Johan Strauss (driver) and Elzaan Venter (co-driver) in a Subaru Impreza won the WOMZA Lowveld Rally, which took place near White River on Friday and Saturday.
The rally was the first leg of the 2022 WOMZA National Rally Championships.
Twenty-one cars started the rally and only 11 finished.
Strauss and Venter won the prologue on Friday.
They went on to win three of the four remaining stages of the day to record a time of 41 minutes 35 seconds for overall first place after day one in Class A.
Lynton Swatton and Tommy Coetzee, also in a Subaru Impreza, were second after day one, four minutes 39 seconds behind the Ermelo pair. Peter Walter and Pierre Jordaan, in a Can-Am Maverick, were third in 44;44.
Strauss and Venter continued their dominance on Saturday.
Despite recording the second-best time in the opening stage of the day, they went on to win two and were second in the other two stages.
Strauss and Venter’s final race time of 01:55;59 secured them the first leg in the 2022 WOMZA National Rally Championship.
“The rally was very tough, especially the night stages. The roads were narrow with tall grass, which made it very difficult to see as everything at night looked the same,” said Strauss after the race.
“Although we won the prologue, myself and Elzaan were not in sync and this continued with the first night stage. I think it was nerves, but from stage two it became better, which made us faster.
“We finished on Friday with a healthy lead, which meant that we could take a more cautious approach on Saturday. Many cars fell out, so we knew we had to take it easy, but try and keep our advantage and gain where we can. Everything worked out perfectly and we are thankful to our Heavenly Father who kept us safe.”
The driver was full of praise for his co-driver.
“Elzaan had the biggest role as I had to drive 100% on what she was reading. Any mistake by her would have ended our rally there and then, so she did a fantastic job,” said Strauss.
He said his service crew were instrumental in the victory.
“We have a brilliant crew, Awie, Arian and Louis, who prepped the car and kept us in the rally. We had a major suspension issue on the last night stage and had to take the car into Mbombela for quick repairs, and we have to thank TK Service Centre for dropping everything and assisting us without any charge,” said Strauss.
Walter and Jordaan were second in 02:00;38 and Swatton and Coetzee third in 02:01;49.
The Lowveld Rally doubled as the second leg of the 2022 Regional Rally Championships, with six selected stages counting. Strauss and Venter took this title as well, in a time of 01:01;56.
In the first leg of the regional championship, the AutoBar 150 Rally held at the end of February, they claimed second place.
Walter and Jordaan were second in 01:04;32 and Swatton and Coetzee third in 01:04;46.
Lowvelders Drian le Grange and Yvonne Theunissen, in a VW Golf, finished ninth in the national round (02:15;23) and ninth in the regional rally (01:14,58). They were second in Class C in both races.
Another Lowveld team, Evert Erasmus and Nico van der Merwe, driving a VW Golf in their debut rally, finished 11th overall (03:11;55) and second in class B in the national round, and 13th overall (01:57;09) and second in class B in the regional round.
Simon Bezuidenhout, on whose farm the rally took place, and co-driver Adriaan Louw in a Toyota Etios, did not finish.
Lowveld rally legend Karl du Plessis and co-driver Simon du Plessis, in a Chev Ranger, did not finish.
