fafe Rally Sprint, and I’d add the Rally Masters Show in Moscow to that list. Words: Liga Stirna / Pictures: Timo Anis, Arturs Igavens

05 H&H • 06 H&H •• This year the Rally Masters Show was held for a fourth consecutive year, and in that time it has gained quite a big popularity in Russia and Scandinavia too. At least that is from entrants for the rally, but sadly not so for spectators as Muscovite’s are not too familiar withis discipline of motorsport. But, drivers do like to come here. The event is held at a beautiful venue, at the former Olympic rowing channels but the actual stages use the former Olympic Velodrome in Krilaskoe. And I can assure you, there are not many tarmac roads as exciting as this one... It was built specially for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympic Games, and this venue was used for cycling events. The rally, howver, consisted of six stages, with the longest 9km. This year the main stars of the show were Estonian Markko Martin in his trusted Ford Focus WRC03 and Japanese legend Toshi Arai with his son. From local heroes were were Alexey Lukyanuk, Vasiliy Gryazin, Stanislav Travnikov, as well as Estonians Timmu Korge and Raul Jeets, countless Volkswagen Polos (as this was the fi rst round of their one- make summer rally season) and the spectacular Estonian rally trucks called “crocodiles.” All together, there were more than 60 cars in six classes – Absolute, Production, Super, 2WD, Historical and Truck. Even though this was a “Show,” the drivers didn’t forget about competition too and the rally saw three different leaders: fi rst was Lukyanuk who won SS1, then Gryazin took fi rst position for next four stages, but in very last stage Markko Martin showed why he was the top WRC driver in his time to win by 2.6 seconds!

Final Overall Classifi cation: 01) M. Märtin/K. Kristo Ford Focus RS WRC ‘03 - 20m 52.4s 02) V. Gryazin/D. Eremeev Ford Fiesta S2000 + 02.6s 03) T. Kõrge/E. Pints Ford Fiesta R5 + 45.6s 04) A. Lukyanuk/A. Arnautov Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX R4 + 51.3s 05) N. Gryazin/D. Chumak Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX R4 + 56.8s 06) R. Jeets/A. Toom Ford Fiesta R5 + 01m 06.3s 07) M. Neikšans/R. Berzinš Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X + 01m 12.7s 08) M. Skripnikov/A. Grechko Renault Clio R3 + 01m 43.9s 09) D. Korolev/E. Kalachev Subaru Impreza STi N12 + 02m 01.6s 10) S. Travnikov/A. Bashmakov Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VIII + 02m 15.2s

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A number of teams, events and sponsors benefit from our skills Contact us NOW! Visit our website! - from the UK to the USA, South Africa and New Zealand, to Russia too. We offer you a one-stop experience. Confidentiality is guaranteed. Results are proven. Transparency is key. #TOPOFSOUTHAFRICANPOPS After two rounds of the eight-event 2014 South African National Rally Championship, Castrol Team Toyota’s Leeroy Poulter/Elvéne Coetzee and Hergen Fekken/Carolyn Swan (in Yaris S2000 cars) have consolidated their fi rst and second places on the leader board. Words: H&H / Picture: Dave Ledbitter/Motorpress

