Jac Gobabis rally thrills

The JAC Gobabis rally, which took place this past weekend, had no lack of high jumps, tight corners and excited spectators.
Organiser Stefan Labuschagne from Gobabis Motor Club (GMC) says the aim of the rally was to have a high-adrenaline one-day rally.

The 10-stage rally covered just under 113km in and around Gobabis.
A total of 16 cars entered the S and CR classes, of which five did not make the finishing line due to technical or mechanical failure.

But then again, any rally where all vehicles manage to reach the finishing line is unheard of.

Wilro Dippenaar and his navigator, Carolyn Swan, ended first in class S4 with their Ford Fiesta R5, followed by Jaco Redelinghuys and Derek ‘Silver Fox’ Jacobs in their Toyota Yaris.

After the race Dippenaar said they started off with a good pace and kept the race smooth throughout.

“We went in without a game plan to try to keep it clean,” he said.

Navigator Jacobs said it was a good rally, though his team started slow.

Loic Bathfield and his navigator, Johan Steyn, in their monstrous Century Racing CR-6 Dakar rally-specced car did not hold back from the word ‘go’, and kept spectators on their feet.

The CR-C6 with its intimidating appearance and sound was a crowd puller as the team managed their pace well and ended in first place in the CR class, followed by Rian Kritzinger and Ian Stander as his navigator.

Bathfield afterwards said persistence and proper training helped ensure a first place.

“We had some scary moments and lots of good moments, but we loved the rally,” he said.

Once the CR-6 team entered the stages, the crowd was assured of high-octane performance.

Kritzinger in his Nissan Hardbody said spectators got what they came for, and often waved at the crowd while passing through the stages at neck-breaking speed.

All the drivers lauded the organisers for a well-organised, well-attended rally.

Labuschagne thanked officials, participants and sponsors for making the event possible.

The rally was scheduled for earlier this year, but due to a lack of funds they had no choice but to postpone the event until M+Z JAC Motors got on board as main sponsor.

The police ensured road and spectator safety throughout the event, and no incidents or injuries were reported.

The results are as follows: First place in S4 class: Dippenaar and Swan.
Second place: Redelinghuys and Jacobs.

Third place: Pieter Greef and JP Robinson.

Fourth place: Peer Rohm and Pieter Steyn.

Fifth place: Berto Mostert and Chané Havenga.

Wido Bartsch and Madeleine Koegelenberg took honours in the ‘Super Rally’ category with their VW Polo.

In the ‘CR’ or ‘bakkie class’ the first place belongs to Bathfield and Steyn, followed by Kritzinger and Stander, and Werner Bartsch and Christel Fourie in third place.

Ekko Eisenberg and Horazio ‘Rassie’ Reitz in their JAC finished in fourth place, followed by Gert Liebenberg and Johan Thiart in fifth.