Jono van Wyk dubbed the “Swazi Cowboy” and his navigator Nico Swartz pushed their Mazda 2 1.6 litre turbocharged four wheel drive to its limits in somewhat dominant fashion to win both rounds 3 and round 4 of the National Rally Championship that was hosted by the Algoa Rally Club this past weekend. Round 3 took place in and around Kariega and Dispatch with round 4 taking place in the Longmore Forest.

In Fridays round 3 action Benjamin Habig and Barry White pushed hard winning two of the stages with the “come-back kids“ Nico and Juandre Nienaber taking the final stage win after having rolled their Hyundai i20  in Thursday afternoons qualifying run. The Nienaber brothers misjudged a jump on a high speed section in the Spiders Web area and hit a marker tyre that resulted in them cart-wheeling numerous times with their new car landing in a mangled mess. The true spirit of the Algoa Rally Club was soon evident as many of their members jumped in to assist in sourcing parts, lending panel beating equipment and welders to assist the team in rebuilding the badly damaged Hyundai to ensure that it was on the start line on Friday morning.

After eight stages in round 3 it was Van Wyk and Swartz on the top step of the podium followed by Habig and White in second and the Nienaber brothers in third. In the Algoa Rally Club Championship the Nienabers took first place followed by Zambian visitors Seth and Urshlla Gomes in second with Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie in third.

Round 4 then moved to the Longmore Forest on Saturday with an early start in freezing conditions that didn’t keep the spectators away even when the forecasted mid-morning rain arrived to add an exciting dimension to the well prepared roads throughout the forest. Benjamin Habig and Barry White unfortunately damaged a rear CV Joint in the VW Polo leaving them with drive to only three of the wheels, while the Nienabers chased hard and entertained the crowd with their fearless, high speed antics they were unable to match the dominance of Van Wyk and Swartz who won every one of the stages leading to them taking the their third overall win and extend their lead in the championship. Nico and Juandre Nienaber were second with Habig and White in third. In the Algoa Rally Club standings it was the Nienabers that triumphed with Wade van Zummeren and Henry Adams in second and Deon Kretzmann and Jason Schreiber third.   

Results from round three –

National Championship per class

NRC4 – 1^st Johan & Juane’ Viljoen, 2^nd Herman Bernhardt & Greg Heine, 3^rd JP Smit & Marisa Bernhardt

NRC3 – 1^st Neels Vosloo & Rikus Fourie, 2^nd Juan & Cailyn van Rooyen, 3^rd Deon Kretzmann & Jason Schreiber

NRC2 – 1^st Paul van Niekerk & Willemjan Human, 2^nd Seth & Urshlla Gomes, 3^rd Riekus Schmidt & Marco Griesel

NRC1 – 1^st Jono van Wyk & Nico Swartz, 2^nd Benjamin Habig & Barry White, 3^rd Nico & Juandre Nienaber

Overall – 1^st Jono van Wyk & Nico Swartz, 2^nd Benjamin Habig & Barry White, 3^rd Nico & Juandre Nienaber

Algoa Rally Club Championship per class

ARC 5 – 1^st Francois Vermaak & Handre’ van Schalkwyk, 2^nd Chanell van Tonder & Nadia Rautenbach, 3^rd Davian Koetaan & Jerome Gouws

ARC 4 – 1^st Neels Vosloo & Rikus Fourie, 2^nd Juan & Cailyn van Rooyen, 3^rd Deon Kretzmann & Jason Schreiber

ARC 3 – 1^st Johan & Juane’ Viljoen, 2^nd Herman Bernhardt & Greg Heine, 3^rd Laren & Ashley Odendaal

ARC 2  – 1^st Martin van Zummeren & Mark Irvine

ARC 1  – 1^st Nico & Juandre Nienaber, 2^nd Riekus Schmidt & Marco Griesel, 3^rd Wade van Zummeren & Henry Adams

SO – 1^st Seth & Urshlla Gomes, 2^nd Shaun Jones & Jason Thorpe

Clubman’s – 1^st Francois Vermaak & Handre’ van Schalkwyk, 2^nd Etienne Malherbe & Patrick Vermaak, 3^rd Justin & Dane Langhein

Overall  – 1^st Nico & Juandre Nienaber, 2^nd Seth & Urshlla Gomes, 3^rd Neel Vosloo & Rikus Fourie

Results from round four –

National Championship per class

NRC4 – 1^st Deon Kretzmann & Jason Schreiber, 2^nd Jeandre Marais & Kes Naidoo, 3^rd Ross & Roxanne Bartle

NRC2 – 1^st Paul van Niekerk & Willemjan Human, 2^nd Wade Van Zummeren & Henry Adams, 3^rd Shun Jones & Jason Thorpe

NRC1 – 1^st Jono van Wyk & Nico Swartz, 2^nd Nico & Juandre Nienaber, 3^rd Benjamin Habig & Barry White

Overall – 1^st Jono van Wyk & Nico Swartz, 2^nd Nico & Juandre Nienaber, 3^rd Benjamin Habig & Barry White

Kings of the Longmore – Jono van Wyk & Nico Swartz

Algoa Rally Club Championship per class

ARC 5 – 1^st Chanell van Tonder & Nadia Rautenbach, 2^nd Leander Koekemoer & Wesley Schultz, 3^rd Davian Koetaan & Jerome Gouws

ARC 4 – 1^st Deon Kretzmann & Jason Schreiber, 2^nd Jeandre Marais & Kes Naidoo, 3^rd JP Smit & Marisa Bernhardt

ARC 3 – 1^st Ross & Roxanne Bartle, 2^nd Lee Rose & Ingrid Jeacocks, 3^rd Etienne Malherbe & Patrick Vermaak

ARC 2  – 1^st Martin van Zummeren & Mark Irvine

ARC 1  – 1^st Nico & Juandre Nienaber, 2^nd Wade van Zummeren & Henry Adams, 3^rd Riekus Schmidt & Marco Griesel

SO – 1^st Seth & Urshlla Gomes, 2^nd Shaun Jones & Jason Thorpe

Clubman’s – 1^st Etienne Malherbe & Patrick Vermaak, 2^nd Justin & Dane Langhein,  3^rd Dean & Timothy Ball

Overall – 1^st Nico & Juandre Nienaber, 2^nd Wade van Zummeren & Henry Adams, 3^rd Deon Kretzmann

Kings of the Longmore – Nico & Juandre Nienaber