The past two seasons have seen Ford’s Blue Oval dominating more stage wins than the three Volkswagen crews, but bad luck in the Sasol Rally in a New Africa Developments Ford Fiesta the top slot, but it is now Toyota that leads the way.Poulter/ has seen these drivers sitting in unfamiliar territory far down with Rikus Fourie as co-driver. This puts Kuun in seventh in Coetzee have so far scored a maximum 50 points with back- the leader board. This means that Weijs’ team-mates Henk the drivers’ championship. Will he compete on more events to-back victories, while team-mates Fekken/Swan added third Lategan/Barry White are fi fth in the drivers’ championship, in 2014? The series most certainly needs more entrants of his place in the Sasol Rally to their runner-up performance in just 1.5 points behind Weijs. The Volkswagen team will calibre. the season-opening Tour Natal Rally o take their points tally only get stronger in 2014, and their pace is still very much Gugu Zulu/Carl Peskin (Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo to 40. To complete Toyota Motorsport’s dream start to the undetermined. Watch this space, we say! S2000) made up for their non-fi nish in the Tour Natal Rally new season, Giniel de Villiers/Greg Godrich (Imperial Toyota Sixth, and just one behind further behind Lategan, is with a well-earned fourth in the Sasol Rally, placing Zulu ninth Yaris S2000) are third with 31 points after fi nishing fourth and S2000 Challenge rookie Thilo Himmel of Namibia (Volkswagen in the drivers’ championship. seventh in the fi rst two rounds. Polo Vivo S2000). Himmell/Armand du Toit also lead the Although they have shown great pace in their New Dutch driver Hans Weijs and Belgian co-driver Bjorn S2000 Challenge for older specifi cation four-wheel drive cars, Africa Developments Ford Fiesta, winning two special stages Degandt (Volkswagen Sasolracing Polo S2000) are fourth in and closer to the factory cars than is comfortable for the big on the Tour Natal, Japie van Niekerk/Gerhard Snyman have the standings, with a third and a tenth place to date. The teams. suffered from only managing to complete both rounds so far factory Volkswagen squad has not had the start to the season Former champion Enzo Kuun made a surprise return under reduced-points Super Rally rules. Defending champions they were hoping for with numerous mechanical maladies after it was thought he’d retired at the end of last season and Mark Cronje/Robin Houghton (Ford Dealer Team Fiesta S2000) holding back their rapid drivers. Two Ford crews have scored showed that he had lost none of his skills by fi nishing second are in a very unfamiliar 14th place overall and ninth among the S2000 cars, thanks to a DNF in Round One and a retirement on the second day in Round Two. After crashing out of the KwaZulu-Natal event on the opening stage, they led the Sasol Rally after winning the fi rst three stages only to fall back with a puncture. They recovered well, winning a further three stages, to fi nish the fi rst day in third place. Suspension problems on the Saturday saw them drop out of the rally with two stages remaining. Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy-Lyle (Yato Tools Toyota Etios R2) enjoy a comfortable lead in the S1600 championship for two-wheel drive cars after accumulating a maximum 50 points from successive victories in their fi rst season in the Etios. Second are Willie van Straaten/Scott Howden (Toyota RunX S1600), who have enjoyed a great start to their season with a second and a fourth place fi nish. Matthew Vacy-Lyle/Schalk van Heerden (Fragram Tools Toyota Etios R2) are third. Defending champions Clint Weston/Christoff Snyders have had a wretched start to the season in the Reef Tankers Citroen C2 R2 and fi nd themselves in an unaccustomed 15th in their championship. They were plagued by electrical problems and a misfi re throughout the opening round, which they completed under Super Rally rules, and retired from the Sasol Rally with terminal suspension damage. Toyota leads the manufacturers’ championship with 266 points, ahead of Volkswagen (137) and Ford (108.5). The next round of the South African National Rally Championship is the PMC Rally in Gauteng on 23 - 24 May. 10 H&H • #BRCTAKESON2014 The best thing about the opening round of the 2014 MSA British Rally Championship (BRC), the Pirelli Carlisle RB Foundation Rally, is the anticipation of a new name on the winner’s trophy – and the knowledge that it will be a fair and furious battle from start to fi nish. Words: H&H / Picture: BRC/Jakob Ebrey Photography

The yawning ditches of the infamous Kielder Forest complex Ireland probably offers the closest challenge to hopefully helping to dispel any memories of the driver’s non- and the twisty nature of the adjacent Kershope stages mean Pryce’s goal, coming in the form of last year’s Pirelli Star Driver fi nish on last year’s ‘Pirelli’. a true challenge for all the competitors on this classic rally Daniel McKenna and his steadfast co-driver Arthur Kierans. Ireland’s pot of rich rallying talent is once again on this weekend. They step up from the high revving Fiesta to another DS3, show in the next BRC1 pilot. Sticking with Citroën in their Carlisle United Football Club has generously given the weapon of choice of the British Rally Champion for the move from C2 to DS3 are County Mayo’s David Carney and up its Brunton Park home ground for this rally season’s kick- past two years. Their steed is part of the stunning Pirelli prize fellow Irishman Ray Fitzpatrick. Last year saw them get a off, as the service area will be hosted there for the very fi rst drive and they have already tested its capabilities at home, great grounding in the BRC events, starting all six. Recording time. And Saturday’s super fast stages are preceded by a bit taking sixth overall on the fourth round of the European Rally non-fi nishes in Scotland and Yorkshire probably cost them a of pomp and ceremony in Carlisle City Centre, as the parade, Championship in Ireland. podium place in the RallyTwo category, but they ended the autograph session and offi cial rally start all take place there And so to Callum Black/James Morgan. A tried season well, taking a fi fth place in their class on the fi nal from 09h30. But it is in the stages where it is anybody’s and tested partnership in a tried and tested package; their event. guess who will emerge victorious, so buckle up for a bit of distinctive black DS3 took them to sixth on two of last A number of the BRC2 crews have a fi ghting chance background on some of the runners and riders. year’s rallies. They will need a big push, a bit of luck and a at the overall podium too, but further back in the running Carrying the prestigious number one on the door confi dence-building fi rst event to set their season on schedule, order are the protagonists for the BRC3 and MSA British of their Citroën DS3 are last year’s championship runners- but certainly not to be overlooked for a place on the podium Junior Rally Championship title. Every one of the wannabe up Osian Pryce/Dale Furniss; bet against them at your peril! this year. Junior Champions is new to the main championship. However, the Welsh youngsters’ rise from third in 2012 to Another DS3 and another with championship Whoever the crew member, whatever experience he second last year does come with some pressure to go that aspirations, having stepped up to the top BRC1 class this or she brings to the team, the Pirelli Carlisle RB Foundation fi nal step and the question will be, can they handle it? Last season, is Timothy Cathcart. The nineteen year-old from the Rally this weekend is a fi tting stage on which to start a shiny year a puncture cost them any chance of victory in Kielder, Ulster Rally’s home town of Enniskillen has a secret weapon new season, now all we need is cracking weather please. but they must hope that three wins at the end of 2013 will in his quest for victory though. The vastly experienced give them a psychological advantage. Dai Roberts will sit alongside to guide his youthful charge,

