Coertse grabs Dullstroom honours

Weather, infringements and off-road excursions meant plenty of surprises in the two final rallies of the South African National series – two day, two rallies and changes in the lead right up to the finish but it was a huge event for the Mazda 2 pairing of Chris Coertse and Greg Godrich who emerged overall winners on both days.

Friday:

What should have been a straight fight in the dust on the fast special stages around the trout-rich town of Dullstroom in Mpumalanga, turned into a fight for surival for many of crews contesting the final two rounds of the 2023 South African National Rally Championship.

Clear skies and bright sunshine greeted competitors at the start of the TRACN4 Rally and all eyes were on the expected tussle between the NRC 1 Rally Technic Mazda 2 of Chris Coertse and Greg Godrich and the NRC 2 Just Tools Volkswagen Golf crewed by Benjamin Habig and Barry White – this fight for second overall in the series with the actual champion having been crowned at the previous event.

“It would be nice to claim that second place, but our goal the whole season has been to win the class,” said White.

It all went wrong for them shortly after the start of first special stage when the Polo lost drive and could not be recovered until all the cars had passed, forcing their retirement for the day and leaving the way open for the Maza duo to forge ahead.

However, the big mover of the morning was the Salom Toyota Auris of Theuns Joubert and Schalk van Heerden who stormed through the opening stage to win by 10 seconds from Coertse/Godrich with newly-crowned SA Champions JJ Potgieter and Tommy du Toit in the NTT Toyota Delmas Hyundai R4 visibly taking things easier than their normal all-out charge.

Potgieter/Du Toit

“I was taking it easier,” said Potgieter, “but we were also battling with a misfire that kept us off the pace.”

Stage 2 was a blinder for Mandla Mdakane and Kes Naidoo in their Toyota Gazoo Racing Starlet and they howled through taking 10 seconds from Joubert/Van Heerden and 14 seconds from the Mazda – just reward, perhaps for a troubled season that saw the Starlet retire from several events.

However, the pair made an error during the clock-in procedure at the start of the stage and were then penalised by four minutes, dropping them to the back of the field and this was compounded at the end of the day when and engine problem meant they could not get the car back to the parc ferme.

By the end of Stage 3 Joubert and Van Heerden had extended their lead to 17 seconds over the Mazda with Potgieter/Du Toit now slotted into third place ahead of Gerald Klopper and Etienne Lourens (GK Racing Toyota Auris) fourth overall and the leading NRC 2 contender ahead of Gustav Potgieter/Armand du Toit (Atlas Oil Ford Fiesta R2).

Stage 4 saw much o the same but with Mdakane trying to eat up as much of his deficit as possible and racking up third quickest time  over the 12, 6 kilometres of Safcol Highway 2 – this pulling them up to seventh overall.

Then, the weather intervened and a sudden, short rain and lightning storm descended with the cars in Stage 5 where everything changed as the gravel road turned into an ice-rink, setting off a chain of events started by Gerald Klopper who lost a wheel and veered off into a tree, leaving the car in a vulnerable position.

With Lourens waving oncoming competitors to slow down, Gustav Potgieter stopped on the stage (after having been stuck in the mud for more than minute earlier) without realising George Smallberger/Shaun Visser (Shield Q20 Volkswagen Polo) had closed right up.

“I saw him stopped on the stage and tried to go around but with the mud and the slide we ended up beached on the edge of the road and lost plenty of time trying to get free.” Said Smallberger.

Joubert/Van Heerden

But, it was up front where the real drama happened as Theuns Joubert suffered a front left tyre puncture and with 10 kilometres of stage left, decided to continue. The delaminating tyre then dmaged the front end of the car but they made it to the flying finish, losing 58 seconds in the process.

This giffted Coertse a 35 second lead overall, cemented by the fact the Clerk-of-the-Course then cancelled the final stage of the day for safety reasons.

So, Coertse/Godrich took top step of the podium from Joubert/Van Heerden and Potgieter/Du Toit with Mdakane/Naidoo fourth on the road but excluded because of the engine issue on the way to the overnight parc ferme.

