DAKAR 2011: TAYLOR MAINTAINS TOP 40 SPOT

South African circuit racing champion Anthony Taylor, performing in the unfamiliar role of technical support truck driver on the 2011 Dakar Rally in Argentina, has maintained his overall position of 38th after the first two special.
 

Competing in his first Dakar Rally for the Belgian Team Overdrive and teamed with co-drivers Juan Mohr of South Africa and Steven Vyncke of Belgium, the 37-year-old from Roodepoort did well to overcome a 30-minute delay on Monday’s special stage when he stopped to assist one of the five South African-built Nissan Navaras of the Belgian team.

The Portuguese pairing of Francisco Silva and Pedro Noronha rolled their Nissan out of 17th place overall and required assistance.  They waited for Taylor and Mohr, who had started the stage two and a half hours after them, and were able to continue after repairs.

“We were going well when we received the call to stop and assist the Portuguese,” said Mohr, a former national off road co-driver champion.  “The Navara needed an air filter and oil to get going again.  We lost about half an hour, but managed to make up enough time to finish in 45th place out of the 67 trucks and retain our 38th place overall.

“This is the first time we have had to stop to help,” said the 33-year-old from Crowthorne in Gauteng.  “(multiple South African off road and enduro motorcycle champion and Dakar legend) Alfie Cox is the leading Team Overdrive Nissan in 14th place overall and the other three bakkies built by Glyn Hall and his Hallspeed team are all running strongly inside the top 30 positions.”

“The first two special stages have been a steep learning curve for me,” said Taylor.  “The liaison stages before and after the racing stage are quite boring and have given me the chance to get used to the big MAN truck.  Now we are nearing the sandy desert stages and the real test will begin.

“We will be doing a shorter version of Tuesday’s special stage three than the cars as the route goes through thick bush and there are branches at windscreen height that will make it dangerous for the trucks.”

Special stage three is a 500-km test for the cars and 226 km for the trucks between San Miguel de Tucuman and San Salvador de Jujuy.  The route pushes further north towards Wednesday’s crossing over the Andes Mountains into Chile.  The stage is split into two halves separated by a neutralised section.  The first half plunges into desert canyons with the second portion providing a stark contrast of thick forest and bush.



STORY COURTESY OF PETER BURROUGHES COMMUNICATION

BEST CARS OF 2010 (PART 2)

Chevrolet Spark
Chevrolet did everything right when it came to the new Spark. Looks are very attractive, space is abundant, performance adequate and price accessible. Add to that the fact that GM is marketing it to the right people, the Spark is the car leading the General back in from the cold.


Citroen DS3
Premium mini hatchbacks are about to become the next craze and Citroen’s DS3, the Frenchman’s first attempt at the genre, is almost flawless. Mzansi people are still very much attached to their favourite old brands and are possible not yet willing to try out new things. Despite that, the DS3 is doing relatively well, and deservedly so. It has to be our favourite premium mini hatch of 2010 by a mile.


Ford Focus RS
Front-wheel-drive and 224kW later, Ford is perched nicely in the minds of South Africans as the company that’s built an instantly legendary hot hatch. For two years we were told we’d never see it in the country, but 60 x R479 000 later Ford can claim massive success. Soon the new ST will roll up and we’ll have to buckle up and burst out laughing once again. Ford performance is back!


Honda CR-Z
We weren’t too bowled over by the CR-Z’s lack of power and torque. However, its dynamics are top of the class stuff and its fuel-efficiency credentials among the best in any category. Honda has shown us there is a future in hybrid powertrains stuffed into an excellent driving machine.


Hyundai ix35
A busy exterior design masks a complex compact SUV that challenges the status quo. Replacing the popular Tucson was always going to be a tough act but the ix35, said to be selling over 1000 units a month, is proving that sequels can work. Hyundai has really moved upmarket here with a car that’s well-equipped, very comfortable and fun to drive.

MZANSI HEROES TACKLE DAKAR ONCE AGAIN

Volkswagen’s quest for a third successive Dakar Rally victory began on Saturday as the 33rd running of the world’s longest and toughest motor sport event got underway in Argentina’s capital city of Buenos Aires.  A total of 407 cars, trucks, bikes and quads started the epic 9 500-km 16-day journey through Argentina and Chile.


First among the 139 cars competing to drive off the start podium on the Avenue of 9th July was the diesel-powered Volkswagen Race Touareg of defending champions Carlos Sainz and Lucas Cruz of Spain with South African team-mates Giniel de Villiers, winner in 2009, and Ralph Pitchford, second in 2009, starting eighth and fourth respectively.

De Villiers is again paired with German co-driver Dirk von Zitzewitz while Pitchford is co-driver to regular teammate Mark Miller of the United States.  Qatar’s Nasser Al-Attiyah and German co-driver Timo Gottschalk started second in the fourth factory Volkswagen.

All four successfully negotiated the day’s 377-km untimed liaison stage between Buenos Aires and the overnight stop at Victoria on the banks of the Rio Perana.

The first of 13 racing special stages covering a total of 5 000 km will take competitors on Sunday from Victoria to Cordoba.  Cars and 67 trucks will be racing over a distance of 222 km, while 170 bikes and 30 quads will do battle over a 192-km route.  An early high-speed section is followed by a more technically demanding mountainous section and narrow tracks that will introduce the contestants to the third Dakar to be held in South America since political unrest forced the organisers to move the event from its traditional African home.

Giniel de Villiers said: “Our goal is to drive at our own pace and give everything to winning.  You cannot plan such a tough cross country rally and force success.  We are very well prepared for the challenge and the new Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 is a big step forward.  For these reasons I’m looking forward to this year’s race and am confident we can do well.”

