November 1, 2018
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ALWYN VILJOEN
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Taming KZN’s cane Fast, technical tribute rally attracts largest field of racers to a regional race in living memory ALWYN VILJOEN THE inaugural Zane Rencken Tribute Rally, hosted at the Dalton Farmers’ Hall on Saturday, was a huge success. Cobus Groenewald, chair of the Africa Regional Rally Organisation, said preparation often entailed more drama than any soapie, but thanks to “a passionate gentleman”, the rally happened. Said gentleman was Maritzburg’s Dean Redelinghuys, who moved mountains to create the first event that celebrated sportsmanship across racing allegiances. Groenewald said organising a rally is a full-time, unappreciated job “that steals at least three months” of one’s life and thanked Redelinghuys for making the historic tribute rally happen. “The atmosphere was electric the entire day in the service park, whereby people who never knew each other from anywhere before befriended each other and enjoyed each other’s company throughout the event,” Groenewald posted after the event. The rally attracted the largest field to a regional rally in living memory, with 38 crews racing eight “invigorating stages” through cane fields and plantations. And with drivers from both Motorsport South Africa and Arro lining up on the starting line, the competition was always going to be fierce. Stage 1 Clyde Challenor and Graham Bishop easily won stage one, needing just 10 minutes and 32 seconds to race the tricky 12,20 km of jumps and bumps in their VW Polo, followed by Cobus and Cherise Groenewald in their overheating Toyota Run-x A7 and Bertus Labuschagne and Peter Chadwick in yet another VW Polo. The times in the Off Road Class showed that overall victory would go down to the very last stage. Only four seconds separated the first three cars of Ernest and Ruan Roberts, Dean Bradbury and Monique van der Merwe, and in third, Nico du Randt and Henry Kohne. In the Social Class, it seemed early on in the event that Paolo Gouveia and Ashley Eddie were going to have an easy day at the office in their Nissan Skyline GTR, with a convincing 39 second-stage win over their nearest rivals. Andries and Lorraine Graaf followed in a Ford Escort. The two blokes who have the most fun in rallies, Brandt van der Merwe and Zale van Breda, followed in their Fiat Uno with a time of 14:47. Stage 2 Despite a couple of Gauteng drivers having had close encounters of the cane kind in stage one, the “red mist” came down and on stage two’s 16,30 km, the crews pushed their cars as fast as gravity and grip allowed. Redelinghuys and co-pilot Amon Meyiwa ran into early trouble with their selector not hooking the first two
Organiser of the Zane Rencken Tribute Rally, Dean Redelinghuys (left), and navigator Amon Meyiwa. PHOTOS: ALWYN VILJOEN
Marco Ferreira’s shoes show the KZN cane don’t tame easily. cogs, and at the end of stage two, all crews were mending cars and broken egos. Stage 3 The third stage was a fast, flowing 13,60 km. Marco Ferreira and Hannes Pienaar placed third in a Subaru Impreza in a time of 10:39 but it would also prove to be their last stage, as their
Subaru’s suspension had collapsed. Stage 4 The fourth stage saw four cars exit the racing. The Groenewalds had no fuel pressure in their RunX, ditto Brian and Ashley Scott in their VW Polo. The Nissan Skyline of Keith Delport and Mari Duccasse parted ways with its diff and Callie van der Merwe and Rene
Brandt van der Merwe and Zale van Breda are the two blokes who have the most fun in rallies, driving to the rally and then racing in the social class in their Fiat Uno. Pallas sheared the wheel studs off their Toyota Corolla. Despite an ailing car, the Groenewalds shared a stage win with Labuschagne/Chadwick in a time of 11:34. Challenor/Bishop stopped a six seconds behind, comfortably ahead. Stage 5 The second half of the rally repeated
First rally to test LifeU streaming THE Zane Rencken tribute rally saw the first live streaming by LiveU, an award-winning audiovisual company that is changing how the world views sport. Sales manager and former Epworth girl Tumi Langa said LiveU supported the regional race in KZN to show the rally world the next level of spectating. “For the drivers, rally racing presents a lot of intense action and requires super-quick reactions, but for the fans, a rally boils down to long waits interspersed with a flash
FABERGÉ EGG FOR ROLLS-ROYCE The House of Fabergé has create the first Imperial Egg in 101 years and its designed to sit on the nose of a Rolls-Royce. The “Spirit of Ecstasy” hood ornament is sculpted from rock crystal and encased in jewelled arms that open like the petals of a flower, revealing the rose gold interior decorated with diamonds and amethysts. The “Spirit of Ecstasy” Fabergé Egg will be on public display in the House of Fabergé’s London window over Christmas.
