by Geoff Mayes
2007
FIA African Rally champion, Conrad Rautenbach took fourth overall in the Tesco 99 Octane MSA British Rally Championship on the Ulster Rally International Rally last weekend, the fourth round in the series.
Rautenbach, who was contesting the Ulster Rally for the first time, had been hoping to trade times with local driver Darren Gass, also in a Citroen C2. However Gass ran into problems early on, leaving the Zimbabwean to run his own rally.
Instead of cruising though, the youngster set about hunting down the 4-wheel drive cars around him.
A loose gear linkage through the super special on Saturday was the only concern for the otherwise faultless PH Sport-run car and Rautenbach's times through the final loop of stages, where his little two-wheel drive Citroen was on slicks in the torrential rain, were nothing short of incredible.
“This weekend went really well for us. David [Senior – my co-driver] and I had a good recce and I had a lot of confidence in my notes,” said Rautenbach.
“The car was well set-up and I really enjoyed the technical stages. A lot of dirt gets pulled onto the racing line so it was actually good practice for Catalunya [my next event in the FIA Junior Rally Championship].
“I really enjoyed the atmosphere this weekend, as the locals made me feel very welcome.”
Rautenbach's focus now switches back to the FIA Junior Rally Championship and the Rallye de Espana at the start of October.
Furthermore while he currently leads the S1600 section of the MSA British Rally Championship, he won't take in the Rally Yorkshire - the fifth round in the series, as it takes place on the same weekend as the JRC event in Spain.
Rautenbach's next outing in the BRC will therefore be the double points scoring Wales Rally GB - the final round in the championship, which runs from November 30 to December 2.
