South African petro-chemicals group Sasol announced its sponsorship of the Ford Rally team that will participate in this year’s South African National Rally Championship and the FIA African Rally Championship.

Team Sasol consists of two class S2000 Ford Fiesta rally cars. Poised to power the teams forward, are drivers Jon Williams and Mark Cronje, with their respective co-drivers Robin Houghton and Cobus Vrey.

“We’re delighted to participate in the South African National Rally Championship. This year marks the 20th year whereby Sasol is the title sponsor of the Sasol Rally, which is the second leg of the African Rally championship”, says Alan Cameron, managing director, Sasol Oil.

Manufactured in the United Kingdom by Ford International’s motorsport division, M-Sport, the 2 Ford Fiestas are brand new rally cars built to the highest specification utilizing state-of-the-art technology.

The Ford Fiesta’s 2.0 normally aspirated 16 valve engine produces about 280HP and transfers the power via a sophisticated 6 speed sequential gearbox permanently to all 4 wheels. The unitary chassis construction, composite side panels, structurally engineered roll cage, suspension and braking, all work together to underwrite the predictability and safety integrity of this engineering marvel.

Sasol is also proud to sponsor a high performance team which has an impressive track record both in South Africa and internationally. “We are hoping through these relationships, motorsport in SA will reach new frontiers.” commented Cameron.

The new Team Sasol rally cars will serve as a “real-time laboratory” where Sasol Techno Oil and Sasol Turbo Fuels™ Plus are put to the ultimate test in a very stringent environment. In collaboration with the University of Cape Town, Sasol invests extensively in fuels research and development. This is evident through its state of the art test centre facility situated in Muizenberg, Cape Town. The output and knowledge gained from this research plays a significant role in fuelling the Motorsport industry in South Africa.

– Credit: Sasol Oil.