The SA Rally Championship burst into life at the Cape Swartland Rally at the weekend with rounds one and two taking place in the Malmesbury, Riebeek Kasteel area, as the oldest running motorsport championship in the country entered its 62nd year.
Added into the mix were some challenging night stages on and around Killarney International Raceway that entertained the crowds of spectators.
A total of 28 cars lined up for the Friday start of round one, which saw a varied mix of state-of-the-art national competitors' cars to classic regional entrants in the field.
Leading out the Eastern Cape entries from Algoa Rally Club were Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie in their Hella-sponsored VoslooR VW Polo who took part in the NRC4 class, an open class that caters for two-wheel/front-wheel drive cars with limited modifications being allowed, and Oliver de Man and Ingrid Jeacocks in their classic Toyota Corolla in the NRC5 class for older generation two-wheel-drive cars.
Vosloo and Fourie put in a masterful performance in both rounds taking third place overall and first in the NRC4 class in round one, which they followed up by placing second overall and once again winning their class in the second round.
“For the team, it was a new challenge as Neels had never taken part in a rally in this area, but he thrived in the hot conditions on the tricky loose gravel surface with many fast-flowing sections,” Fourie said.
“It became an absolute trust game with me trusting his driving ability and him my navigating ability to get us some good results through the gravel stages.
“We had a total blast on the very technical Killarney night stages and Neels was brilliant as he got his first taste of Killarney.
“We overdid it in one corner and lost four places in the blink of an eye, but it really kept the appreciative crowd entertained.
“Round two took place in the Reibeek Kasteel area where neither of us had ever rallied before. We just kept it neat and tidy and focused on finishing in one piece while other teams faltered.
“The Gazoo Racing Toyotas unfortunately tripped up over some of the many obstacles, which led us to second place overall.”
For Fourie, it was a very emotional event as his father Joe, who is well known in rally and off-road racing circles, is gravely ill in hospital and as a family, they made the tough decision to head down to the Cape to compete and do this event as a tribute to him, as they had good memories when they competed as a father-and-son team at the Swartland Rally for the first time in 1997.
This result sees the VoslooR team in second place in the championship standings with 104 points behind Chris Coertse and Carolyn Swan, who triumphed in both rounds in the Cape, bagging 126 points.
A new introduction this year is a separate four-wheel drive championship as well as a two-wheel championship that the local stars now lead.
This event also had an added incentive of double points on offer to entice the upcountry teams to participate.
Though De Man and Jeacocks rally together in the Algoa Rally Club championship, it was their first national rally together and they really kept the crowd entertained with the sideways action of the classic rear-wheel- drive Toyota that revelled in the loose surface conditions of the high-speed gravel stages.
They secured fifth place overall in round one and fourth in round two as well as winning the NRC5 class in both rounds and find themselves in fourth place overall in the championship standings with 84 points.
HeraldLIVE
Algoa stars shine at Cape Swartland Rally
Vosloo and Fourie put in masterful performance
Image: Abri de Bruin / Cloudnr9
The SA Rally Championship burst into life at the Cape Swartland Rally at the weekend with rounds one and two taking place in the Malmesbury, Riebeek Kasteel area, as the oldest running motorsport championship in the country entered its 62nd year.
Added into the mix were some challenging night stages on and around Killarney International Raceway that entertained the crowds of spectators.
A total of 28 cars lined up for the Friday start of round one, which saw a varied mix of state-of-the-art national competitors' cars to classic regional entrants in the field.
Leading out the Eastern Cape entries from Algoa Rally Club were Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie in their Hella-sponsored VoslooR VW Polo who took part in the NRC4 class, an open class that caters for two-wheel/front-wheel drive cars with limited modifications being allowed, and Oliver de Man and Ingrid Jeacocks in their classic Toyota Corolla in the NRC5 class for older generation two-wheel-drive cars.
Vosloo and Fourie put in a masterful performance in both rounds taking third place overall and first in the NRC4 class in round one, which they followed up by placing second overall and once again winning their class in the second round.
“For the team, it was a new challenge as Neels had never taken part in a rally in this area, but he thrived in the hot conditions on the tricky loose gravel surface with many fast-flowing sections,” Fourie said.
“It became an absolute trust game with me trusting his driving ability and him my navigating ability to get us some good results through the gravel stages.
“We had a total blast on the very technical Killarney night stages and Neels was brilliant as he got his first taste of Killarney.
“We overdid it in one corner and lost four places in the blink of an eye, but it really kept the appreciative crowd entertained.
“Round two took place in the Reibeek Kasteel area where neither of us had ever rallied before. We just kept it neat and tidy and focused on finishing in one piece while other teams faltered.
“The Gazoo Racing Toyotas unfortunately tripped up over some of the many obstacles, which led us to second place overall.”
For Fourie, it was a very emotional event as his father Joe, who is well known in rally and off-road racing circles, is gravely ill in hospital and as a family, they made the tough decision to head down to the Cape to compete and do this event as a tribute to him, as they had good memories when they competed as a father-and-son team at the Swartland Rally for the first time in 1997.
This result sees the VoslooR team in second place in the championship standings with 104 points behind Chris Coertse and Carolyn Swan, who triumphed in both rounds in the Cape, bagging 126 points.
A new introduction this year is a separate four-wheel drive championship as well as a two-wheel championship that the local stars now lead.
This event also had an added incentive of double points on offer to entice the upcountry teams to participate.
Though De Man and Jeacocks rally together in the Algoa Rally Club championship, it was their first national rally together and they really kept the crowd entertained with the sideways action of the classic rear-wheel- drive Toyota that revelled in the loose surface conditions of the high-speed gravel stages.
They secured fifth place overall in round one and fourth in round two as well as winning the NRC5 class in both rounds and find themselves in fourth place overall in the championship standings with 84 points.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Latest Videos
Most Read
Rugby
Pages
Cricket
Rugby
Sport