Tangerine Dreamz

After five exhilarating years of consistent progress, the team bowed out of the Northern Regions Championship as winners of Class S2 in 2010. From 2011 onwards, they will be pushing their limits and their parents’ stress levels in the South African National Rally Championship.

The team upgraded from their Northern Regions-spec’d Class S2 1600 Volkswagen CitiGolf in 2010 to a South African Rally Championship Super1600 Volkswagen Polo for the 2011 season. The car, previously owned by Stevan Wilken, is a proven Class A6 (forerunner to Super1600) rally winner.

Christoff showed that he quickly adapted to the sweet-clicking sequential gears of his new machine. Celesté added an extra touch of style and fun with her colour-coded fingernails and cute Italian OMP racing shoes!

Their debut season in the SA National Rally Championship kicked off exceptionally well with a podium finish in the Total Tour Natal Rally (25 - 26 March, 2011) – third-placed Super1600 and 14th overall. Not too bad considering there were nine S1600 and eighteen S2000 entrants.

They improved their stage times in every single repeat stage. More seat-time and experience behind the steering wheel of this Volkswagen Polo will only see them set quicker and quicker stages and move ever closer to the front of the highly-competitive Super1600 field.

The team has just about depleted their savings, Dad’s retirement fund and the education funds of their unborn children with the purchase of their “Tangerine Dream” and a new service vehicle. So see this as a friendly invitation to tell any and every potential sponsor about our fabulousness. In fact, this is in essence an invitation to come alive again! To get out of your air-conditioned office, away from the flickering florescent lights into the open, wild and winding roads our beautiful country has to offer and feel the sun on your skin. But wait, there’s more. It is also an opportunity to experience depth of emotion like you haven’t had in years! Those who have a vested interest in the Rally teams will testify that the stage by stage excitement builds up to the thrill and elation of your very first kiss when there is victory, which at a turn of events could of course plummet to the gutter of despair and disappointment only understood by those who’ve been rejected by their first true love. Yes, it is an invitation to experience the action, drama, fun and full aliveness that being part of this extreme team can bring! Seriously. 7de Laan, Survivor and Oprah’s got nothing on us.

The next round of ups and downs (and I’m talking about my pre-event nervous tummy) happens in Nelspruit/Sabie/Witrivier at the SASOL Rally 15-16 April 2011. Be there or be boring.