Conrad Rautenbach (born 12 November 1984) is a

rally driver Rally is a wide-ranging form of motorsport with various competitive motoring elements such as speed tests (often called ''rally racing),'' navigation tests, or the ability to reach waypoints or a destination at a prescribed time or average speed. ...

from

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

who competed in the

World Rally Championship The World Rally Championship (abbreviated as WRC) is the highest level of global competition in the motorsport discipline of rallying, owned and governed by the FIA. There are separate championships for drivers, co-drivers, manufacturers and t ...

for the Citroën Junior Team along with his co-driver

Daniel Barritt Daniel Barritt (born 23 August 1980) is a British World Rally Championship co-driver from England. Background Barritt was born in Burnley, UK. His family has been involved in rallying for three generations. His grandfather, for example, was a ...

. He won the

African Rally Championship The African Rally Championship (ARC) is an international automobile rally championship run under the auspicies of the FIA. The championship was first held in 1981 and won by Shekhar Mehta. The most successful driver in the championship's history ...

twice, in

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

and 2011.

Career

Conrad Rautenbach - 2008 Rallye de France SS12

He drove for the privately run PH Sport team with Urmo Aava in a Citroën C4 WRC for the 2008 season, where he achieved points finishes on two occasions, an 8th at

Rally Turkey The Rally of Turkey (also known as Anatolian Rally) is a rally competition on the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) schedule. History First international rally in Turkey was held in 1972, starting and finishing in Istanbul. In 1999, the idea of ...

and a best result of 4th at the

Rally Argentina The Rally Argentina ( es, Rally de Argentina) is an Argentine rally competition that has been a round of the World Rally Championship, the Intercontinental Rally Challenge, the South American Rally Championship and the Argentine Rally Championshi ...

. However, he also had some bizarre moments in 2008, not least of which the now infamous collision with

Sébastien Loeb Sébastien Loeb (; born 26 February 1974) is a French professional rally, racing and rallycross driver. He is the most successful driver in the World Rally Championship (WRC), having won the world championship a record nine times in a row. He h ...

at the

Jordan Rally The Jordan Rally ( ar, رالي الأردن) is a rallying competition held in Jordan. It was a new addition to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar for the 2008 season, and the first occurrence of a WRC event in the Middle East. The ...

where both cars managed to collide head-on forcing both to retire instantly. Conrad Rautenbach - Rally Finland 2009

For

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Rautenbach joined the Citroën Junior Team where he continued to campaign in a Citroën C4 WRC. On

Rally Ireland Rally Ireland was added to the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC) calendar in 2007. It was not part of the 2008 schedule, but returned as the First round of the championship in 2009. The north–south event is the largest sporting occasion on ...

, the first event of the season, Rautenbach had a promising first day, setting stage times consistently in the top eight, and ended the day in fifth place. However an off early on day two saw him slip down the standings, eventually finishing 18th in the rally. 2009 has continued to be an inconsistent season for Rautenbach, with retirements in

Rally Norway Rally Norway is the Norwegian rally which has been part of the WRC calendar in 2007 and 2009. This rally and Rally Sweden are the only two rallies part of the WRC calendar which are mainly held on snow, with the Monte Carlo Rally also featuring ...

Rally Portugal The Rally de Portugal (formerly: Rallye de Portugal) is a rally competition held in Portugal. First held in 1967, the seventh running of the race, the 7º TAP Rallye de Portugal was the third event in the inaugural FIA World Rally Champi ...

and

, however, he did achieve points finishes at the

Cyprus Rally The Cyprus Rally is a rallying competition held yearly in Cyprus since 1970. The event is run by the Cyprus Automobile Association and is based in the city of Limassol (Lemesos). It is run on the winding roads of the nearby mountains of Troödos ...

and the

Acropolis Rally The Acropolis Rally of Greece ( el, Ράλλυ Ακρόπολις) is a rally competition that is part of the World Rally Championship (WRC). The rally is held on very dusty, rough, rocky and fast mountain roads in mainland Greece, usually duri ...

, finishing 6th and 5th respectively. He did not get a seat for the next season and has not competed in WRC since. Due to a lack of funding in 2010, Rautenbach only competed in the

South African National Rally Championship The South African National Rally Championship is a series of rallying events that has taken place each year since 1960. It was won eleven times by Sarel van der Merwe in the 1970s and 1980s and ten times by Serge Damseaux from 1989 to 2004. Toyota a ...

with a

Ford Fiesta S2000 The Ford Fiesta S2000 is a Super 2000 rally car built by M-Sport. It is based upon the Ford Fiesta road car. It made its racing debut at the 78th Rallye Monte Carlo in 2010, with factory team M-Sport and drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Julien Maur ...

. He returned to the African championship in 2011, winning it for the second time. His father,

Billy Rautenbach Muller Conrad "Billy" Rautenbach (born 23 September 1959) is a Zimbabwean business magnate, whose more than 150 ventures have included companies involved in transport, cobalt and platinum mining, and biofuel production, primarily in Africa. Th ...

, is also a former rally driver.Motorsport.com, 2006-06-27
Conrad Rautenbach Zimbabwe summary

WRC results

JWRC results

Dakar Rally results

References

External links

*
Rallybase.nl profile
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rautenbach, Conrad 1984 births Living people World Rally Championship drivers Zimbabwean rally drivers White Zimbabwean sportspeople Afrikaner people Dakar Rally drivers Citroën Racing drivers