ISUZU BAKKIES NOW CALLED D-MAX ISUZU Motors South Africa has refreshed its bakkie range, giving it a new name along with the latest transmisisons and higher levels of specification, quality and efficiency to make its popular light commercial vehicle (LCV) more appealing than ever. Now known as the Isuzu D-MAX, in line with international markets, the Isuzu bakkie range spans an extensive portfolio comprising of 30 models for South Africa and 13 models for export markets, with the top-spec derivatives gaining a more luxurious execution that reflects the more sophisticated requirements of top-end buyers in this segment. Craig Uren, executive officer sales, service and marketing, said in a statsement the D-MAX name originated in Thailand, with the ‘D’ originally referring to the 2000 model year Isuzu bakkie which boasted the flush “Dragon Eyes” headlamp design. — WR.
of car followed by a cloud of dust. “LiveU changes all this by putting the fan in the car using a small camera and our proprietary hardware that streams the visual content with only a 1,4-second delay to screens around the world, or in the case of the tribute rally, to the screens of the Dalton Farmers’ Hall. The stream is also captured for highlights editing,” Langa said. She said that LiveU’s patented bonding and video transport technology have set the industry standard for live video production, and
have already brought surfing and mountain biking to big and small screens in the Ballito Pro and the Cape Epic. “This same technology is available for use with any camera through a web-based portal, giving high-quality, live video directly to social media and online video providers. “Basically, LiveU enables events of all sizes to acquire and share live video reliably to screens of all sizes, from giant screens on site to Facebook Live and YouTube,” Langa said. — WR.
the four first stages and the crews thought they knew what to expect. But KZN cane don’t tame that easily. Stage five claimed the rear suspension of the BMW 130i driven by brothers Christo and Phillip Carstens. Meanwhile, Redelinghuys/Meyiwa’s “pit crew”, aka Japhet Zinidzi, had patched their gearbox and they posted the third-fastest stage time of 10:32. Stage 6 The drivers lined up for the sixth stage pondering the old rally conundrum — full speed ahead or drive to finish? Challenor/Bishop drove calm and collected to post the fastest stage time of 11:01, while Redelinghuys/Meyiwa attacked to make up for lost time, coming in 20 seconds later. In a steady third were Labuschagne/ Chadwick, with a time of 11:27. Stage 7 The seventh stage stopped two more crews. The gearbox in the VW Polo of Redelinghuys/Meyiwa cried enough and Johan van Wyk and Sarel Coetser saw the rear axle break in their VW Golf 1, sending them into a “flying retirement”. The Groenewald pairing also lost 15 minutes when they overshot a corner and went down an embankment, ending all hopes of a podium finish. Challenor/Bishop by this stage were almost sure of an overall win as long as they kept it on the road. The pairing won with 49 seconds in a time of 9:50. Stage 8 For the final stage, all the crews realised they had to finish to win. Marais/Huzak went on to take their first stage win of the rally in a time of 10:37, 34 seconds ahead of overall rally leaders Challenor/Bishop, and secured a third overall finish for the rally. Challenor/Bishop finished second quickest with a time of 11:11 and clinched a well-deserved overall win. Third on the stage and second overall went to Labuschagne/Chadwick. RESULTS Top 10 cars 1. Challenor/Bishop 1:26,23 2. Labuschagne/Chadwick 1:29,39 3. Kobus Marais/Huzak 1:30,18 4. Pieters/Truter 1:38,05 5. Raaths/Menge 1:39,21 6. Simpson/Raaths 1:39,30 7. Du Bruin brothers 1:40,51 8. The Pallas 1:42,31 9. Raaths/Brits 1:43,44 10. Prinsloo/Hartslief 1:45,35 Top 5 Off Road 1. Bradbury/Van der Merwe 1:22,48 2. Roberts/Roberts 1:22,55 3. Du Randt/Kohne 1:24,04 4. Tony Ball 1:28,27 5. Botes/Venter 1:36,05 Top 3 Social Class 1. Gouveia/Eddie 1:48,36 2. Graaf/Graaf 1:54,03 3. Van der Merwe/Van Breda 2:00:40
Offroads down to the wire at Gold 400 FOR the third year in a row, the Class T Production Vehicle Championship will go down to the wire at the season finale in Gauteng, and the Maritzburgbased Ford Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) crew of Lance Woolridge and Ward Huxtable are leading the fight for the prized title. As the sixth and final round of the thrilling 2018 South African Cross Country Series (SACCS), it will be nail-biting affair when the teams descend on Glenharvie, Gauteng, as they battle it out on the aptly named Gold 400 which takes place on 2 and 3 November. Having won the two opening races this season, along with the first leg of the Botswana Desert Race, Woolridge and Huxtable lead the current standings on 120 points, with a nine-point margin over reigning Class T champions Johan and Werner Horn (Toyota). Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer, in the second NWM Ford Ranger, have clawed their way back into the fight after winning last time out in Harrismith. They are currently 14 points adrift of their team-mates, and three points ahead of Gary Bertholdt and Geoff Minnitt in another Toyota. With 30 points up for grabs for a race win, 23 for the runners-up and 18 for third place, it’s all to play for in the thrilling duel that will decide who reigns supreme for 2018. “Once again, the championship fight will continue right to the end, although for the first time in three years we have the advantage of leading
CAR sellers report that new car buyers are increasingly buying down as higher costs bite into budgets. Below are five cars surprisingly roomy that run on fumes, do not cost the Earth to maintain and have good dealer support. In an ideal world, this list would have a car that combines the Nissan Micra’s high road clearance, the Tata Bolt’s im-
pressive power, the Mahindra KUV100’s diesel frugality, the Honda Amaze’s reliability and all of it weighing as little as a Suzuki Dzire. An asterisk shows the cars nominated for the 2018 SA Guild of Motor Writers’ annual Car of the Year, which for the first time allows owners to vote for the semifinalists on www.autotradercoty.co.za Anyone can vote for a chance to win one of five R10 000 cash prizes.
