Issue 129 - FREE
26 MAY
the good news paper
2017
017 631 1903 / 017 631 1845 • admin@thebulletin.co.za • 1 Kiewiet Street, Secunda (Lake Umuzi)
Classic car wins rally Photo: Encee van Huyssteen
Photo: Rolin Booysen
History was made at the Secunda rally this weekend as it was the first time that a classic car won the overall race. The overall winners were driver Lee Rose and navigator Elvene Coetzee in their Ford Escort. Scrutineering took place on Friday morning to make sure that the cars were all in good order and complying with all the regulations. Friday afternoon saw the official start to the rally from Mastercars in Trichardt. The first car off was the VW Polo of George Smallberger and Chris Brandt, followed by Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle in their Toyota Etios. All hope however, was pinned on local driver AC Potgieter and navigator Nico Swartz in their VW Polo. Stages one to five on Friday set the tempo for Saturday with the competitors having to show their skills through various stages such as the fast stage at Holfontein or the winding stages of Lake Umuzi and Graceland Casino 1 that saw numerous competitors ending in the stream at last year’s event. After a short visit to the service park it was time for the night races at Graceland. These two stages saw the driver’s race against the clock on tar while spectators braved the cold and filled the banks on the side of the track. Saturday morning saw the drivers pitted against each other as they
drove in pairs on the super-fast Kosie Super Special stage. This is very exciting as two cars would race each other on a circuit that crosses over so that they both drive the same circuit without getting close to each other. It is normally a sprint to the finish! The TW Stene stage proved too much for several cars as they had to contend with a long stage, lots of dust and finally a race in the quarry. The quarry had a small water section that attracts a lot of photographers every year as water is splashed everywhere. Unfortunately this was the nemesis of a number of cars as the water got in everywhere. AC Potgieter had the second of two crashes at the water and had to retire. The stages at Tjorrie Kruger and Kosie van der Merwe gave the drivers a chance to make up lost time as they were all fast stages. The stages at Graceland Casino and lastly at Lake Umuzi saw the competitors trying to make up for lost time, others cementing their positions on the podium. Local driver Kosie van der Merwe and Coen van Zyl won the open class with locals Luné Snyman and Edward Strydom finishing second. Kosie and Coen were less than ten minutes behind the overall winners. Natie Booysen and Rudolph Pretorius finished third in the classic class. - Encee van Huyssteen