Despite the entries of some of the worlds most experienced, and well known rally drivers and teams, much of the attention on this weekend's Zulu Rally in Durban, was given to the new class S2000 Fiat Grande Punto Rally. The car is part of a team run by Fiat's motorsport division, N-Technology, who brought the beautifully prepared car, with its entire crew and spares package, from their base in Italy for the first round of the new Super2000 championship.

The new Grande Punto has just been launched to much acclaim in South Africa, and its rally derivative retains all the beauty of the showroom model. Liveried in stunning blue and white, it was the centre of attention at the ceremonial start outside the International Convention Centre in Durban. Displaying Monaco registration plates, it brought its own share of international flavour to the event, and there was some keen interest being shown in its progress by other competitors.

The new Fiat Grande Punto has already been in action this year, with three wins in the Italian Rally Championship. This was the teams second outing on gravel, and after a successful reconnaissance run on the Wednesday before the event, they were looking forward to testing the cars abilities against their more experienced South African counterparts. In fact the S2000 class, which is for two litre, normally aspirated, four wheel drive rally cars, began in SA early last year and the eyes of the world have been upon them ever since.

Once over the start line on Thursday evening, were ready for some serious rally action on Friday morning. Stage one saw the adrenalin levels high, and they started strong with an eleventh place overall on the fast gravel roads of Natal. The initial confidence was further boosted by the fact that they achieved this position whilst suffering an engine oil leak.
 

The oil leak problem worsened during the second stage, but although they reached the stage finish control in 13th place, young driver Umberto Scandola and navigator Luigi Pirollo, had drastically improved their time against the class competition. The 13th position on stage three showed everyone that consistency and determination were going to be strong points for the Fiat team, and the service park which followed gave them a chance to rectify the leakage problem.

At the start of stage four all looked well, and Scandola displayed renewed enthusiasm in the knowledge that all was well with the Grande Punto. However, they broke a rear left lower control arm 14 kilometres into the stage, allowing the wheel to turn in any direction it chose. With no service after stage four, Scandola was forced to battle the problem over the next stage until his arrival at the mini service park in the stunning scenery of 1000 Hills. Team manager Nik Gullino was understandably disappointed with the time lost, particularly as stage four “was the first time the car was working fine” on the rally. The very high level of professionalism displayed by the team shone through as they prepared the car to return to competition, and the gleaming Grande Punto ventured to stage six.

Stage six, Mkhwantshi II, was a re-run of stage four and unfortunately the gremlins struck once again. Engine failure forced Scandola and Pirollo to sit the rest of the day out on the side of the road, but the team was confident that they could replace the engine and set out again on Saturday morning under 'SupeRally' regulations. Unfortunately, the regulations do not allow an engine change, and so the teams much anticipated South African rally debut was brought to a premature end. 

Speaking with Technical Director Andreira Bareri after the event, he said the Italian team were understandably disappointed not to have fully experienced the roads, which he described as “rougher than what we can find in Europe.” The team rebuilt the car in order to undertake valuable testing on Saturday morning, which Bareri described as positive and allowed them to “explore the possibilities of S2000” further.

The Zulu Rally South Africa was also the first of a four round S2000 Championship, which will see the Fiat Grande Punto Rally next take on its European class competitors in Belgium from the 23rd-25th June.