The surname Habig was once again on the podium at the Algoa National Rally after a dominant win in round five of the championship on Friday as well as a great comeback to finish third in round six on Saturday.
Jan Habig and his navigator, Douglas Judd, won this event in 1998, 1999 and 2006, but in 2024 it was the turn of Jan’s son, Benjamin, to claim victory with Barry White doing the navigating duties alongside him in their newly built turbocharged VW Polo 270 4-wheel drive car.
They dominated round five, winning every stage of the rally, bringing their car home in 1 minute 26 seconds ahead of the Toyota Starlet of Jono van Wyk and Ingrid Jeacocks.
Local rally stars Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie continued their great season by finishing in fourth place overall in their Hella-backed VW Polo 250 and second in the Petrefuel Algoa Rally Club championship, just 22 seconds behind the Subaru Impreza of Cape Town-based Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp.
Round six was fraught with high drama from the outset, when Habig’s car caught alight during stage two after his exhaust pipe snapped in the midsection of the underside of the Polo.
Due to the intense heat, a hydraulic hose on the handbrake system burst, filling the cockpit of the car with toxic smoke fumes and forcing the pair to stop twice during the stage, which they ultimately managed to finish.
Their service crew did an amazing job of rewelding the exhaust and replacing the damaged hose which allowed them to continue in the rally, albeit in ninth place overall.
They put in a scintillating performance to win three out of the remaining four stages and claw their way back to third place overall behind overall winners Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler in their Mazda 2, and second-placed Mandla Mdakane and Kes Naidoo in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Starlet.
Vosloo and Fourie secured another fourth-place finish in the national championship and a well-deserved victory in the regional championship.
The last-minute decision by Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber to join the national rally championship was a good one as they impressed in their Triple L Plant Hire-sponsored Toyota Etios, finishing in fifth place overall in both rounds five and six.
The sought-after titles of “King of the Longmore” which uses combined times from both days of the rally went the way of Benjamin Habig and White, who scooped the national title, and Vosloo and Fourie the regional title.
The results were:
National championship round five overall: 1 Benjamin Habig and Barry White, 2 Jono van Wyk and Ingrid Jeacocks, 3 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler
NRC1 class: 1 Benjamin Habig and Barry White, 2 Jono van Wyk and Ingrid Jeacocks, 3 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler
NRC4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Anton and Isabel Raaths
Petrefuel Algoa Rally Club Championship round three overall: 1 Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp, 2 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 3 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout
ARC 1 class: 1 Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp, 2 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout, 3 Jody van Zummeren and James Johnston
ARC 3 class: 1 Johan and Juane Viljoen, 2 Ross and Roxanne Bartle, 3 Etienne Malherbe and Patrick Vermaak
ARC 4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Martin Kleingeld Jnr and Snr
ARC 5 class: 1 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 2 Winley Martin and Kaylin Kapp, 3 Tashne Wait and Wesley Schultz
Clubman class: 1 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 2 Etienne Malherbe and Patrick Vermaak, 3 Herman Bernhardt and Greg Heine
National Rally Championship round six overall: 1 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler, 2 Mandla Mdakane and Kes Naidoo, 3 Benjamin Habig and Barry White
NRC1 class: 1 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler, 2 Mandla Mdakane and Kes Naidoo, 3 Benjamin Habig and Barry White
NRC4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Anton and Isabel Raaths
Petrefuel Algoa Rally Club Championship round four overall: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout, 3 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber
ARC 1 class: 1 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout, 2 Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp, 3 Wade van Zummeren and Henry Adams
ARC 3 class: 1 Johan and Juane Viljoen, 2 Rupert van Zyl and Justin Grey, 3 Herman Bernhardt and Greg Heine
ARC 4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Jeandre Marais and Tegan Taljaard
ARC 5 class: 1 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 2 Winley Martin and Kaylin Kapp, 3 Tashne Wait and Wesley Schultz
Clubman class: 1 Herman Bernhardt and Greg Heine, 2 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 3 Brent Barnard and Cameron Kelly
HeraldLIVE
Habig is King of the Longmore
Benjamin follows in dad Jan’s tracks
Image: BRENDAN KELLY
The surname Habig was once again on the podium at the Algoa National Rally after a dominant win in round five of the championship on Friday as well as a great comeback to finish third in round six on Saturday.
