Mark Cronje on Malcolm Wilson Rally

[greencroft]

Mark Cronje from South Africa is shown on the unseeded entrylist for the Malcolm Wilson Rally in Cumbria on March 2nd, competing in a Fiesta WRC.

I just wondered if any of the foreign posters on this forum knew much about his background and rally history?

He has his own website (Mark Cronje Team Sasol - The Official Mark Cronje website) which says he rose through karting and track racing.

Sounds like a versatile driver.

Rumours are that Matthew Wilson is also to use the event as a test for the new Fiesta R5 but as a course car only so no published times for him.

[tolis]

He is current South African champion. eWRC-results.com - profile Mark Cronje

[Grant_RSA]

He is the current SA champion and ex karting world champion... multiple track and rally class championships throughout his career.

Malcolm Wilson invited him to compete as a reward for winning the SA Championship in a Fiesta last year

[greencroft]

Thanks for your response. Will Mark ever have encountered snow and ice before on his rallies in SA?

We are seeded only a few cars behind him so I look forward to ogling his car first hand.

[Bruce D]

We don't have snow or ice on South African rallies, just bad mud on some events. Mark should have won the 2011 title too, but lost on a technicality that was not of his making. He should go alright, maybe not set the world on fire as we have S2000 spec cars, not WRC spec, so he'll need to get used to the car. That said, he's probably been the most adaptable driver in SA over the last few seasons, whether its been the RunX (Corolla), Auris or Fiesta, he's always been a front runner since moving to the S2000 class.

[Allyc85]

Cronje running 3rd at the moment, 14 seconds behind the leader Paul Bird.

Live timing is here Results - Main Index

[Allyc85]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Srw8iTutcRo

[catty]

He is the current SA champion and ex karting world champion...

No he's not.
We won the rotax world finals which is not the World Karting Championships

[Grant_RSA]

Mark didnt look to shabby in those clips :-D

[greencroft]

Thanks for your response. Will Mark ever have encountered snow and ice before on his rallies in SA?

We are seeded only a few cars behind him so I look forward to ogling his car first hand.

Mark got moved up the order and I think ran 6th or 7th on the road in the end and got a good result with 5th overall, 1:32 down on the winner after 46 mins of driving. No ice or snow to contend with for once on this rally, in fact some of the most benign conditions I have ever seen on the Malcolm Wilson and this was my 17th go at it. The stages were in v good condition generally and Grizedale has got to be one of the best forests to drive through in the UK.

We had a pretty troublefree run to 19th in my "historic" Evo6!

Thanks to all involved in putting on the event.

Simon Rogers.