THE BATTLE’S LOST, BUT THE WAR IS WON!WORDS AND PHOTOS // david ledbitterSA RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP // ERMELO RALLY

Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy Lyle did what they had to do with a measured drive to the title

Championship, the championship points tally between the defending champions, Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy Lyle (Toyota Gazoo SA Etios R2N) and AC Potgieter/Nico Swartz (Lake Umuzi Volkswagen Polo R2N) were tied after accounting for Potgieter’s dropped score of nine points, third place being the youngster’s worst score of the year (so far); the SARC still uses the ridiculous ‘dropped score’ rule so only the best six of seven rounds count.

If Potgieter had a bad Ermelo Rally, it would become his dropped score, so the permutations were complex. In a nutshell, Botterill needed to end third or higher to win his second overall SA Championship – and fifth 1600cc title.

After the Friday recce, there was much muttering over the roughness of the roads, one competitor predicting half the cars will drop out.

Ermelo is a major crossroads, linking the inland mining areas to the coal terminal in Richards

Bay in northern KZN. Three national roads, the N2, N11 and N17 meet up in the agricultural and mining-based town. It dates back to the mid-to-late 1800s and the region has been a part of the SA rallying scene since the sport’s inception.

Indeed, I can envisage fierce battles raging across the Mpumalanga plains between Oxwagen and Toygoata in an aFordable version

of the sport.

In days of yore, any rally worth its salt utilised the roads in the area; the 2018 Ermelo Rally was the first time in eight years that the area has reverberated to the sounds of highly tuned rally car engines.

And what a rally it turned out to be!

Going into the final round of the SA Rally

Broken suspension didn’t put a dampener on Richard Leeke/Elvene Vonk standing on the top step of the podium

He did, he did, they did. Let me explain.

The final championship podium was also up for grabs in a five-way fight between Tjaart Conradie, Chris Coertse, Mathew Vacy Lyle, Richard Leeke and JJ Potgieter. Four points separated the quintet so much action and close racing was expected throughout the 146km route.

Four welcome additions to the entry list included Elvéne Vonk sitting alongside Richard Leeke in

his Speedglas Ford Fiesta R2N; The Namibian Himmel brothers, Thilo and Marko made a surprise visit in their R2N-spec Etios and Polo respectively, while Clint Weston took his Citroën C2 R2 out of mothballs and ran it in the open class.

AC Potgieter ploughed his Polo through a fence in the first stage. The wire ripped off a brake pipe and tore the bumper which lodged in front of the radiator, which in turn led to overheating. This cost the title hopeful 26.1 seconds to Botterill as

the crew feverishly conducted roadside repairs. As a result, they arrived five minutes late for the next stage, which whacked 50 seconds time penalty to their time. Oh dear!

Leeke and Vonk slotted into second place ahead of Chris Coertse/Greg Godrich in their re-branded Rally Technic Mazda2 R2N. Botterill added another 1.4 seconds to his lead on stage two.

Botterill had a heart-stopping moment in stage

three; his car’s coil pack caught fire. Luckily, his team-mate Mathew Vacy Lyle/Matt Kohler was second on the road and at stage end, they quickly swapped coil packs, leaving Botterill to race on but setting the scene for Vacy Lyle’s weekend. The Yato Tools Etios was left with a misfire, which wasn’t so bad, but come Saturday...

Tjaart Conradie/Kes Naidoo (Silverton Engineering Toyota Etios R2N) had a

JJ Potgieter/Tommy du Toit took a distant third

Jose Ferreira/Pierre Jordaan won the Open class in their Subaru Impreza GT

Namibian Marko Himmel/Francois Schoonbee ended 4th

Thilo Himmel/Armand du Toit were ‘’on it’’ after a lengthy absence - winning a stage and running third before retirement

Tjaart Conradie/Kes Naidoo finished every rally this season

gearbox reluctant to deliver all the cogs in the way it was designed to. In the hour-long service after the second loop of stages, the team’s lead technician Tjaart van der Walt, removed the gearbox, stripped it, rebuilt it and had it back in the car, sump guard in place, in fifty minutes dead!