Jan Habig and his navigator, Douglas Judd, won this event in 1998, 1999 and 2006, but in 2024 it was the turn of Jan’s son, Benjamin, to claim victory with Barry White doing the navigating duties alongside him in their newly built turbocharged VW Polo 270 4-wheel drive car.
They dominated round five, winning every stage of the rally, bringing their car home in 1 minute 26 seconds ahead of the Toyota Starlet of Jono van Wyk and Ingrid Jeacocks.
Local rally stars Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie continued their great season by finishing in fourth place overall in their Hella-backed VW Polo 250 and second in the Petrefuel Algoa Rally Club championship, just 22 seconds behind the Subaru Impreza of Cape Town-based Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp.
Round six was fraught with high drama from the outset, when Habig’s car caught alight during stage two after his exhaust pipe snapped in the midsection of the underside of the Polo.
Due to the intense heat, a hydraulic hose on the handbrake system burst, filling the cockpit of the car with toxic smoke fumes and forcing the pair to stop twice during the stage, which they ultimately managed to finish.
Their service crew did an amazing job of rewelding the exhaust and replacing the damaged hose which allowed them to continue in the rally, albeit in ninth place overall.
They put in a scintillating performance to win three out of the remaining four stages and claw their way back to third place overall behind overall winners Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler in their Mazda 2, and second-placed Mandla Mdakane and Kes Naidoo in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Starlet.
Vosloo and Fourie secured another fourth-place finish in the national championship and a well-deserved victory in the regional championship.
The last-minute decision by Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber to join the national rally championship was a good one as they impressed in their Triple L Plant Hire-sponsored Toyota Etios, finishing in fifth place overall in both rounds five and six.
The sought-after titles of “King of the Longmore” which uses combined times from both days of the rally went the way of Benjamin Habig and White, who scooped the national title, and Vosloo and Fourie the regional title.
The results were:
National championship round five overall: 1 Benjamin Habig and Barry White, 2 Jono van Wyk and Ingrid Jeacocks, 3 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler
NRC1 class: 1 Benjamin Habig and Barry White, 2 Jono van Wyk and Ingrid Jeacocks, 3 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler
NRC4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Anton and Isabel Raaths
Petrefuel Algoa Rally Club Championship round three overall: 1 Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp, 2 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 3 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout
ARC 1 class: 1 Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp, 2 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout, 3 Jody van Zummeren and James Johnston
ARC 3 class: 1 Johan and Juane Viljoen, 2 Ross and Roxanne Bartle, 3 Etienne Malherbe and Patrick Vermaak
ARC 4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Martin Kleingeld Jnr and Snr
ARC 5 class: 1 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 2 Winley Martin and Kaylin Kapp, 3 Tashne Wait and Wesley Schultz
Clubman class: 1 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 2 Etienne Malherbe and Patrick Vermaak, 3 Herman Bernhardt and Greg Heine
National Rally Championship round six overall: 1 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler, 2 Mandla Mdakane and Kes Naidoo, 3 Benjamin Habig and Barry White
NRC1 class: 1 Chris Coertse and Matt Kohler, 2 Mandla Mdakane and Kes Naidoo, 3 Benjamin Habig and Barry White
NRC4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Anton and Isabel Raaths
Petrefuel Algoa Rally Club Championship round four overall: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout, 3 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber
ARC 1 class: 1 Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout, 2 Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp, 3 Wade van Zummeren and Henry Adams
ARC 3 class: 1 Johan and Juane Viljoen, 2 Rupert van Zyl and Justin Grey, 3 Herman Bernhardt and Greg Heine
ARC 4 class: 1 Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie, 2 Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber, 3 Jeandre Marais and Tegan Taljaard
ARC 5 class: 1 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 2 Winley Martin and Kaylin Kapp, 3 Tashne Wait and Wesley Schultz
Clubman class: 1 Herman Bernhardt and Greg Heine, 2 Francois Vermaak and Handre van Schalkwyk, 3 Brent Barnard and Cameron Kelly
HeraldLIVE
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