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                                                                                                Ceres Rally
Witzenberg Motorklub                                            Cer-iously Cold and Wet                                               16 May 2009
Mike Nathan and Derek Jacobs won the Witzenberg Motorklub Ceres Rally in atrocious weather conditions on Saturday 16 May 2009, winning all four stages in the Aluminium Window Industries class S5 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Turbo 4x4. Amazingly this was the twice SA Gp N2 drivers champion’s first overall victory at regional level. John Peiser and Brian Hoskins got their championship off to a good start with second place overall in their Speed Pro Cycling Equipment class S5 Subaru Impreza GT 4x4 Turbo but the most impressive performance of the day came from Thorsten Pey and Mark Palmer in their Winning Business Solutions / Forsdicks Tyger Valley class S4 BMW 325i. Conditions definitely did not suit the much heavier rear wheel driven BMW but as always it was prepared to perfection and the duo gave a faultless display to finish just twenty seconds behind the Subaru. Just one second separating the Scooby and BMW through the ultra wet special stage four.Andy Haigh-Smith and Stephen White got off to a slow start in the Team REACT class S3 Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 but progressively improved to finally finish fourth overall. Stefanie and Willem Hugo also silenced their critics with a very impressive drive to fifth overall in their Wiel / Select Cars class S3 Toyota Corolla RXi 1600. Take into consideration that this is in fact a Gp N2 specification Corolla. Stefanie beating the A6 specification car of Andy by 54 seconds on the opening stage and then settling into a good pace to achieve her best result to date. Even Willem was tickled pink by this fact.Winston Neethling and Keenan Sassman enjoyed an encouraging debut event in the ex-Hannes Grobler class S5 Nissan Sentra by finishing seventh without actually having driven this car on gravel before starting this event. Still in it’s original colour scheme it was good to see the Nissan back in action after so many years. Kesevan Naidoo and Garth Ritsch survived a close call on SS1 and then managed to wrap the Freightmore class S3 Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 in a fence on SS3 but somehow survived all the drama to record eighth overall behind their names.Paul Emmanuel and newcomer navigator, Jody Eady, also completed the event in their class S1 VW Golf 1.4i but were unfortunately time-barred. Though this was a most disappointing ending to their debut as team the experience serves as great character building and they are sure to prove their worth in events to come.Even though it might seem that conditions suited the 4x4 cars their superiority was challenged by various gremlins along the way. Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Rob Williams started the event as odds on favourites for overall victory in the very impressive Team Total class S5 Toyota Run X RSi 4x4 but somehow the engine ingested water on special stage one and they could only record the fourth fastest time. No cure could be found for the misfire and they wisely decided to withdraw.John Peiser and Brian Hoskins actually hit a bird 300m into special stage three and unfortunately it became entangled in the windscreen wipers which led to grime being smeared across the screen. The loss of vision led to John clipping a rock and with little options to change a wheel they completed the 26.46km stage on the punctured rear wheel. Taking things rather cautiously on the final stage had the BMW snapping at their heels. Mike Nathan and Derek Jacobs reveled in the conditions but though there could be little doubt about the superiority of the Mitsubishi the icy cold conditions saw ‘snap crackle and pop” develop a few more strange sounds from special stage two. Clearly it did not slow them too much as they still managed a 2min16 winning margin.Andy Haigh-Smith and Stephen White started slow but gradually turned up the wick in the REACT Corolla whilst Stefanie and Willem Hugo caught everyone by surprises with a determined opening stage time. She did leave the rear bumper of the Corolla behind for an appreciative souvenir hunter but sent a clear message to her male counterparts on this event. “Die rally bokkie en haar outoppie” will in future be a serious threat to all!   At 16 years of age young Ashley Haigh-Smith and Hilton Auffray have been gaining in confidence with every event completed and their pace in the Team REACT class S2 Toyota Yaris 1.3 certainly cannot be ignored. Somebody forgot to pack the correct tools and the Yaris sustained panel damage when they were forced to complete SS3 with a punctured right rear wheel. Expect the friendly rivalry between Stefanie and Ashley to benefit both as the season progress.Winston Neethling and Keenan Sassman found their new steed quite a challenge in the testing weather conditions but were more than satisfied with a good result and the ex-Grobler Nissan 4x4 STi 2.0 will be back as a regular entry in future. Kesevan Naidoo and Garth Ritsch nearly finished their rally early in SS1 when they fell victim of the notoriously slippery 350m section just beyond the first drift but then did an even better job of it when failing rear shocks bounced them into a perimeter fence on SS3. The duo completing the event with a few modifications to the silhouette of the Conquest.Paul Emmanuel and Jody Eady added the distance without result but accepted that as a new combination both have to learn and this disappointment will only serve as motivation for the future. André George and George “The Flying Fridge” du Toit saw a photographer braving the elements on SS3 and attacked the drift with gusto, only to park the Conquest 100m later with water sucked into the engine. Amazing that the car passed through water without missing a beat all day, but once too many! Warren Scholtz and Justin Gay were heading for a good result in their class S3 FT Services VW Polo 1.8 but once again fell victim to a broken CV on SS3. This car simply cannot shake it’s hunger for CV’s and some serious work will be needed to resolve this frustrating problem.Abduraghman Amlay and Yusuf Ganief looked aggressive on SS1 but the Amlay Motorsport class S4 Toyota Run X RSi 1.8 decided that it does not enjoy such punishment in wet and cold conditions and broke a driveshaft to escape further abuse. A pity as Amlay normally excels in wet conditions. The TDi Golf IV of Llewellyn Jones and Craig Gray made it past scrutiny but refused to budge when the “black box” shut down and that was it. Their rally over before it started.A sincere thank you to Mike Nathan (Alumium Window Industries) and George du Toit (The Flying Fridge) for their financial contributions towards the organization of the event. As always Johann Zulch was the 0 car driver with Danie Smuts in the 00 and Johan Viljoen as Follow-Up. The arrowing crew consisting of a frozen Richard Hough and Morné Olivier deserve special mention as they did a sterling job in testing conditions. Pierre van der Westhuizen the Clerk of the Course with Brian Roy Assisting Clerk of the Course and Robert Marle the MSA Steward. Scoring as always done by the ever cheerful Brian King. Prizegiving at the Rocky River Spur provided an opportunity to recover from the cold and it was great to note the presence of Hennie and Reinette Mostert at the event – it’s been a few years!Charl Strydom and Sakkie Bosman scored good publicity as a popular late entry for the event and then withdrew without actually even taking the car out of the garage.
Good news is that more entries should be present at the CPMCC Rally on 27 June as Clinton Sassman is completing the re-shelling of his rolled BMW 325i and Ettiene du Toit could well be back in his N2 Corolla RXi 1600.
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Dave's Corner

