As the countdown begins for the first round of the 2018 South African National Rally Championship, we look at some of the drivers and navigators who will be competing in this year’s seven round championship vying for the title. Twelve R2N teams have made their intentions clear and will add to the spice of the championship.
First up will be the defending SA Rally Championship duo of Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle who will be starting their challenge in a new R2N Toyota Etios. They ran with the same car for four years and won more events than any other crew. Botterill and Vacy-Lyle made their debut into national rallying in 2011 as privateers in the S1600 class, and had an incredible debut year finishing a credible 3rd in class. In 2014 Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle swopped their S1600 Toyota RunX for a R2N Toyota Etios and never looked back as they dominated the class in 2014, 2015 and 2016. They made history in 2017 to become the first crew to win a round of the African Rally Championship in a 1600cc car taking the honours in the York Rally. It was also the first year they ran under the Total Toyota Gazoo banner. This crew have been a formidable duo on the rally scene over the past few years and 2017 saw them narrowly take their fourth Class title and first National SA Rally Championship title under the new structure of SA Rallying where the R2N cars became the premier class. “We look forward to the 2018 season and especially the Trade Brands Rally that will be run on the North Coast this year,” said Guy.
Prior to rallying, Guy won a number of Regional and National titles in Karting from GP Junior to the powerful Stock Karts, before doing some main circuit racing in the VW Polo Cup Series as well as Production Car Series and then competing in the Shelby series.
Richard Leeke III, as runner-up to the 2017 SA Rally Championship, will be putting in a solid campaign this year to reach his goal for the year – to clinch the overall National Rally Championship title and become the youngest driver to win the SA Rally Championship, but he also has the SA Off-Road title in his scope which will open doors for more exciting and challenging opportunities in motorsport. Leeke and Kohne found themselves on the podium on most of the 2017 events, including an overall win which made Richard rewrite the record books by becoming the youngest SA National Rally winner at the age of 21 years and three months. Richard and Henry had a great 2017 season and gained valuable experience throughout the season. The pair came so close to taking their first class Title when a mechanical issue ended their title hopes on the last rally in 2017.
Leeke also started his racing career behind the wheel of a kart at a very young age of 4 in the Cadet class. He started rallying at the age of 14 in a Toyota Tazz 1300cc and his first full season at National level was at the age of 19.
Henry Kohne will once again be in the hot seat with Leeke in the Ford R2N and this crew knows that every second counts once they start an event. “I rally because it is simply my happy place, and once I am in the car I focus only on the race,” said Leeke. His advice to youngsters is that failing is never the end, it is the start of trying something new and always believe in yourself.
A team that made quite an impact in 2017 was AC Potgieter, partnered by Nico Swartz. AC and Nico will be campaigning a VW Polo R2N for the season. The very quiet youngster from Secunda will enter the 2018 season on a high and will try and push for a hat trick of wins after collecting two from two at the end of 2017. AC and Nico was the 3rd team of four to win an event in the R2N class in 2017. Swartz started his navigating career in a VW Polo S2000 on rally sprints for Theuns Joubert. His first taste however, was that of a spectator travelling with his uncle Theuns on rallies. “Rallying is like an addiction – once you start it is difficult to stop. This duo have proved that they can be very competitive and their sights are also set on that National Championship title.
Chris Coertze and Greg Godrich switched cars early in the season when they entered their Mazda R2N for the first time in 2017 and made a dream debut for the Mazda by winning the R2N class, and in doing so became the fourth winner of the season. The due has vowed to push their car harder to fight for more podium positions. Chris also relies a lot on his experienced navigator Greg who have been in some seriously faster cars, with this in mind Chris will certainly push harder. Chris and Greg also won the Master Class section within the R2N class which is a challenge for the over 35 year young drivers.
George Smalberger and Chris Brand will be campaigning their Shield racing VW Polo R2N in the season again. The duo started rallying together in 2014 and have been ever present on all events since then. George also defected from tar to dirt with previous karting and main circuit racing as pedigree. “I love the speed and thrill. Constantly changing surfaces challenge me more than on the track” says George. “If you have a passion for racing (driver) then rally is the way to go. We are a great family with people that are always willing to assist newcomers”. George is partnered with an equally passionate navigator in Chris whom have been involved with Motocross prior to Rally. “I am an adrenalin junky and petrol head. Apart from the thrill of speed I enjoy the challenges and technical aspects that form part of being a navigator”. The pair have their eyes set on winning the Masters Class Challenge in 2018.
Competing in another Ford Fiesta R2N will be Jono van Wyk who will be partnered for the first time with the experienced Barry White. Jono made a very good impression in his first season of National rallying when he drew the first car on the road and put in some solid stage time to finish on the podium to kick off his season campaign. He will be hoping to improve on his 3 podiums of 2017 with the experienced Barry who started rallying in the early 90’s with Brian Martin in a Class C Toyota Conquest. Like many of the rallyists, once it is in your veins, it is a passion that stays with you forever. Barry also has international experience navigating for Henk Lategan and this experience remains very close to this heart.
Another team that made their debut in 2017 was Johannes Potgieter during the York Rally in a Toyota Tazz in the Open Class which caters for any type of rally car, past and present. He enjoyed rallying so much that the friendly farmer then upgraded to a R2N Ford Fiesta. The team is on a very steep learning curve in a highly competitive class in the National championship and have focussed on getting the experience of finishing events first. Having the experienced Tommy du Toit reading the notes and keeping him calm in the car certainly does help a lot. “It is important to build a good relationship and trust with the navigator, and I believe we are ready for the 2018 season,” said Johannes. Johannes will be competing for the first time in the Tour Natal.
Returning to National Rallying after a two year break is Matthew Vacy-Lyle and Schalk van Heerden who will campaign in the ex-championship winning Toyota Etios of Botterill, under the banner of Yato Tools. Matthew has been testing the car over the past two weekends, getting to grips with Toyota Etios. Being out of rallying for two years whilst working in Dubai, he is keen to get back into competitive rallying. The pair somewhat more famous for their tumble that got millions of hits on the social media platforms when they last competed, they are hoping they will be more famous for their rally wins this time round.
Tjaart Conradie and Mari vd Walt will campaign in their Silverton Engineering Toyota Etios. Tjaart also competing in the Masters challenge has stacks of rallying experience which bodes him well when pushing for top times on the stages. He is partnered by the young Mari who under the age of 20 have already racked up championship titles whilst still in school! She started navigating for her famous father (Tjaart vd Walt) in the Northern Regions sprint events in 2010 at the age of 13 and won the series the following year. In 2012 they competed in the NR Rallies and was runners-up won the Championship in 2013. From there on young Mari has graduated into an S2000 with Theuns Joubert and won her first national class title in 2015. “The feeling you get when you see the clock counting down, is something you can’t describe. It’s an adrenaline rush” Says Mari. “Rally is a cruel sport, but at the same time rewarding. Never give up, just try again and give it 100% until you succeed”.