Thus, Gustav Potgieter finish fourth ahead of Lynton Swatton and Tommy Coetzee (RBS Plumbing Toyota RunX).

Saturday:

Overnight the weather cleared and Saturday dawned bright and clear with Joubert/Van Heerden following the TRAC N$ catchline for the event of ‘going all out’ and they opened proceedings – much of which involved the previous day’s stages in reverse – with an eight second advantage over Potgieter/Du Toit and taking 29 seconds from Coertse/Godrich.

Back in the running, Habig and White ran a conservative fifth quickest on the stage a second behind Gustav Potgieter and five ahead of the Johan Strauss/Elzaan van der Schyff Agri Online Subaru WRX that was forced to withdraw before the start of the Friday even with engine problems.

“It is still not properly sorted,” said Strauss “and there is a throttle problem. If I drive slowly there is some response but if I try to go quickly it does not respond.”

With the Hyundai now cleared of its misfire, JJ Potgieter decided it was time to get moving and raced through the second stage two seconds to the good over Joubert with Coertse maintaining an edge over Habig who headed the NRC 2 class.

The AR Panelbeaters Ford Escort Cosworth of Anton Raaths and Marie Ducasse had a good run to notch up fifth place on the road.

The rally then looked as if it was settling into a pattern with Joubert/Van Heerden taking the top honours on Stage 3 followed by Potgieter/Du Toit with Coertse and Habig in close attendance – Potgieter then upped the pace to take Stage 4 to set up the scene for the final stages by reducing Joubert’s lead to just 0,1 seconds after the former lost time in the stage due to a faulty oil temperature sensor caused the engine to go into limp mode.

Coertse was just 1min07 sec off the lead at this point.

Mdakane/Naidoo

However, this time it was not the weather to influence things – Car 0, which has the task of going through the stage ahead of the field to check the marshals are in place, arrowing is correct and no spectators are in dangerous places, had a mechanical issue. This is then followed by Car 00 half an hour before the first competitor enters the stage.

Stage 5, which was also being run as Stage 6, had to be cancelled to allow Car 00 to do the work of both lead vehicles.

This stage, a repeat of Stge 2 from Friday, featured a downhill run to a shallow water splash with a disconcerting bump on the exit and Habig – not having done the stage the previous day – came flying in, uymped, got hugely sideways, corrected and went up on two wheels.

He landed back on the road but minus a wheel and carried on to finish the stage. However, he transgressed regulations by driving on a public road on three wheels then replacing the wheel in the control area of Stage 6, resulting in his exclusion.

Stage 6, Lakenvlei, worked for Coertse who took 1,8 seconds off Joubert with Potgieter third quickest through the 27,4 kilometre section just ahead of Habig who would have been third overall at that point had it not been for the exclusion he was yet to hear about.

Habig/White

The final stage of the event and the season, Legends, saw Coertse again take the stage win, this time taking 11, 9 seconds off Joubert to end up as overall winner for the day and second overall in the National standings behind Gustav Potgieter who ended on the third step of the podium for the day and first car in the NRC 2 category.

JJ Potgieter finished fourth overall, ahead of Magriet Potgieter and Rikus Fourie (Ford Fiesta R2) and Bruce Swatton/Adrian du Plessis (RBS Plumbing Toyota Auris S2000).

https://bit.ly/3sFTXIf

Colin-on-Cars - All to play for

The forests of Mpumalanga will come alive this weekend to the sound of rally cars as the season finale, the TRACN4 Rally takes to the fast forest stages between Belfast and Dullstroom.

It is certainly not yet over with series leaders Chris Coertse and navigator Greg Godrich and their new NRC1 Rally Technic Mazda2, who start the event just 64 points ahead of their nearest rivals, Theuns Joubert and Schalk van Heerden in the Salom Labour Toyota Yaris.

There are 74 points on offer for the double-header, meaning Guy Botterill and Simon Vacy-Lyle who are third in their Gazoo Racing Toyota Starlet and 68 points adrift could stand a mathematical chance.

