Team Subaru is set to further strengthen their grip on the Production Car rally championship when the 6th round of the Sasol-backed series, the Osram Rally, gets underway in Barkly East on August 15. With three wins from the five rounds so far, Subaru teams are well placed at the head of the points table, holding a solid 1st and 2nd with three rounds remaining.

A stage analysis shows how well the Subaru teams have fared, winning 57 of the 77 stages run so far, entrenching Subaru’s privateers as the teams to beat.

The Osram Rally, formerly known as the Mountain Trial is a unique challenge for the teams, running on public gravel mountain passes that cut through the southern Drakensberg and generally are well maintained.

The stages run at 2 300 – 2 609 metres above sea level where the air is thinner, a factor that doesn’t affect the turbo-charged flat four Subaru Boxer motor as much as the normally aspirated teams. Mechanical engineer and Subaru driver Hein Lategan explains: “I expect the Subaru teams to lose around 12,5% of their power whereas the factory S2000 teams will experience power losses around 25%, so relatively speaking we will be closer to them on the Osram Rally”.

Leading the championship charge with 56 points to their names are Charl Wilken and Greg Godrich, who powered their Sasol/Konica Minolta Subaru Impreza N12B to three wins and a second place this season, the last two wins in succession. As the season rapidly reaches its thrilling climax, Wilken and Godrich know it’s crucial to score well in the mountain stages, but not at all costs.

“It is going to a very difficult rally for us as we won’t know until the first few stages have run what pace we need to be in the lead fight. I don’t want to go unnecessarily fast in order to save the car, but a too cautious approach can leave us 5th which will be nearly as disastrous as not finishing, so it will be a bit of a gamble”, Wilken explained.

“I’ll drive at what I feel is a safe and sustainable speed and hope it’s good enough to be in the top three or better. There is extra pressure to bring the car home so we can maintain or increase our seven point lead going into the last two events. The championship is on track but the other four teams have nothing to lose by going flat out for a win whereas we have a lot to lose”, reckons Wilken.

“The stages are long and very, very fast. I expect the Subaru’s speedometer to hit between 180 to 190 km/h for much of the route. I don’t remember many of the stages as we haven’t been there for four years but I do remember the big drops. It will be scary but you don’t think of that. Concentration must be maintained but the stages suit my driving style – fast, undulating and flowing. There are some slower more technical bits in the valleys which slow the average speed to around 110km/h”, he continued.

The current production car and class N4 champion driver Visser du Plessis and co-driver Gerhard Snyman are second in the title race in their new-for -2008 Pirtek Subaru Impreza N14, seven points behind Wilken.

Du Plessis is one driver who knows he has to drive flat out to catch and beat Wilken to the win. “I have to give it everything now”, Visser asserted. “The Subaru is now the way I want it and I have to close down the points gap to Charl; the only way to do that is to grab the win, which we managed to do last year”.

“The rally is new to me to all intents and purposes because we haven’t driven here for a number of years. The roads in the mountains are unbelievably quick. It can be quite scary because the cars make no power, relatively speaking”, Du Plessis added.

“I hope to be able to go head-to-head with Hein this time. Last month, we had a misfire and then he fell out. I expect him to be very quick as usual, but Fernando (Rueda), Paul (Pfeifer) and Charl are all going to be fighting with us so I’m expecting a very hard and close fought rally. I’m very excited about it”, he ended.

Hein Lategan and Johan van der Merwe are new to the mountain route. Steeping into a Subaru for the first time in May, the pair made an instant name for themselves behind the wheel of their Steve’s Auto Clinic Impreza N12B. Lategan immediately gelled with the Impreza and set competitive times. He was well on the way to an easy class win last month until a piston broke.

“I’ve heard it’s very fast and high in the mountains. The Subaru’s handling is superb and I enjoy the fast flowing roads. I’m going for a win, but so is every one else. We had to rebuild the motor after the VW Rally and found another kilowatt or two which should help a bit”.

Lategan has started a new training regime, in spite of his inherent fitness riding mountain bikes and competing in cycle races. “I found in the longer stages I started to lose concentration. Rallying is incredibly tough. In Natal this year, I hooked up a heart rate monitor and was amazed that my heartbeat was the same as when I race my bike. You would think just sitting there turning a steering wheel isn’t that demanding!”

Another team regarded as a danger is Capetonian businessman Paul Pfeifer and co-driver Cindi Harding. Harding has competed in the Mountain Trial before, but Pfeifer is another newcomer to the daunting event. The pair debuted their new N14 Subaru Impreza last month and found some niggling electronic problems with the new car.

“I’m getting a CD with some new software to sort out the misfire and stabilize the electronic throttle – it was doing its own thing on the VW Rally”, Pfeifer related.

“I want to compete at the front; I haven’t made this investment to make up the numbers. I’ve been testing quite a bit on my farm and I’m starting to understand the car a bit more. I haven’t fiddled with the factory settings – I’m happy with the handling as the car did what I wanted it to”.

“The Osram Rally has quite a reputation but other than the speed and big drops I’ve been told about, I have no preconceived ideas on what to expect. Once I view the route DVD I will make up my mind what corners to downgrade where I think the danger spots are and I’m sure everyone will do the same, so I am expecting a tough two days”, said the Nobili Subaru driver.

“Ignorance is bliss” is how Joos and Danie Stassen view the Osram Rally. “We’ve never done it and haven’t been told anything about it. A production car podium is always our goal and that hasn’t changed”.

The Nelspruit-based De Goede Finance Subaru Impreza N12 pair has reached a crossroads in their season. “Our result on the Osram Rally will define the rest of our year. If we still have a shot at 4th in class N4 we will go to Cape Town – if not, we will save our budget for next year”, said Danie. The brothers have done well in their first ever full national championship, finishing every round barring the last one.

“That was unfortunate. You can never predict what will break or wear out. The preparation by our team has been excellent. We will finally have our Prodrive computer which means we will have anti-lag and launch control for the first time. That means our car is no longer standard and it should help us get closer to the real Prodrive cars”.

The Stassens have learnt a lot this year and continuously improved their Impreza as well as their driving style and race strategy. “For our first year, we are very happy – as are our sponsors – with our progress and results. It’s been a fantastic experience for us”, concluded Danie.

The Osram Rally is based in Barkly East over the two days, starting from the quaint town’s golf course at 12h00 on Friday, 15 August. The teams face 3 stages, totalling 79 racing kilometers in the surrounding mountains before tackling a spectator friendly 2.5km stage in the Barkly East Showgrounds, starting at 14h45.

Saturday’s route will see the crews repeat the first three stages from Friday with an additional two testing stages making up the final leg of the route. A central service area will operate from the golf club throughout the rally where fans can watch the technicians at work from close quarters and collect various team posters and autographs.

The Osram Rally finishes at the golf club at approximately 14h30 and the public is invited to stay for the podium ceremony.