The Algoa National Rally is an event with rich history dating back to 1983, when Sarel van der Merwe won the very first Algoa National Rally, then sponsored by Volkswagen SA, in his Audi Quattro. Now in its 40th edition, the rally will be based in Jeffreys Bay for the first time, using Fountains Mall as the hub of the event.
The action will start on Thursday, July 14, when the national crews give their machines a thorough shakedown test just outside of Fountains Mall on route to Humansdorp from 13:00 to 17:00.
Early Friday morning, all the crews will embark on a reconnaissance of the route to ensure they are familiar with the conditions of the route and that their all-important stage notes are accurate for their high-speed onslaught of the tough route. The crews will then be escorted in convoy through the streets of Jeffreys Bay by the local Traffic Department from 11:15 until 11:40 then back to Fountains Mall for the official start at 12:00.
A total of 35 entries are expected to take starting orders on Friday, July 15, for this two-day event that will still make use of the MTO Longmore forest outside the Loerie/Thornhill areas.
The biggest excitement is the return of the traditional night stage in Jbay on Friday evening, starting from 18:45.
The organisers, Algoa Rally Club, however, encourage the public to adhere to safety measures and to listen to the marshals’ instructions for this exciting stage. For this stage to be a success, the organisers rely heavily on the cooperation of the public and the traffic department to ensure the streets are cleared of any public vehicles on the route to be used.
A map of the stage can be found on the Algoa Rally Club Facebook page. The streets will be cleared from 14:00 and total closure of the road by 16:00 on Friday, July 15.
High speed expected from the new generation cars
The last time a four-wheel-drive vehicle won this event was by Leeroy Poulter and Elvene Coetzee in the Toyota Yaris S2000 in 2016, en route to winning the SA Championship that year. Current SA Champion, Theuns Joubert, has entered his Toyota Yaris S2000+, now fitted with a new 2L turbo engine as opposed to the original 2L normally aspirated engines of the past. Schalk van Heerden will be reading the notes. The pair is hoping to emulate the win of Poulter six years ago.
Challenging Joubert will be multiple SA Champion, Guy Botterill, and Simon Vacy-Lyle, who both received their SA Colours at the opening round in Caledon, earlier in the year.
The pair are entering their Toyota Gazoo Racing Starlet which has also been fitted with a 2L turbo engine and four-wheel-drive system.
Chris Coertse, with the 2021 SA champion navigator, Greg Godrich, will be entering their Hyundai i20 R4 specification vehicle.
This vehicle is fitted with a 1.6 turbo engine to take on the 2L machines. Johan Strauss and Elzaan Venter will bring their Subaru Impreza 2L down to Jbay for their first visit to rallying in the Eastern Cape.
Spearheading the two-wheel-drive cars will be Gerald Klopper and Johan Aucamp in their 1600 Toyota Etios R2.
Challenging them will be another debutant in the form of Benjamin Habig. He will be co-driven by Barry White in their unique 1L 3-cylinder VW Polo.
JJ Potgieter, who is no slouch behind the wheel of his Ford Fiesta, will be charging hard to get his first finish in Longmore forest and hoping for class honours in the process. His regular navigator will jump seat to his wife Magriet, racing in an identical Ford Fiesta.
Magriet, still in her first year of rallying, is definitely getting to grips with the sport of rallying and has been putting in good stage times.
Anton Raaths with Mari Ducasse will be entering the ex-Klopper 1600 Auris whilst his pristine looking Ford Escort Cosworth 4wd is getting a makeover. George Smalberger, with Robbie Coetzee in their VW Polo R2, is no newcomer to Longmore and will be using his knowledge to his advantage to be on the podium steps.
Andrea Raaths and her mother Isabel Raaths in their Toyota RunX will be the only all-female team in the rally and this formidable team is a force to be reckoned with. Anrico Opperman and Tommy Coetzee will round up the national entries.
Local teams participating
Behind all the national entries will be the local teams participating in the Algoa Club Championship. Clyde Challenor and Grayham Bishop will be the loudest team with their top gun liveried VW Polo 2L participating as Maverick and Goose.
Their challenge will come from ARC Champions, Nick Davidson and Ashley Bezuidenhout, in their S2000 lookalike 1600 VW Polo.
Another crew on form is Neels Vosloo and Rikus Fourie in their R2 spec Polo.
One can never disregard the sibling team of Ross and Roxanne Bartle in their 2L Polo, who are also ex-champions.
Sonika Rautenbach, with fiancé navigator Brandon van der Walt, has shown that you don’t have to be the fastest crew or car every event to lead a championship.
The 1300 Toyota Yaris finds itself leading the ARC Championship after two rounds.