The 800m night town stage saw Botterill end 13th and his lead cut from 14.6 to 9.6 seconds ahead of Leeke/Vonk, Rory Eland/Robbie

Coetzee (Open Class Subaru Impreza WRX STi), Thilo Himmel/Armand du Toit and JJ Potgieter/Tommy Du Toit. The other Potgieter, AC, was in eighth overall, 1 minute 18.2seconds away from where he needed to be.

The Ermelo townsfolk were treated to another 800m blast through the town’s main road on Saturday morning before the serious business got underway.

AC Potgieter’s rally – and championship aspirations - went up in smoke in stage seven. The pair picked up a puncture and had to stop to change it. While jacking up the car, the grass underneath it started smouldering before igniting. Hastily, the crew lowered the car off the jack, moved to a safer place while Swartz was left to try and extinguish the blaze. He couldn’t, and huge plumes of white smoke were seen for the rest of the morning. They lost five minutes in the process...

The first three gravel stages saw Botterill build a 25 second lead over Leeke, whose front suspension collapsed – the shocks jammed solid. Thilo Himmel was into third place after winning stage eight, followed by Eland/Coetzee, Potgieter/Du Toit and Vacy Lyle/Kohler.

Vacy Lyle suffered a broken engine mount, and then a seized shock absorber that made the car virtually undriveable. It also lowered

AC Potgieter/Nico Swartz try hard to make up time after their stage one fubab

the car’s ride-height which resulted in sump damage and an oil leak. Once fixed and back in the stages, the engine mount broke again, as did the shock, and the sump, and the oil leak... that they finished the event, in seventh overall, is down to sheer perseverance.

After stage ten, the rally had lost Natie Booysen/Johan Smit (Ford Escort Mk 1) with gearbox problems, Jono van Wyk/Barry White (Swazi Cowboy Ford Fiesta R2N) for the second time;

he smashed the left front suspension in the first stage (thanks to a gatepost), rejoined under Superally when he ran out of brakes before a sideshaft pulled out in an open section. Rory Eland and Clint Weston both retired with suspension problems.

The last five stages were rally heaven. Leeke, now with new shocks installed, was on a mission, the scent of victory filling his nostrils. After stage 11, Botterill’s lead was slashed from

25 to 13.4 seconds, before Botterill eased it back to 19s. A stage later, the gap was down to 9.5s, then 5.5s...

After stage 14, Leeke and Vonk took the lead by 0.4 seconds. Botterill had a slight misfire, which didn’t worry him unduly, and knowing his title rival was languishing in sixth place, just shy of six minutes behind, he had the luxury of nursing his car over the rough bits and driving hard where the road allowed.

AC Potgieter won the final stage, giving them seven stage wins, but it was Leeke who topped the time sheets by 0.7 seconds, earning his second victory of the year.

A philosophical Potgieter said “We will have to wait another 12 months”. Potgieter is 24 years old, Botterill 32. The difference of eight years equals a hell of a lot more experience to win championships when the

Mathew Vacy Lyle/Matt Kohler had a trying event but flew when the car was in one piece

chips are down. Potgieter has evolved as a driver this year, one of two crews to finish every rally (the other is Tjaart Conradie).

Thilo Himmel retired at the end of stage 10, while Chris Coertse had an overshoot which left them perched on the edge of a ditch. Once out, the Mazda’s sideshaft broke a few stages later and that was that.

George Smalberger, describing the rally as

“rough as a bear’s arse”, had an engine mount break, followed by a clutchless stage 10, before a gearbox mounting broke in stage 12. The engine mount broke again, two stages from home. The quote of the rally goes to Trevor Bland (of GTC2 driver fame who preps Smalberger’s car): “We proudly supported local business by buying lots of nuts and bolts at the local hardware store”.

