Conrad Rautenbach

Conrad Rautenbach is a new name on the top level of the World Rally Championships but only the uninformed would consider him as a pushover. He brings with himself years of rallying experience at the top level. Conrad has had several years of international experience and is coming off of a title win at the FIA African Rally Championships, in 2007.
His racing career started just a few days after he got the government's official permission to drive - a driver's license. He rushed into the Zimbabwe Challenge Rally and despite a few mishaps and untoward incidents, he came home at a respectable seventh place. This made him the youngest driver ever to score points on a round of the African Championships.

The next step was simple, it was the Junior World Rally Championships and in 2004, he breezed through the Monte Carlo Rally in a Super 1600 specification's Ford Puma. His next three seasons in the Junior World Rally Championships involved a lot of racing in a variety of cars. He drove in 23 J-WRC races in a Citroen C2, an Opel Corsa and a Renault Clio. He had many fond memories from these races that included numerous podium finishes as well as fastest stage timings on both gravel and asphalt tracks.

In a desperate bid to gain experience, Conrad contested the British Rally Championships in 2006 and secured the Junior Title behind the wheel of a Subaru Imperza. He followed it up with four outright wins on the African Rally Championships' calendar, in 2007.

During the Junior World Rally Championship rounds that he participated in, in 2007, he was, by far, the quickest J-WRC driver on arguably the most difficult stage in the calendar, Ouninpohja, in Finland.

With the backing of Citroen's customer team, PH Sport, Conrad Rautenbach will have the opportunity to tackle all 15 rounds of the World Rally Championships, in 2008. He will be handed a Citroen Xsara WRC for the initial rounds but will later graduate to the Citroen C4 WRC, something similar to what a certain Sebastien Loeb drives. Not only will Conrad have one of the heaviest artillery under him, he will be partnered by David Senior, one of the most respected co-drivers in the sport today.