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After three days of family fun and adrenalin-pumping racing for 17 drivers from across the continent , the Rainbow Tourism Group, which this year hosted the drivers and the start and finish of the event at its flagship Rainbow Towers Hotel, believes the prestigious Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally has to be bigger and more visible next year.
"We are breaking new ground and excited that we managed to host the event for the first time. The race has the potential of becoming just as big as the Paris-Dakar Rally. We hope to make it bigger and more exciting next year," said the RTG chief executive officer, Chipo Mutasa.
"It has been a very good event and we were delighted that Toyota Zimbabwe came in with their title sponsorship and their promise of continued support for 2010 and 2011
"Another development this year was the move of rally headquarters to a city centre venue in an attempt to bring the rally closer to the public, and in this regard we were pleased with a high level of support from Rainbow Tourism Group," Craig Batten, chairman of Sables Motor Club, the event organisers, said in a statement.
It was a double victory for Zimbabwe rally drivers who scooped the African Rally Championship as well as the 2009 Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally contest.
Talented 19-year-old Chase Attwell and co-driver Greg Stead won the Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally with seasoned driver Jamie Whyte and partner Phil Archenoul, who came third in the weekend event, grabbing the prestigious FIA African Rally Championship title.
Driving a Subaru Impreza, Artwell stormed to victory after expertly maintaining a steady lead throughout the event. After achieving the fastest time at the beginning of the super special stage at Donnybrook on Friday afternoon of five minutes 22 seconds, Artwell remained focused on the title and by the end of the race on Sunday he had clocked a total two hours 26 minutes and 15 seconds, more than six minutes ahead of his nearest rival.
And he drove onto the ramp on Sunday afternoon to receive the championship his awesome machine bore the dents of a well fought battle in which only 10 cars survived. The modest crowd could not help but cheer the young lads as they stole the limelight.
Seven teams of Craig Green and Mike Exton, Lola Verlaque and Carolyn Swan, Richard Robinson and Colin Schreiber, Gary Flack and Rodney Kilpert, Big Chitima and Amos Chamunokara, Ian Howden and Tony Rowley and Robson Maganezi and Kenneth Hill dropped from the race after engine problems and crashes.
For Jamie Whyte and co-driver Phil Archenoul, also steering a Subaru Impreza, third place was sufficient to give the pair just enough points to win the 2009 FIA African Rally Championship. Whyte becomes the third Zimbabwean to win the drivers' title of the championship, after Abe Smit in 1995 and Conrad Rautenbach in 2007.
In their Subaru Rwanda's Olivier Costa and Jean Ruhashyankiko took second place, following the departure of Zimbabwe's Craig Green and South Africa's Lola Verlaque, both previously ahead of him.
True to its name the weekend certainly belonged to the Subaru Impreza with all the first six positions being taken by teams driving this boxer-engined impressive achiever.
The 2009 Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge kicked off with a ceremonial start on Friday afternoon at the RTG's Rainbow Towers. The field then took to Donnybrook race track, east of Harare, for a super special stage involving three-car line-ups.
On the second day the field moved to Ruwa, where 10 stages were run on farm roads and on Sunday the action moved to the farm and forest roads of Norton for a further six stages.
Full results
1. Chase Attwell and Greg Stead (Subaru Impreza) 2. Olivier Costa and Jean Ruhashyankiko (Rwanda -- Subaru Impreza) 3. Jamie Whyte and Phil Archenoul (Subaru Impreza) 4. Muna Singh and Dave Sihoka (Za-mbia -- Subaru Impreza) 5. Em-manuel Katto and Moses Matovu (Uganda -- Subaru Impreza) 6. Mo-hammed Essa and Dave Milner (Za-mbia -- Subaru Impreza) 7. Shaun Whyte and Gareth Dawe (Mitsubishi Evo) 8.Michelle Fortmann and Mi--les Skinner (Toyota Corolla RXI) 9. Megan Verlaque and Oliver Ver-laque (South Africa -- Toyota RunX) 10. Ronald Parsell and George Chi-tepo (Toyota Co-rolla RXI).
Trophies: Zimbabwe Challenge Trophy; overall winners; Zim-Zam Rally Series first place; first in class N4 and fastest time on the Donnybrook super special stage: Chase Atwell and Greg Stead. First in class N2: Michelle For-tmann and Miles Skinner (Michelle also received trophy for highest placed female driver).
Highest placed Zimbabwean co-driver in his first international rally: George Chitepo.
Merit trophy for effort: Lola Verlaque and Carolyn Swan.
First in class S: Megan Verlaque and Oliver Verlaque.
Media Award for best coverage of the rally: Collin Matiza of The Herald.
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