“We’ve prepared the car well for this weekend,” said Botterill in the build-up to this weekend’s Rounds 11 and 12. “We finally feel that we’re on top of things, and even though we’ve had our fair share of teething problems with the new car, I’m confident that we’re in a good position for this weekend.”

At the same time, teammates Mandla Mdakane and co-driver Kes Naidoo, will be campaigning the team’s second car in the form of a Toyota Auris S2000. The car has served as an entry to the sport for Mdakane, but reliability issues have plagued his attempts thus far.

“We’re hoping for a clean run this weekend,” said the Johannesburg-based driver. “We’ve shown good pace over single stages earlier in the year, but haven’t had the opportunity to string it all together. With a bit of luck, we’ll get that chance in Dullstroom.”

The weather in Dullstroom for this weekend is predicted to be mild and dry, in stark contrast to Botterill/Vacy-Lyle’s last outing for TGRSA, which was in extremely muddy and wet conditions, during the Parys 400 – final round of the 2022 South African Rally-Raid Series (SARRC), where they finished in fourth place during the final round.

This year’s TRACN4 National Rally will kick off with a ceremonial start at the service park at Lakenvlei, just outside Dullstroom. This will be followed by seven stages in the area forming Round 11 of the season. Saturday will see Round 12, the final of the season, start at the oval in Dullstroom itself, again followed by seven stages bringing the 2022 NRC to a close.

https://bit.ly/3EicX19

 Three options for new Mazda BT-50

In keeping with the naming conventions of its passenger car range, the new Mazda BT-50 – generation three – will feature three derivatives in Active, Dynamic and Individual specification. 

The Active model features a new 1,9-litre diesel engine with automatic or manual gearbox whereas the Dynamic and Individual models host the new 3,0-litre 6-speed automatic. The Individual model is available with the 4x4 drivetrain, whereas all other models are available in the 4x2 drivetrain. 

From the outside, the BT-50 follows Mazda’s Kodo Design language where the prominent front grille, and the 3-dimensional signature wing that extends out towards the side, make it instantly recognizable as a Mazda product.

 The design of the headlights is distinct and sharp, taking in cues from Mazda’s SUV range, while the load-bay has ample room and can handle payloads of one ton. At the back, the tailgate is the key design point, shaped to flow towards the Mazda badge to create a continuity of movement from front to rear. 

Standard exterior features on the BT-50 range include; LED Headlamps, Daytime Running Lamps, Rear Combination Lamps and Front rain-sensing wipers. 

Inside, everything from the dashboard, steering wheel, seats and centre console has been redesigned and the horizontal layout of the instrument panel extends out to the door trim on each side, creating a comfortable and spacious cabin. 

It has door mouldings that wrap around the dash area  and an expansive centre console, while rear passengers get a USB charging port, rear air ducts and grip assist handles.

 

The BT-50 features an instrument cluster with two round analogue meters flanking a 4,2-inch multi-information display in the centre. The front air-conditioning louvres feature sculpted three-dimensional depth. They are accented by a sharp strip of decorative trim that spreads out from the centre of the instrument panel toward the passenger seat. 

The wide cab offers 1 463 mm of shoulder room in the front seats and 770 mm between the driver and front passenger seats. 

The adjustable driver’s seat ensures comfort by also offering six-way seat adjustment and there is a manual lumber support function for the driver seat on the Dynamic and Individual model.

 The rear seats have a tether strap that can be wrapped over the seatbelt to prevent them getting hooked behind the seat when folding the seat back. There is rear centre armrest with cupholders, 1,5-litre bottle holders in the doors as well as clearly marked ISOFIX points, storage compartments and a USB port. Behind the front seats there is a hook, allowing passengers to hang a coat, handbag or anything up to 4 kg. 

The infotainment system comes with a 7-inch or 9-inch display screen, smartphone connectivity for Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and connectivity information is also delivered to the instrument panel. The Active model has 6-speaker surround sound and 8-speakers on the Dynamic and Individual models.

