The mighty roar of rally cars will be heard around Uitenhage this weekend as the 5th round of the Algoa Rally Club Championship comes to town for the Daniel Pienaar Rally. The Technical High School will play host to the region’s top 20 rally teams as they fight for line honours during various stages around the school grounds and in Jachtvlakte. Daniel Pienaar is the only school in South Africa and one of 3 worldwide to offer motorsport as an extra-curricular activity where the learners can earn full colours for their achievements. They will have two entries in the event, with 16-year-old Devilliers Wessels driving alongside Teacher Martin Kleingeld in a VW Golf A1 and Clint Koekemoer alongside Francois Anker in a VW Polo 250 1.2TSI.
Image by Darryl Kukard
The rally caters for entries in the following classes – S1 for 1,4litre 2-wheel drive vehicles, S2 for 1,6litre rear wheel drive vehicles, S3 2itre rear wheel drive vehicles including classics and historics, S4 for 2 to 3,5-litre rear-wheel drive vehicles & the S5 class for 1.2litre TSI VW Polos.
The event will take place over six stages, the first four being gravel stages around Jachtvlakte, with the final two, a mix of gravel and tar at the Daniel Pienaar School grounds. Stage one at Jachtvlakte should get underway at 10h00 on Saturday before the event moves to the school for the stages, starting at 14h00. Spectators are welcome to attend the event with two access points to Jachtvlakte along the M10 route on the outskirts of Despatch.
A sure crowd favourite will be the Toyota-powered BMW E36 of Eddie Banks, a man who loves nothing more than entertaining his massive crowd of followers with his exciting driving style with lots of sideways action guaranteed.
It will be the first time out for Jeandre Marais in the ex-Serge Damseaux Syrabix Toyota Conquest. He will have his girlfriend, Tegan Taljaard, navigating alongside him in her first rally. There has been a significant resurgence in the popularity of classic Toyota Conquests, with Oliver de Man and Ingrid Jeacocks running in one and Pikkie Marais & Henry Adams in another.
The brother and sister pairing of Ross and Roxanne Bartle will be hoping to keep their momentum going following their excellent performance in their last event. They made many of the National competitors stand up and take note of their ability at the 40th Algoa National Rally, even clinching the win in the crowd-pleasing night stage through the streets of Jeffreys Bay.
Chasing the S1 class win will be young lady driver Riane’ Rautenbach, with the experienced Mark Irvine guiding her. This pairing has proven to be extremely quick so far this season & should be a force to be reckoned with.
Nick Davidson & Ashley Bezuidenhout will be pushed hard for overall line honours by arch-rivals Clyde Challenor & Grayham Bishop, along with regular National Rally participants Neels Vosloo & Rikus Fourie.
