The Cool Down Lap: Sandra Labuscagne Jonck

With Cross Country racing rightly identified as the toughest form of South African motorsport, female competitors are few and far between. Those who do take to this world of hard knocks and improbable speeds over routes completely unsuitable for rapid travel, do so as navigators. That rule is no longer valid.

Since last year, Sandra Labuscagne Jonck has joined the ranks of South Africa’s top cross country racing drivers. She has entered the Special Vehicle category of this year’s South African Cross Country championship in a Total Agri Porter, with her husband Jaco Jonck as navigator.

That makes Sandra unique – but she has been unique for a long time. Her father, Coetzee Labuscagne, has been involved with local off road racing for the past 35 years.

“I grew up thinking that charging over tough terrain in strange vehicles is absolutely normal and just could not wait for my turn to start doing it,” she says. Eventually, at the age of 18, she got the opportunity, joining off road racing veteran Giel Nel as navigator in a Special Vehicle.

“It was even better than I had always envisaged it – this was the world’s best roller coaster ride, mind-game challenge and adrenaline rush, all rolled into one. Oom Giel was vastly experienced and his skills made up for any shortcomings I brought to the effort as a novice,” Sandra says.

Two years later she joined her father in the cockpit and they remained a pairing for the next decade, taking a variety of class victories in both the Production Vehicle and Special Vehicle categories. There were other highlights and milestones.

In 2016, Sandra was selected for the FIA Women in Motorsport development programme. It was headed by Jutta Kleinschmidt, the only woman driver to ever win the Dakar Rally in 2001, and Michelle Mouton, who drove for the Audi world rally championship team in the early eighties. Sandra went to a selection camp, where she was adjudged one of the best co-pilots and sponsored to participate in a few international events.

She competed in the Italian Baja, Portugal Baja and Sealine Desert race in Qatar, earning Protea colours in motorsport for Cross Country racing at the end of 2016. Another highlight was winning the South African Special Vehicle Championship in 2018 as a co-pilot with her dad.

“That was fantastic because it was a tough season and we had to dig really deep to eventually clinch the title in the final race of the year. It was a very special moment between father and daughter,” Sandra recalls.

In 2019 Sandra became navigator for her husband Jaco, a metallurgic engineer, as the pairing tackled the South African special Vehicle title chase in their Total Agri Porter. “However, I decided that I wanted to swap seats and drive, which Jaco agreed to,” she relates.

So, does she enjoy driving more than calling notes? “It is hard to tell – I think a navigator’s job is more intricate, but I now really understand how much a driver is reliant on a flow of accurate information as you charge at unknown routes,” she says.

“Luckily, Jaco and I have a great dynamic of trust and shared enjoyment in the car – if you are not having fun, it would be illogical to spend time, money and sweat on such a demanding form of motorsport.”

She believes women in motorsport still face the biased opinion that only male drivers can be good. “Women are far too easily labelled non-technical with no mechanical skill. I pride myself on my knowledge of the mechanical workings of the car and really enjoy the longer endurance events that challenge both one’s body and mind.”

Sandra and Jaco have started this year’s racing adventure on a high note, by completing the season-opening Mpumalanga 400 race around Dullstroom in sixth place overall. The event, held in almost non-stop rain, tested crews with deep mud, slippery tracks, hidden rocks and tree stumps, deep standing water and thick mist.

In the end, only seven Special Vehicle crews made it to the finish, all having gotten close and personal with vast amounts of Mpumalanga upper soil.

“That was hard, but if we could finish that race, I forecast good things the rest of the season,” Sandra says. “I must perform – Total Agri trusts the dynamics of our team with a female driver, and I am not about to let the team down”.

Living in Pretoria, Sandra is a veterinary surgeon by trade, which denotes her choice of road vehicle as a diesel-powered Ford Ranger.

“I spend a lot of time travelling to farms on dirt roads, carrying all sorts of medical equipment and the bakkie serves that practical need. Of course, if money was no object and I could choose a road vehicle to use just for fun, it would have to be a Nissan GT-R,” she says.

Likewise, given the chance, she would love to race one of the works Gazoo Toyota Hilux vehicles. Racing apart, her hobbies include scuba diving and mountain biking. Sandra’s next race will be this year’s Sugarbelt 400 event in KwaZulu Natal, scheduled around the town of Eston on 3 and 4 April.

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