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Tour du Cap Rally - 22nd June 2002

Swiss sensation Gian Mani and his navigator Ronan Sanderson have cruised to victory in the inaugural Triumph Sports Car Club "Tour du Cap" Classic Rally, held around the South Peninsula on Saturday, June 22. The dynamic duo, competing in an immaculately conditioned Triumph TR3A "Sidescreen", navigated themselves around the rugged terrain and mountain passes in a near perfect time; proving once again that the TR3A is still the finest automobile to come off the Triumph assembly line. Starting at Glenhook Motors in Fish Hoek, the 22 competitiors had to reach the set of five checkpoints at a precise time, using the cryptic clues given to them by the race organisers. Competitors were penalised for arriving at the checkpoints either too early or too late, having to use not only the correct route, but also the correct speed. The race featured a range of cars, from the TR3A, TR4, TR6, Spitfire, Herald and Triumph 2000, to the Austin Healy (Derek Laws), Porsche 911 (Ashley Ellis), Mazda MXS (Mike and Nerina Napoli) and Sunbeam Tiger (Roger Wood). The rally did not begin well for Mani, who was forced to endure an anxious wait as his navigator Sanderson arrived late (as is the Sanderson tradition) at the start. But it is difficult to shake the cool exterior of this winning team, and once underway, the TR3A and her occupants were soon in the swing of things. They even managed to help out the muddled Gordon Waring in his TR6, who was so lost, he was spotted along the route going in the wrong direction! Not surprisingly, Gordon was to pick up the wooden spoon award in the rally. Such was the confidence of the Mani/Sanderson team, they even decided to stop off on the final leg and enjoy a frosty beer near the Ocean View Police Station. Daredevils indeed! The dicing duo came in with just two minutes and twenty seconds worth of penalty points, winning the race by the proverbial country mile. Mani was his usual gracious self in victory. "It feels fantastic to have clobbered them!" he said. "My navigator Ronan Sanderson was superb and never looked flustered. We managed to show what was a star-studded field, including ex- professional drivers, that the TR3A is as reliable now as it was in 1958! And having said that, we were slightly handicapped in that our speedometer had stopped operating just before the event. I would like to dedicate this win to Mike Napoli," he added. Indeed Napoli, regarded by many -including himself -as an up-and-coming "young" (he is over 50!) racing driver, has forfeited his entry into this competition for next year by saying before prize giving: "If Gian Mani wins this, I will never enter another rally again!" So long, Mike. The one disappointment of the day was the absence of the TR7's. Rumour along the route was that these "hairdressers cars" were too scared to enter the competition for fear of being shown up by their predecessors. There were also some casualties along the way, such was the ferocity of the competition and the will to win. Eric and Jessica Setterberg are said to be considering marriage counseling after teaming up in their TR Spitfire. All in all, it was another great day of racing for the Triumph Sports Car Club and thanks must go to those who helped organise the prestigious event The Mani/Sanderson team will hold the title (and trophy) as champions for 2002, but will no doubt -be already thinking ahead to next year, and added competition. Perhaps even from those TR7's... Gian Mani

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