Polokwane, Limpopo - Mark Cronje has sealed the 2015 South African Rally Championship by winning the final rally of the season, the Polokwane Motor Rally, in emphatic style in his Ford Performance Fiesta S2000.
Cronje, who was also the SA Drivers' champion in 2012 and 2013, and co-driver Gerhard Snyman took the lead after the first stage on the final day of the rally in and around Polokwane, never to be headed again.
"We could not have wished for a better finish," said an elated Cronje. "It has been a hard season and sealing the championship today makes it worth all the effort from the team."
They finished the final stage 22.9 seconds clear of Henk Lategan and Barry White in a factory Volkswagen Polo, who in turn finished 7.4 seconds ahead of former Dakar champion and overnight rally leaders Giniel de Villiers and Carolyn Swan in their works Toyota Yaris.
CHALLENGE FALTERED
For Leeroy Poulter and Elvéne Coetzee, the 2014 champions in their works Toyota Yaris - the only other team to have won rallies this season and with a realistic chance to challenge Cronje for the title - it was an event to forget.
Their challenge faltered on Friday when they lost more than 20 seconds after suffering a puncture, and power steering problems on Saturday's stages meant even more time lost. They eventually finished fourth, more than a minute behind the victorious Cronje and Snyman.
However, by finishing the event Coetzee secured the 2015 national rally title for navigators, with Robin Houghton, Cronje's navigator for the first six rallies, in the runner-up position, even though he didn't compete in the final two events.
Gugu Zulu and Hilton Auffray (Volkswagen Polo), in their quest to wrestle third place in the championship away from De Villiers and Swan, suffered suspension problems in Saturday's first stage, effectively ending their onslaught. Their team-mates Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries experienced the same problem, losing the right rear wheel of their Polo in the next stage, and also had to withdraw.
NRC4 AND S1600
Meanwhile young Ernie van der Walt and Greg Godrich slowly moved up the leader board in their privateer Toyota Yaris to finish fifth overall, about four minutes behind the leaders.
Theuns Joubert and Mari van der Walt, in a Class NRC4 Toyota Auris drove a steady rally to finish sixth overall, winning their class and the 2015 NRC4 title.
Namibian Marko Himmel and Gert Nienaber (VW Polo R2) won the Class S1600 battle in Polokwane, followed Richard Leeke Jr. and Rikus Fourie in a Ford Fiesta R2, and AC Potgieter and Tommy du Toit in a VW Polo R2.
However, by finishing fifth in class the Toyota Etios R2 crew of Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle did enough to secure their second consecutive S1600 championship.
The Constructors' prize for the Polokwane Rally was won by Toyota, also securing for them the Manufacturers' championship for 2015.