2010 MLC Computer Solutions All Tar Rally (6 November): An information poster for the final round of the Northern Regions Rally Championship is available...

2010 SAM 100 Rally (2 October): The supplementary regs and entry form are available for the 6th round of the Northern Regions Rally Championship...

2010 Swartland Rally: The provisional entry list is available.  Both Nicholas Ryan and Mike Nathan have confirmed their entries which don't appear yet...

Mark Cronje has resigned from the Castrol Toyota team with immediate effect.  The hot favourite to fill the seat is Leeroy Poulter.  Robert Paisley will stay on in the Auris' cockpit, leaving newly crowned Class A6 Co-Driver's Champion Henry Dearlove without a drive. Poulter's confirmation is due on Wednesday 8th...

Rumours that Citroen are to compete in class A6 of the 2011 Sasol SA Rally Championship continue to gather strength.  After a fact finding visit to the Sasol Rally (see Dave's Corner  lower down), it appears Citroen France has given the go-ahead to make cars available for sale, in what could become a "Citroen Cup", or similar.  The story of a S2000 Citroen also won't lie down...Vive le France!

The Cape Peninsula Motorcycle and Car Club (CPMCC) celebrates its centenary this year.  Robert Marle has caculated this will be the 73rd running of the event, which was more commonly called the Double 12 Rally...

Ashley Haigh Smith and Hilton Auffrey will drive Andy Haigh Smith's class A6 React Toyota Corolla on the Swartland Rally...

Northern Regions Points have been updated after the SAHRA Rally...

Shaun Parsons is getting a class A5 Volkswagen Vivo for 2011 and is expected to make his debut on the Gauteng Rally in October...

2010 Bela Bela SAHRA Rally: Final results are available...

2010 React 2 Nite Rally: The supplementary regs (and addendum) and entry form for the final Western Cape Regional Rally Championship are available...

2010 CPMCC Swartland Rally: I have reloaded the documents and they DO open. Thanks for alerting me to the problem. The penultimate round of the Sasol SA Rally Championship supplementary regs, entry form and competitor's medical form are available...

Sasol SA Rally Championship points have been updated after the Osram Rally...

