Springsite Gavin Walton (57) has won his fourth DJ Run this year, having just returned from competing in the two-day event last Saturday.
The 2018 Durban to Johannesburg Classic Motorcycle Rally started last Friday and continued until last Saturday.
The race is a two-day timed regularity rally where motorcyclists are only allowed to compete on motorcycles from 1936 and older, according to Gavin.
Gavin first started with the DJ Run in 2005, when a family friend Hugh Hollard, who resides in Springs, bowed out of the race and offered his bike to Gavin.
Also read: A successful day it was for the Moondogs
He won his first race in 2009, the second in 2016 and had a consecutive win in 2017.
The race started off at Oxford Shopping Centre in Hillcrest, Durban.
Competitors are assigned a number which is called at the start of the race at one-minute intervals.
The race starts when the first competitor leaves at 6.01am.
Gavin’s number was called at 6.27am and he was off on his 1936 500cc AJS motorcycle.
Following a route schedule, racers have to follow a set speed to get to the next clue, which is given in distance.
After that they have to follow the clue until the next one.
After the first day, the group spent the night in Newcastle after a 375km run.
The second day kicked off and the racers faced a further 300km.
They finished at the Classic Motorcycle Club in Germiston.
“It is a precision ride and you have to determine your speed using a speed chart,” he says.
“The virtual marshals take the calculated time with your actual time and deduct one penalty point per second for being late.”
For the combined two days, Gavin racked up 256 penalty points.
The second finisher, Kevin Walton, Gavin’s brother, got 460 penalty points.
“During the race, we only follow old roads, there is no highway riding right through to the end,” says Gavin.
“It was good fun and a mentally challenging event and I look forward to the next one.
“I’d encourage anyone else to join in.”
Also read: Breathtaking stunts, men on fire and Harley action
