Young Zimbabwean Conrad Rautenbach returns home to Zimbabwe to defend his title when the FIA African Rally Championship heads to Zimbabwe for the 2006 Dunlop Zimbabwe Challenge Rally.

Conrad, who emulated his father by winning the rally, recognised as being one of the toughest in Africa, in 2005 and is relishing the chance of driving on home soil again. “The Challenge is very close to my heart, as this is the rally on which I made my competitive debut, and I am really looking forward to the event.”

Conrad made history when he scored FIA championship points on his first ever rally, the 2001 Dunlop Zimbabwe Challenge Rally, when he guided his little 1600cc Toyota Corolla home to a brilliant 7th overall, less than 6 months after his 16th birthday! 2 years later he was crowned 1600cc African Rally Champion before Conrad entered the world stage in 2004. He currently lies 4th in the Junior World Rally Championship standings!

Conrad, co-driven by his highly experienced British co-driver David Senior, will be back behind the wheel of the Subaru Impreza with which he won the 2005 Dunlop Zimbabwe Challenge Rally when the rally begins this coming Friday. They, and the other crews, face nearly 300 kilometres of tough African roads before the finish on Sunday afternoon.

The pair are competing in both the Junior World Rally Championship in a Renault Clio S1600 and in the British Rally Championship in a 2006 specification Subaru Impreza.

Tags: african, championship, junior,