2010 Bela Bela SAHRA Rally: The spectator guide, updated entry list, itinerary and bulletin 1 are available...

2010 Osram Rally: The TV broadcast schedule has been released...

2010 Osram Rally: The gallery is available...Enzo Kuun heads Hergen Fekken for VW 1-2.  Conrad Rautenbach 3rd.  Toyota's day goes wrong in stage 1.  Jaco van Dyk/Des de Fortier roll in SS2 and car caught fire.  Poulter again top two-wheel drive car and takes A6 title.  Ashley Haigh Smith takes A5 championship, Stassen brothers take N4 title. Final results available...

Leave the snow chains at home - the weather forecast, scrutineering times, bulletin 1 and a map of the shakedown stage have been added...

 

Fix-A-Smash All Tar Rally: Final results and review are available...

2010 Osram Rally: The entry list, Spectator Guide, GPS points, map (amended) and itinerary (amended) have been added...Heuningneskloof has been shortened by 10km.

Toyota's next SA Rally win will be their 100th since 1960...

National Rally seedings have been updated after the VW Rally (rd 5)

2010 Hencom Autobody HMC Rally: The gallery has been uploaded.  For those new to the site or if you haven't figured it out yet, photos are loaded in results order and non-finishers alphabetically...

2010 Hencom Autobody HMC Rally: Final Results and stage analysis are available here...

2010 Hencom Autobody HMC Rally: The start list (amended), final instructions, spectator guide and GPS points, service guide and itinerary are available...

Western Cape Fix-A-Smash All Tar Rally (14-15 August): The supplementary regs and entry form are available...

Sasol National Rally Championship Points - the official MSA version has been added...

Volkswagen Rally 2010: The TV Schedule is available...

Congatulations to Hannes Visser and his wife on the birth of their daughter on Friday - just as the VW Rally was about to get underway.  Visser, the Rally TV Production man rushed from PE back to Gauteng and made the birth of their first child with no time to spare...

The IMPERIAL Toyota Rally Team of Leeroy Poulter and Henry Dearlove send their congratulations to the Vissers...

See the new MINI Countryman WRC here...

2010 Osram Rally: The supplementary regs (amended) and entry form for the 6th round of the SASOL SA Rally Championship are available...

2010 Bela Bela SAHRA Rally: 28 August: The Supplementary Regs and Entry Form are available...

Volkswagen Rally 2010: The gallery is available...

Volkswagen Rally 2010: The final results have been posted.  Congratulations to all the winners, movers and shakers...

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter - http://twitter.com/rallyworldnet

 

 

Volkswagen Rally 2010: Day 1 results here...Fekken out SS1; Gemmell leads by 5.5 sec from Enzo, Hein Lategan 3rd ahead of Habig.  Cleenwerck rolled SS1, crew battered and bruised otherwise ok.  Van Niekerk, JP, Conrad all had moments in SS2, lost lots of time.  Gavin Cronje awesome around Scribante, as was Poulter, Lategan and Wilken who won both tarmac stages...

 

Volkswagen Rally 2010: Updated weather forecast:  SA Weather Bureau predicts a 30% chance of light rain on Friday and Saturday; the overseas weather service says not! Maybe 0.1mm onSaturday...The full spectator guide, scrutineering times, weather forecast (including specifically for Longmore Forest), itinerary, GPS Co-Ordinates, final entry list and final instructions are available...

Tjaart Coetzee has sold his Subarus and parts to Sebastian Klassen who will debut on the VW Rally...

Shaun Visser will partner Robson Maganezi for the rest of the year in the N3 Linking Africa Ford Fiesta ST...

The Eastern Cape S1/A5 CitiGolf regional competitors are urgently looking for 14in tyres.  If anyone has any new or slightly used tyres for sale, please call Rikus Fourie 084-673-8786...

The PE Hotels Group telephone number in the VW Rally regs has changed to 041 585 2654...

Word on the street is that Christoff Snyders has bought the ex-Stevan Wilken A6 VW Polo and intends to compete in the balance of the Northern Regions series before tackling the 2011 Sasol SA Rally Championship...

2010 Hencom Autobody HMC Rally, 7 August: The supplementary regs and entry form are available...

The latest National Rally Seedings after Rally SA are available here...

Congratulations to Erik de Jager, whose wife delivered a healthy baby girl on 28 June...

Northern Regions Points after the Subaru Bruma Rally have been added.