* The handsome Suzuki Dzire GA 1,2 sells for under R162k, making it the cheapest 1,2 litre here. The engine, with its five-speed manual transmission, makes 61 kW and 113 Nm at 4 200 rpm for a combined fuel economy of 5,2/100 km. A 145 mm road clearance on 14-inch tyres makes it more road hugging than speedhump jumping, but at 1 315 kg it is the lightest on this list. A warranty of five years or 200 000 km allows for long-distance visits. Note: There is very little to choose between the Dzire and the Swift hatchback. The Tata 1,2 Bolt has only one weak point — few dealers. For the rest, this is a best-kept secret in SA. Selling for under R170k, the 1,2 engine makes the same power as the Dzire at 66 kW, but the 140 Nm from a low 1 500 rpm and a five-speed manual box enable this 1 562 kg car to deliver a combined consumption of 6,5/100 km. Made for India’s frugal drivers, the Bolt will exceed all Saffers’ expectations when they get over their preconceptions and just drive it. Riding on 14-inch tyres, the Bolt has 165 mm road clearance and a 5-year or 100 000 km warranty. * The Honda Amaze 1,2 Trend retails for under R179k. The engine makes 66 kW at high revs and a rather measly 110 Nm at 4 800 rpm, but such conservative numbers add to reliability. A relatively light weight of 1 380 kg gives a combined fuel consumption of 5,7/100 km, and 15-inch tyres give a useful 170 mm road clearance. The five-year or 200 000 km warranty is up there with the best. This robust sedan will outlast most families. The Nissan Micra 1,2 Active sells for under R178k. The petrol mill is now dated and makes the least power here — 56 kW and 104 Nm at 4 400 rpm — but the combined fuel economy is still good at 5,2/100 km, if the five-speed manual gears are used wisely. Riding on 14-inch tyres, the Micra has impressive road clearance of 180 mm, which helps over the speed bumps. Its weight of 1 478 kg is also lighter than average, and the warranty of six years or 150 000 km still sets the standard. Note: The Micra’s main compeition is the Datsun Go, which gets a new model in November. The Mahindra KUV100 Nxt 1,2 diesel is the most expensive here, selling for just under R205k, but this buys a tough little diesel that makes 57 kW and a whopping 190 Nm from only 1 750 rpm. For families who often go on long drives, the combined consumption of only 4,3/100 km will soon offset the higher price, if the driver uses the five-speed manual to keep the revs low. The KUV100 rides on 14-inch tyres that keep its relatively heavy 1 650 kg body 170 mm off the road. A new warranty of five years or 150 000 km is up there with the best.
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Lance Woolridge and Ward Huxtable lead the fight for the Class T title in the national cross country finals at Glenharvie on Saturday. the standings going into the final race,” said Neil Woolridge, NWM team principal. “It has been extremely frustrating losing the title by the narrowest of margins twice in a row, so we’re doing everything possible in preparation for the Gold 400 to make sure the Class T trophy comes home with us. “Our NWM Ford Rangers have been fast and reliable all year, and victory in Harrismith last month has given the team added confidence. It’s going to be a tense race, but we’re hoping that it’s third time lucky for us this time around,” Woolridge added. The X-Rally Team of Marcos Baumgart and Kleber Cincea will return to the SACCS for the final round after missing the Harrismith 400 due to international racing commitments. With two podium finishes already in the bag this year, the Brazilians are
keen to round off the season with another solid finish. The Gold 400 is staged at the Kloof Recreation Club in Glenharvie where tomorrow sees the qualifying race, while the main action commences at 08 am on Saturday. Fans and spectators can follow the action and track the position of the crews during the race by using the RallySafe app which can be downloaded free of charge for iOS and Android devices. — WR.
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