NEW CLASSIC RALLY FOR AFRICA

This year between September 15th and 22nd, South Africa will host a new special stage event for older cars under the title of Classic Rally South Africa. Thebrainchild of Surinder Thatthi (Event Director), Wille du Plessis (Clerk of the Course) and Henriette Jooste (Rally manager) whose collaboration in working together has made the Safari Rally Classic such a memorable feature of the international calendar, this FIA-sanctioned rally will run for a full week, starting in Durban and finishing in Sun City to the north of Johannesburg.

South Africa has long been a focus for major rally activity in southern Africa and the standard of its rally drivers, car preparation and rally organisation is amongst the best in the world. For too long now, it has lacked a big competitive classic rally catering for the cars of thirty years ago and this deficiency is now being addressed in style. It is hoped that many of the top drivers from round the world who take part in this category of rallying will make the journey south in September. There they will be able to sample at first hand some of the excellent special stages that South Africa possesses and which were very popular in the 1970s with the likes of Hannu Mikkola, Roger Clark, Achim Warmbold, Andrew Cowan, Björn Waldegård, Simo Lampinen, Tony Pond, Ove Andersson and Tony Fall to mention just a few of the international stars who competed in South Africa at that time.

Prior to the start in Durban, there will be a day and half of scrutineering and documentation followed by a ceremonial start on the afternoon of Saturday, September 15th. The real rallying starts on Sunday morning with a day of stages up to Richards Bay, the first night halt. Then Monday sees the rally reach Nelspruit and stay there for two nights with a day of rallying out  and back on Tuesday. On Wednesday night the rally rests in Badplass while on Thursday night, the halt is in Johannesburg. From there, the rally goes north to Sun City on Friday and the finale is a day’s loop out from Sun City with the rally finishing back there in the early afternoon. That same evening, there is the prize giving and gala dinner.

In all, there will be some 1,400 km (870 miles) of special stages timed to the second in a total route mileage of around 4,000 km (2,500 miles) all to be covered in seven days of driving. The main provinces visited will be KwaZulu-Natal, Mpumalanga, Limpopo, North West and Gauteng.The vehicles eligible for the Classic Rally South Africa must have been built before the end of 1978 and fit the description of ‘passenger-type’ cars with not more than six seats. Commercial vehicles and SUVs are not admitted while 4WD, turbocharged or supercharged cars are likewise forbidden from entering. All the normal safety equipment such as roll-cages, fire extinguishers, flameproof bulkheads, laminated windscreens and a main circuit breaker have to be fitted. There is a comprehensive list of permitted modifications in an appendix to the event regulations and this includes things like lightweight panels, alternative period induction systems and axle ratios.

It goes without saying that the entry list is already open and the Rally Bureau is in operation at Elarduspark just south of Pretoria. The rally web site is in existence but at the moment only has a home page showing the same contact details that you can see at the foot of this release. If you wish to download the Sporting and Technical Regulations and/or the entry form, both are available below.