Ralph Pitchford said: “Mark and I have prepared better than ever for this year’s race.  We have both worked hard on our fitness and have given a great deal of thought to communication in the car.  This is key to success, particularly this year with new rules making navigation even harder.  The challenge is to remain calm whatever the situation and take time over our decision making.”

Casino Royale with Cheese

It's got style in spades.

UPDATE: Click here for more info on the rims.

BEST CARS OF 2010 (PART 1)

1.     The year 2010 was one of the busiest the motor industry has seen in recent years. Coming in at the back of a dismal 2009 in terms of sales, 2010 gave us promises of an upturn as well as fresh, cutting-edge products to lure buyers back into empty showroom floors.




Here now is a list of cars, in alphabetical order, that really tickled our hearts, challenged our brains and made us glad to be alive. Although we drove over 100 different models during the course of 2010, we’ve had to whittle down our list to only 24. We consider these to be the finest of the crop and a brief description of why we loved each car follows. We will publish 5 per day.






Audi A8
We agree, it’s not the most exciting car to look at in any class. Frankly we think it’s quite a boring design which has, unfortunately, spilled over into the all-new A6. Nevertheless you can never ignore firstly, the badge. Secondly it handles like an A4 and is decked out inside like a Bentley. We’d really like to see more engines too to match this amazing chassis.


AAudi RS 5
Although our drive was limited to the Khalayami race track facility, it was enough for us to fall for this subtle four-ring slayer with quattro AWD and 331kW of V8 push. Perhaps not as dramatic as the stupendous RS 4 before it, yet the RS 5 fits snuggly inside the realm of sports cars and everyday drivers. Great combo.


BBMW M3 Frozen Edition
Mzansi wasn’t on the list of countries to get the M3 GTS, but we were consoled with a limited number of M3 Frozen Edition units. Utterly fearless, the car is an opera production on four wheels, and sounds like three brass bands in full song. Probably not the best daily commute because of its severe sportiness, as an alternative weekend blaster it hits the spot every time.


BBMW 530d
This is one of three (soon to be four) really beautiful BMWs in the market today. Our chosen model combines looks, driving agility, economy and luxury into one unforgettable experience. It is of course plenty pricey and comes with an options list as long as Mandela’s prison sentence. Yet one can’t help but feel satisfied even with a baseline model in one’s hands.


BBMW X1 xDrive23d
At first we weren’t quite sure what to make of the X1’s lack of ride height but the more we drove it, the more we realised that it was born of urban blood and would die as an urbanite. Sure it can tackle the gravels of the world without too much sweat, but its core audience would never dream of putting it under such conditions on purpose. Place it on tar and it rewards with stunning feedback. Drive long distances and it never runs dry. A true revelation.

DETROIT AWAITS MINI PACEMAN CONCEPT

MINI is readying yet another concept car for the 2011 North American International Auto Show at Detroits’s COBO centre. The car, called the Paceman, is probably going to be built sometime in the next two years.




Based on the new Countryman, the Paceman is essentially a raised body MINI with two less doors. I suppose one could say it’s a MINI hatch with a higher body, or a Countryman with three doors instead of five. But of course MINI will point out a number of “differences” that make the car unique. And true to form BMW has handed down the Sport Activity Vehicle moniker to the Paceman as well.


Concept engine is the usual 1.6-litre petrol turbo worth a tantalising 155kW and 260Nm of torque. All4 AWD is standard but sends up to 100% torque to the rear wheels. A nice sporting touch I must say. 

2010 Fuglies

Here they are – the first annual Fuglies: a recap of the last year of who gained the most traffic on my blog. “Congratulations” to the losers winners.



Gold Nissan Juke


The gold winner this year is the Nissan Juke, which blew away all other contenders. Nissan Juke pageviews accounted for a whopping 7.2% of the total pageviews for the site, and it also garnered the most traffic via internet searchs, with related keywords accounting for 18.7% of incoming traffic. Easily one of the most controversial new car releases of the year, apparently the little “SUV” actually drives quite nice. A shame that it’s wrapped in metal not everyone can enjoy.


Silver Mohs Ostentatienne Opera Sedan


The Mohs Opera Sedan (I give up trying to type Ostentatienne any more) deservedly gains the second place spot, with 3.2% of all pageviews for the year. I was a bit surprised by this as it’s a relatively obscure car, but it’s been made more well known recently when some high school students restored one in an auto body class in 2009.


Bronze Mitsuoka Galue


Trailing the Opera Sedan slightly with 3.1% of total pageviews, the Mitsuoka Galue takes bronze. Mitsuoka is gaining popularity on the internet due to it’s bizarre creations, so this one was no surprise. Also worth noting is that it received the second most hits via the internet search, with related keywords accounting for 10.6% of traffic.

Other worthy contenders worthy mentioning are listed below

Here’s the top 10 for pageviews:


1. Nissan Juke – 7.2%
2. Mohs Ostentatienne Opera Sedan – 3.2%
3. Mitsuoka Galue – 3.1%
4. Ferrari 456 Venice Convertible – 1.9%
5. Donfeng h30 – 1.6% (*this is most likely a statistical abnormality – most of the pageviews were from people looking for rear-view pictures of the Hyundai Elantra Touring, which must be rear on the internet).
6. Easy Rods Thunderbird – 0.8%
7. Lamborghini Coatl – 0.75%
8. Sbarro Windhawk - 0.7%
9. Mohs SafariKar – 0.5%
10. Fenice Milano Rolls Royce – 0.4%

Here’s the top 5 for keyword search results:


1. Nissan Juke – 18.7%
2. Mitsuoka Galue – 10.6%
3. Sbarro Windhawk – 2.6%
4. Mohs Ostentatienne Opera Sedan – 2.1%
5. Lamborghini Coatl – 1.1%