SAHRA is holding a club noggin on 22 June at Fanie's Place, Centurion @ 19h00.  SAHRA will need a new Chairman as the current incumbent Etienne Malherbe is leaving the province...

Finally, some rally stuff!  The 2010 Volkswagen Rally Supplementary Regulations, entry and medical forms are available.  There is also an excellent VW winners history prepared by Rikus Fourie...

 

The Bathroom Bizarre Tzaneen Rally will be broadcast as follows: Sunday 20 June:  20h00 to 20h30  on SS 6, Monday 21 June: 11h30 to 12h00 on SS6, Wednesday:23 June: 11h30 to 12h00 on SS2

Subaru Bruma Rally: Final results and stage times are available...

 

 

The Rally of South Africa TV Schedule is available...

Subaru Bruma Belspruit (Bronkfast) Rally: The spectator and service guides, start list, itinerary and map are available.  Enjoy the event - I will be at Kyalami reporting on the Timken Subaru team...

The latest Northern Regions seedings are available here

Sasol National Rally Championship Points have been updated here

The gallery is available... There are two galleries this time. One Dave Ledbitter and the other Michael Ledbitter

 

2010 Rally of South Africa: Final Results are available.  Johnny gemmell wins by 0.7 seconds from Jan Habig and JP.  After Jessievale (SS3), the retirement list read like the who'se who of rallying: Fekken, Kuun, Rautenbach, Wilken, Joubert, De Wit, Otto...

Basil Read is to part sponsor the Rally SA TV production costs...

Follow Rallyworld on Twitter for updates directly from the Rally of South Africa.

 

 

 

Northern Regions Championship points after Tzaneen are available here...

The spectating trip to the Rally of South Africa is planned. We will leave Pretoria at 07h30 on the 28th of May 2010 and arrive in Ermelo around 11h30. We will have a hearty breakfast on our way there and on arrival in Ermelo see all the cars at the start and then move on to find a good spectating point on the first special stage. After the day's spectating we will sleep over at a guest house, rise early to have breakfast and follow the rally for the rest of the day. We will leave Ermelo for Pretoria after the prize giving.

 

Chris de Wit has received funding that will keep him and co-driver Dean Redelinghuys in the championship, and the former class champion will be on the Rally of SA...

 

Rally of South Africa: The updated entry list and WEATHER FORECAST, Bulletin 1 and the scrutineering times are available...

Volkswagen Rally 2010: A provisional timetable has been issued in view of the anticipated number of tourists still in the country and the close proximity of the VW Rally to the end of the World Cup. .  Rally people are urged to make their flight and accommodation bookings as early as possible.  Early Friday morning flights can be used with plenty of time to get there on time...

Joos and Danie Stassen made a late - and surprising - entry on the Rally of SA.  The Subaru was diagnosed with a broken piston, making their spluttering 10th place on the Sasol Rally all the more remarkable.  A generous sponsor has paid for a brand new engine...

Rally of South Africa: The spectator guide, entry list, itinerary, GPS points and a guide to Ermelo's amenities  are available...

The lastest MSA National Rally seedings are available...

Pierre Jordaan has joined Tjaart Coetzee in the Midas Subaru for the rest of the year...

The Class A5 BP Volkswagn Polo Vivo is expected to debut on the Rally of SA later this month...

 

The MSA Rally Technical Working Group is going to recommend to the Rally Commission that Class N3 remains for 2011, based on the number of entries this season...

The latest Sasol SA Rally Championship points are available...

React Night Rally (WC): Read the review, and the gallery, courtesy of Frank Pey is available...

Bathroom Bizarre Tzaneen Rally: Congratulations to Mohammed Moosa and Jose Ferreira on winning the Bathroom Bizarre Tzaneen Rally.  Final results (incl SS6) are available here...

Sasol Rally 2010: The TV Schedule is available...

Subaru Bruma Rally 2010: New date 5th June: Supplementary regs and Entry Form are available...

Seen on the Sasol Rally was the Portuguese representative from Citroen's competitions department, Miguel Velentim (Chefe de Divisao, Departmento de Competicao).  One thought is that Citroen, now fully re-committed to the South African market, is evaluating a Citroen Cup for 2011.  Now that's a mouth-watering prospect, as is a DS3-based S2000...

Sasol Rally 2010: The gallery is available...

Sasol Rally 2010: Final Results are here

Sasol Rally 2010: Kuun wins from Gemmell with Habig 3rd.  Poulter wins A6 and is first front wheel drive car home. Lambert wins A5, Amlay N3 after having his butt kicked by a girl for most of the way.  Otto takes A7, Stassens N4...