The BT-50 offers a high level of safety across the range with standard safety features including Auto door lock, Reverse Camera, Smart Advanced Keyless Entry, ISOFIX and Driver, Passenger, Knee (driver), Curtain and Side crash bags. 

It has anti-lock Braking with Electronic Brake force Distribution (EBD) as well as Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) which includes the following functions: Traction Control System (TCS), Hill Launch Assist (HLA), Hill Descent Control (HDC), Roll Over Mitigation (ROM) as well as Trailer Sway Mitigation (TSM), also standard from the entry level BT-50. 

The All-New Mazda BT-50 comes standard with a 3-Year Unlimited Kilometre Mazda Service Plan, 3-Year Unlimited Kilometre Mazda Warranty and a 3-Year Unlimited Roadside Assistance. 

MODEL LINE-UP

Mazda BT-50 1.9L Active 6MT & 6AT 4x2

* Max Power (kW @ rpm): 110

* Max Torque (Nm @ rpm): 350

* 6-Speed manual/automatic transmission

* 7 Airbags SRS: Driver, Passenger, Knee, Side & Curtain

* Auto Cruise Control

* Infotainment System:

 

Mazda BT-50 3.0L Dynamic 6AT 4x2

* Max Power (kW @rpm): 140

* Max Torque (Nm @ rpm): 450

 

Mazda BT-50 3.0L Individual 6AT 4x4

* 4-Wheel Drive (4WD)

* Front Axle Disconnect

 Mazda BT50 launch confirmed

The new Mazda BT50 bakkie – the third generation – is due for launch locally in the middle of next month and this iteration has been redesigned from the ground up. 

As an evolution of Mazda’s Kodo (Soul of Motion) design, it is immediately evident right from the front of the vehicle with the prominent front grille, and the 3-dimensional signature wing that extends out towards the side. 

The design of the headlights is distinct and sharp, taking in cues from Mazda’s SUV range. The Mazda BT-50 isn't all about utility, but bold evolution, designed with the goal of being a vehicle that customers can take pride in owning. 

The interior cabin space has been carefully crafted to express Mazda’s commitment to human centric design so everything from dashboard, steering wheel, seats and centre console has been redesigned to ensure drivers feel connected to their vehicle and as comfortable as they can be. 

It is a refined and smooth interior that aims for a level of comfort on par with a luxury SUV, by combining sleek and modern elegance with strong functionality. 

As with all Mazda models, the BT-50 comes standard with a generous level of features, including MZD Connect Infotainment System with a 7-inch or 9-inch display screen, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, Reverse camera, Parking sensors, LED headlamps, Hill Launch Assist, Hill Descent Control, Trailer Sway Mitigation, seven crash bags and Cruise Control. 

The model line-up consists of three derivatives: Active, Dynamic and Individual, and has been aligned with that of the passenger car range. The Active model features a new 1,9-litre diesel engine with automatic or manual gearbox, producing 121 kW of power and 213 Nm of torque. 

The Dynamic and Individual models feature the new 3,0-litre engine driving through 6-speed automatic gearbox and producing 140 kW of power and 450 Nm of torque. The Individual model is available with the 4x4 drivetrain, whereas all other models are available in the 4x2 drivetrain. 

Craig Roberts, MD of Mazda Southern Africa says: “We could not be prouder or more excited to launch the BT-50 in Southern Africa now. The vehicle has a long history locally, and internationally. It has been re-imagined and re-built from the ground up, with all the utilitarian value of a double-cab bakkie, and all the comfort and technology expected of an SUV. We are confident it will be met with enthusiasm by our customers and media alike, as a true stand-out and another bold reflection on our Japanese Heritage.” 

The new BT-50 received a 5 Star ANCAP Safety rating in 2020, issued by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program. The All-New BT-50 will come standard with a 3-Year Unlimited Kilometre Mazda Service Plan, 3-Year Unlimited Kilometre Mazda Warranty and a 3-Year Unlimited Roadside Assistance.