Motorsport
SA champ quits rallying
2012-01-19 14:55
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Johannesburg - Newly-crowned SA national rally champion Conrad Rautenbach is retiring from rallying, saying the sport in SA is "fundamentally flawed".
"I’ve won two FIA African Championships and the SA series as well as competed in the World Rally Championship," said Rautenbach on the Rallyworld Web site.
"The South African championship is one of the most competitive there is but it is fundamentally flawed in that it doesn’t follow the FIA rules regarding pre-event recces which is dangerous considering the pace at which the leaders run.
"The route note system used in South Africa requires a week of watching a DVD over and over on a TV set so that by the time the rally starts, I’ve lost a lot of my motivation for the event. With growing work commitments, I simply cannot afford to take a week off for every rally. The other issue is the inconsistency over the application of the rules, which changes by the event."
Zimbabwean Rautenbach has expressed an interest in competing on the Dakar Rally in which South Africa's Giniel de Villiers finished third last weekend.
"Competing in the Dakar Rally has been a life-long dream and we will use the year to build towards an entry in the 2013 Dakar, which may include participating in some the SA off-road series," said Rautenbach.
"If things change in the SA Rally Championship we could return," he said.