The Bronx Rally, Rounds 7 and eight of the 2023 South African National Rally Championship (NRC) brought mixed results for TOYOTA GAZOO Racing South Africa (TGRSA). Mandla Mdakane and co-driver, Kes Naidoo, clearly hit their rally stride, as they recorded two consecutive Top 5 finishes. But technical niggles side-lined Jono van Wyk and his co-driver, Nico Swartz, inflicting two DNF results in as many begins.
More Bronx Rally results
For Van Wyk/Swartz, the Bronx Rally, which happened in the space surrounding the Gauteng city of Bronkhorstspruit, brought disappointment. The ‘Swazi Cowboy’ and his skilled co-driver have proven good tempo all through the season, however quite a lot of challenges with their South African-built and developed Toyota Starlet rally automobile, have pushed them down the championship order.
The Bronx Rally marked a primary foray for the workforce, utilizing in-house engines, slightly than energy vegetation equipped by a 3rd celebration. While the engines themselves carried out past expectation, an issue with the cooling package deal on Van Wyk’s automobile resulted in a melted alternator cable , bringing the Swazi Cowboy’s cost to an early halt.
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Over in the Mdakane camp, the different cooling package deal employed in his Toyota Starlet carried out as anticipated. The Johannesburg-based racer made the most of his steed to document a fourth-place end on Friday, which served as Round 7 of the championship. He adopted this up with a fifth place on Saturday throughout Round 8, which pushed the crew as much as third place in the championship standings.
The ultimate occasion of the 2023 NRC season is the TRAC Rally, which is able to happen in the Mpumalanga city of Dullstroom, on 17-18 November, 2023. While general championship glory could also be past Mdakane’s attain, a strong efficiency at the ultimate occasion may hand him second place in the title struggle – an admirable goal, contemplating his relative rookie standing in the sport.
“The Bronx Rally was a tough one for the team.”
“We had some great moments, but were ultimately disappointed that Jono and Nico didn’t score any points. With that said, Mandla and Kes did a great job, and we are encouraged by their results.”
TGRSA NRC Team Manager, Guy Botterill
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Published by Toyota South Africa on Motorpress
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