Lady Luck deserts the Young Guns
The event played out in the Bapsfontein and Cullinan area on 17 and 18 August, with four stages on Friday and seven on Saturday, with a total ‘race’ distance of about 150 km.
Things did not go according to plan for the Young Guns, Richard Leeke and Henry Köhne, when they took part in Round 5 of the National Rally Championship on 17 and 18 August.
The duo continued to have bad luck in their Speedglas Welding Helmets Fiesta as they were forced to retire while leading the Electrothread Rally.
The event played out in the Bapsfontein and Cullinan area, with four stages on Friday and seven on Saturday, with a total ‘race’ distance of about 150km.
According to Roadworx Communications, the Young Guns got off to a good start on Friday and despite being first on the road (and therefore taking on the unloved role of ‘street sweeper’) they recorded the second-fastest time in the premier R2N class in two of the three opening stages.
“We were flat out virtually all the time,” commented Leeke. “We really didn’t leave anything in reserve.”
The disadvantage of being first became an advantage in the fourth stage and with night having descended and the wind having dropped (leaving the dust hanging in the air), they were able to blitz the opposition and move into a lead they felt they’d be able to defend the next day. With a 23-second advantage over the championship leaders, Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle, the Young Guns went to bed full of hope.
Stage 5 went according to plan and they only lost a couple of seconds to Guy and Simon, who were clear favourites, having won the last three rallies in succession. Stage 6 – the 13,1km Triple S Panelbeaters – was less satisfactory and they lost more than a second per kilometre. Suddenly their lead was slashed to little more than six seconds, and the question was, would they be able to defend it?
But it became a moot point during the next stage, when the Young Guns, giving their all as usual, encountered an exposed rock at speed about 10km in, the impact with the underside of the car as the front suspension compressed and reduced ground clearance punching a hole in the sump. Within seconds, the engine’s lubricant drained away, and the damage was signalled shortly thereafter by the death-rattle of the engine bearings …
“To make things worse, the car then caught fire, as did the dry grass,” added Henry, “but fortunately we were able to bring it under control quickly and prevent any further damage.”
Richard concluded, saying, “We were trying really hard and that is sometimes how it goes when you have to push. I think we could’ve hung on to our lead until the finish and at worst finished second, to keep our championship hopes alive … but whichever way it turned out, it would’ve made for a great dice to the finish for R2N honours”.
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