11 H&H • #OREGONDISHESTHEDIRT The Rally America National Championship competition heats back up after a two- month break at the Oregon Trail Rally this weekend in Portland, Oregon. Words: H&H / Picture: Subaru Rally Team USA

The event begins Friday evening with four stages of tarmac being waged between Scion Racing Rally and gravel roads at Portland International Raceway (PIR). The xD’s Matthew Johnson and Team O’Neil continuous race action at PIR is a fan favorite with teams Motorsports’ Andrew Comrie-Picard. Both being easily accessible for photos and autographs prior to the drivers have claimed a 2WD victory this start of the event. After the PIR stages, the event moves east year, but only Johnson has fi nished on the towards Dufur and Hood River where teams will experience podium at both events. the much faster roads on Saturday and then the very technical Johnson and Comrie-Picard are gravel sections on Sunday. aware of the recent entry of Will Orders in The Oregon Trail Rally couldn’t come at a better time a Nameless Performance prepared Toyota for current Rally America points leaders, David Higgins and GT86. Orders is a 2WD powerhouse from Craig Drew of Subaru Rally Team USA, who are in the midst Australia who took the 2WD Class win of defending their 2013 title. Higgins/Drew opened the new at the 2012 Oregon Trail Rally. With season with a Sno*Drift Rally overall win, followed by a second his entry Orders will add one more place fi nish at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood. Now, Higgins dynamic element to the competition returns to the Oregon Trail Rally where he has won the event already raging between Johnson fi ve times before including the last three consecutive years. and Comrie-Picard. Higgins will need to beat action sports icon and teammate, Travis Pastrana, who re-joined the Subaru Rally Team USA this year after stepping away from the sport to pursue a career in NASCAR. The four-time Rally America champion also boasts two Oregon Trail Rally victories as well, and he is certainly eyeing Oregon to establish momentum heading into the season’s midpoint. The Super Production (SP) Class battle will be hotly contested with a deep fi eld of past champions and a hot new driver leading in the standings. 2013 Rookie of the Year’s Nick Roberts fi nds himself atop the fi eld by 2 points over another SP newcomer, Dillon Van Way. The Oregon Trail Rally was the site of a massive wreck for Roberts in his rookie season. Returning to this event may invoke a nervous response from Roberts who remembers the wreck vividly. Roberts still needs to prove he can win against hot shoe Dillon Van Way and previous SP Champion drivers Lauchlin O’Sullivan and David Sterckx. Both O’Sullivan and Sterckx experienced early season troubles and have marked Oregon as the event to reinsert their teams back into the championship hunt. O’Sullivan suffered a big crash at the Rally in the 100 Acre Wood testing sessions and lost signifi cant ground because of it. Sterckx, on the otherhand, continues to battle mechanical problems, which has impacted his ability to win this year. The Oregon Trail Rally is expected to be another pivotal event for the Two-Wheel Drive Class (2WD) battle

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#CLOSINGSHOT Serious about safety! Our contributing writer Liga Stirna reads the pace notes for Vineta Ervalde in their “Blossoming” Zero Car in last weekend’s Rally Masters Show in Moscow. Picture: Arturs Igavens.

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