Jose Ferreira/Pierre Jordaan (Q4 Fuels Subaru Impreza GT) won the open class while Etienne

Malherbe/Raj Jutley won the classic class ahead of Ashley/Les Mackenzie (Ford Escort Mk 1). The Mackenzie’s had a tie-rod extension break but found just enough thread on the remains to make a roadside repair to make the finish.

The enthusiasm and dedication of a small band of enthusiasts ensured that rallying survived another tough year, and will do so again next year...

To explain: “He did, he did, they didn’t.” If AC has a bad Ermelo Rally – “he did”Then Guy Botterill must finish inside the top three – “he did”And half the cars won’t finish – “they didn’t”

Etienne Malherbe/Raj Jutley busy making memories with a Classic class win

Repairs to Jono van Wyk’s Fiesta after wrecking the left front corner in stage one

This vehicle failed scrutineering - can’t imagine why though!

Jose de Gouveia retired in the town stage with wheel hub failure

Love thy navigator! Carolyn Swan and George Smalberger walk the town stage

Armand du Toit, Thilo and Marko Himmel look happy to be back in the SARC

ERMELO RALLY // RESULTS

SOUTH AFRICAN RALLY CHAMPIONSHIP

ROUND 7 // ERMELO RALLYERMELO, MPUMALANGA, SOUTH AFRICA15 STAGES //145.96KM // 26-27 OCTOBER 2018

Pos Driver/CO-DRIVER CAR FINAL RESULT

1. Richard Leeke/Elvéne Vonk (Coetzee) Ford Fiesta R2N 1hr49m36.0sec

2. Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy Lyle Toyota Etios R2N 1hr49m36.7sec

3. JJ Potgieter/Tommy Du Toit Ford Fiesta R2N 1hr51m21.3sec

4. Marko Himmel/Francois Schoonbee Volkswagen Polo R2N 1hr52m14.0sec

5. Tjaart Conradie/Kes Naidoo Toyota Etios R2N 1hr54m59.0sec

6. AC Potgieter/Nico Swartz Volkswagen Polo R2N 1hr55m26.7sec

7. Mathew Vacy Lyle/Matt Kohler Toyota Etios R2N 1hr59m50.0sec

8. Jose Ferreira/Pierre Jordaan Subaru Impreza GT Open 2hr00m43.0sec

9. Etienne Malherbe/Raj Jutley Datsun 1600 SSS CLS 2hr11m04.6sec

10. George Smalberger/Carolyn Swan Volkswagen Polo R2N 2hr12m09.7sec

11. Ashley/Les Mackenzie Ford Escort Mk 1 CLS 2hr19m20.1sec

12. Lune/Edward Strydom Toyota Tazz Open 2hr42m41.8sec

13. Chris Coertse/Greg Godrich Mazda2 R2N DNF - 13 stages

14. Thilo Himmel/Armand du Toit Toyota Etios R2N DNF - 10 stages

15. Jacques du Toit/Ronald Rens Volkswagen Polo R2N DNF - 9 stages

16. Rory Eland/Robbie Coetzee Subaru Impreza WRX STi Open DNF - 8 stages

17. Johan Strauss/Kenneth Venter Subaru Impreza WRX STi Open DNF - 8 stages

18. Clint Weston/Christoff Snyders Citroën C2 R2 Open DNF - 8 stages

19. Hubi/Nadine von Maltke Volkswagen Golf GTi CLS DNF - 7 stages

20. Jose de Gouveia/Megan Verlaque Toyota Corolla Opn DNF - 6 stages

21. Natie Booysen/Johan Smit Ford Escort Mk 1 CLS DNF - 5 stages

22. Sybrand v Niekerk/Chantelle Burrows Toyota Tazz Open DNF - 4 stages

23. Jono van Wyk/Barry White Ford Fiesta R2N DNF - 2 stages

Elvene Vonk photobombs the Toyota Team celebrations!

L-R: JJ Potgieter, Tommy du Toit, Richard Leeke, Elvene Vonk, Guy Botterill, Simon Vacy Lyle