The Swartland is considered the heart of Western Cape rallying and the 2024 Western Cape Class 5 Regional and S4-S3-S2 Rally Championship was concluded on Saturday 26 October 2024 with the CPMCC 24 Rally.
Shaun Jones and Jason Thorpe claiming the final event in their Advanced Asphalting 424 CPMCC S5 Subaru Impreza STi 2.0 Turbo 4×4 with an impressive Benjamin Johnson and Christoff Löttering second overall in their Johnsons 468 CPMCC S3 VW Polo 6R. Warren Scholtz and David Stigling suffering a time consuming puncture on the penultimate specials stage, dropping to third overall in their 444 CPMCC S5 Subaru Impreza STi 2.0 Turbo 4×4.
The ever consistent Julian Calvert and Nicholas Knights drove their normal neat and tidy event and capitilised on the effect sof heat and dust to bring their 409 CPMCC S4 VW Golf MkII GTi 2.0 home fourth with the local Malmesbury brother and sister combination of Juneyed and Reyhanah Edas the final classified finishers in fifth overall with their 466 CCMCC S2 Toyota Conquest RSi 1600.
Though the traditional gnats allowed the rally enthusiasts relatively easy access to the Swartland for the day the summer certainly decided to have a say in the final results as heat and dust certainly proved too much for some of the favourite teams.
Shaheen Amlay and Yusuf Ganief combined forces in the Amlay Motorsport 402 CCMCC S5 Subaru Impreza 2.0 Turbo 4×4 but only managed about 300m of the opening special stage before they befriended a small tree that retained the righ front wheel and suspension of their car. Tree 1 – Subaru 0.
Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp then looked the likely winners but their ex-Llewellyn Jones 454 CPMCC S5 Subaru Impreza STi 2.0 Turbo 4×4 lost compression after special stage two whilst the ex-Owen Jones 413 CCMCC S5 Subaru Impreza 2.0 Turbo 4×4 of Clinton Sassman and Clint Lingeveldt retired after special stage three with a blown headgasket. The 469 CPMCC S4 BMW E36 328i of Gareth Vernon and Marius Rudolph blew a radiator whilst Pete Isaacs and Matthew Neethling blew the engine on their 471 CCMCC S2 Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 on special stage two. Trevor Hodges and Ian Thebus retired their 421 CCMCC S3 VW Polo after special stage three with “coolant issues”.
Final championship results all that remains of the 2024 season that started with great promise before a number of unfortunate issues saw various teams unable to contest all rounds of the championship.
It was encouraging to note the Inus du Plessis BMW E36 328i present as 00 with the Teletubbies present in a Freelander as 0 car. Thank you to all the “behind the scenes” officials as well as the visible officials and supporters who make these events a reality.
Salute to Subaru Somerset West – CEJ Plant Hire – Goeie Hoop Onderdele – Coastal Hire – Dynamic Plant Solutions – Johnson Construction and KSD as sponsors during the year.
Published by: Patrick Vermaak
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