BREAKING NEWS - Both leaders are out. Rautenbach with engine problems and Fekken with gearbox problems. Kuun leads from Habig
2010 Sasol Rally: Conrad Rautenbach leads by 2.4sec from Hergen Fekken going into day 2. Looks like a massive fight between them today.
2010 Rally of South Africa: the AMENDED supplementary regs and entry form for the 4th round of the Sasol SA Rally Championship are available...The only change is to Rally Secretary Isebel vd Westhuizen's email address which should be isebels@mweb.co.za.

Etienne du Toit and Patrick Vermaak will not make the Sasol Rally as their RunX's gearbox is not ready...

Rob Clarke, owner of the Bundu Lodge where many teams are staying during the Sasol Rally, reports that Nelspruit had over 200mm of rain last week and since 17h00 today (Tue, 20 April) over 80mm has fallen with more expected tomorrow...Speaking of which, the rather bleak weekend weather forecast has been added...

2010 React Rally: The supplementary regs and entry form for the 4th round of the Western Cape Regional Championship are here...

Former regional rallyists Leon van Zyl and Morne van Bosch are going off road racing...

Sasol Rally 2010: SAM'sbrilliant spectator guide is available here.  Even after compressing it, it's a big file!  I've also chopped it into 4 smaller files for easier download.

Sasol Rally 2010: Bulletin 1, which includes the scrutineering times, maps to the start and the medical safety plan, is available. The file size is nearly 2MB so please be patient!

The latest MSA National Rally Seedings are available...

Sasol Rally 2010: The Competitor's Medical Form is available and must be completed and returned to Henriette Jooste...

Northern Regions seedings have been updated...

SCC East Rand Delmas Rally: Congratulations to Michael Otto, Nico Higgs and Shaun Parsons; final results and stage times are available here...The GALLERY is available...

 

Vlakvlei Rally:  All the documents for the next round of the Western Cape Regional Championship are here...

The MSA National Points table after Round 2 has been posted; the Privateer's Championship needs some revision so please don't inundate MSA with complaints!

Please note that the 36th Rally of South Africa will be held on 28 and 29 May 2010. The rally will be the fourth round of the 2010 Sasol South African Rally Championship and will be based in Ermelo with stages in the Panbult and Warburton areas. The Supplementary Regulations and Entry Form will be available shortly and entries will then open. The rally will follow a similar format to last year’s event with the start at lunch time on the Friday and the finish on the Saturday afternoon.

Toyota Dealer Rally TV Schedule is available...

SCC East Rand Rally: as at Tuesday, 30 March just 6 entries have been received. Anyone who has paid SCC ER for Leon Botha's route notes will be refunded by SCC ER and all entrants must pay Leon Botha directly...

Sasol Rally 2010: The supplementary regs and entry form are available...

Bathroom Bizarre Tzaneen Rally 2010: The supplementary regs and entry form are available for the 2nd round of the Northern Regions Championship...

Toyota Dealer Rally: The gallery has been loaded.

Toyota Dealer Rally Final  results available here!  Conrad Rautenbach wins for Ford from Enzo Kuun and Hergen Fekken...

The weather forecast does not look good...The stage 6 map, scrutineering times (added Tue 23/3), spectator guide, main map, indemnity, rally programme, entry list, itinerary and shakedown stage details are available...Click on the "entry list" link to access everything you need

 

Bundu Lodge between Nelspruit and White River is offering their new luxurious rooms at R495/couple/day for the Sasol Rally.  Contact Marie van Wyngaardt  013 758 1222  013 758 1222 or www.bundulodge.co.za for details...

 

Tjaart Conradie will receive Sasol fuel and lubricants for the rest of the season...

The next HiQ Rally Sprint takes places at Rallystar on 20 March, starting at 10am.  Entrance is r30, including a free boerewors roll...

Gugu Zulu and Shaun Visser are moving up to a class A7 BP Polo Vivo for the Toyota Dealer Rally...

The full Tour Natal TV schedule is here...

National seedings after the Tour Natal are here...

Schalk Burger has been discharged from hospital and is recovering well at home.  Listening to him re-live his accident is chilling...

The

 

 

 

 

 

Ettienne du Toit has been forced to withdraw from the Rally of SA due to a late unspecified car problem...

 

Rally of South Africa 2010:

 

2010 Osram Rally: