Congratulations goes to Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp as the winners of the 2023 Cape Overberg Rally in their 454 CPMCC S5 Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2.0 Turbo 4×4.
Just seventeen seconds separating the Scoobie combination from a pretty determined Inus du Plessis and Piet Carinus in their 461 CPMCC S4 Coastal Tool Hire BMW E36 328i. Interestingly Owen Jones would only win two of the seven special stages to the single stage win of Inus du Plessis.
Warren Köhler and Lloyd Brady completing the podium in their 465 CCMCC S4 Köhler Pac BMW E36 328i, just eight seconds clear of Paul van Wyk and Matthew Köhler in their ever improving 469 CPMCC S5 acciDent Guru Audi S3 Quattro 1.8 Turbo.
Though the 2023 Western Cape Class Club Championship does not officially recognise the overall status of the events one can never ignore the desire to be the winning team and this year have ironically seen a number of teams step up as serious challengers to the Scoobie throne of Llewellyn Jones and Christophé Pichon. Looking extremely strong on special stage one (The Agents Garage 12.02km) the 434 CPMCC S5 Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2.0 Turbo 4×4 looked as potent as ever but then suffered the scary misfortune of encountering two wayward private vehicles on stage (fortunately travelling in the same direction).
Werner and Leané Koekemoer had everyone at the popular yump excited when they launched into orbit enroute to a scintillating time a full 13 seconds faster than Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp over just 12.02km! Inus du Plessis and Piet Carinus also serving notice with the third fastest time and setting the scene for an epic Overberg Rally.
Repeating the 12.02km special stage immediately set everything in perspective as Llewellyn Jones and Christophé Pichon recovered to a brilliant 6min09, Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp second quickest on 6min13. And if you thought those times for the Beemers were optimistic Werner and Leané Koekemoer shared second fastest whilst Inus du Plessis and Piet Carinus improved by 14 seconds.
Stage three (Rwaan Media) was considered THE stage of the event at 19.15km and with weather conditions ideal the pace would be hot, extremely hot! Llewellyn Jones and Christophé Pichon joked with Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp at the start , but then the dominant Scoobie came to a silent halt when the cambelt cried enough mid stage.
Werner and Leané Koekemoer then retired their 474 CPMCC S4 ValueCrete BMW E36 328i in spectacular fashion when a rare mistake had the car run wide, clipping an embankment and rolling a number of times before coming to a halt on what was left of it’s wheels. Shaken and stirred, both the 413 BMW of Keenan Sassman and Weston Peiser and the 433 Toyota of Riyaan Amlay and Ameen Amlay stopped at the scene to assist. The stage delayed to have paramedic, Keith Kleinhans, reach the scene and fortunately father and daughter left the scene on own accord. Real concrete crew this!
Inus du Plessis and Piet Carinus had set the fastest time with Owen Jones and Aden Bredenkamp second and Warren Scholtz and David Stigling third fastest. Having rebuilt the engine of his own Subaru shortly before the event, and then blowing it again, Warren found himself in the Subaru normally campaigned by Shaun Jones. Shaun had recent surgery to his eye and could not participate, sportingly making his car available to Warren who added to his own challenges by adding a debutant navigator in David Stigling.
Erin Joshua and Ibraheem Amlay retired the 462 CCMCC S3 Toyota Conquest RSi 1600after special stage one with drive problems whilst Julian Calvert and Nicholas Knights had to retire their 409 CPMCC S3 Liewe Lulu VW Golf MkIII GTi with gearbox maladies after SS1. Kesevan and Mikyle Naidoo looked pretty racy through special stage one but their 410 CCMCC S3 Freigtmore Xpress Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 suffered engine problems and could not continue beyond SS2.
Stage 4 (Ramlay Builders 9.71km) brought no real surprises and allowed the service crews to watch teams fly through the flying finish of the stage. Special stage five a repeat of three and it was tackled with a sense of caution? But then Owen improved his time by 11 seconds to tip the scales in his favour as Inus dropped two seconds on his first time. Paul van Wyk and Matthew Köhler placing the Audi third fastest to claim their first stage podium position.
Warren Scholtz and David Stigling encountered problems on SS5, but under Super Rally set the fastest time on stages six and seven to finish their debut strongly. Maybe it is true that a borrowed car does rev higher after all? No doubt the Dynamic Plant Solutions Subaru will be back soon.
Meanwhile Owen and Aden drove cleanly to record another victory in their 454 CPMCC S5 Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2.0 Turbo 4×4 with Inus du Plessis and Piet Carinus a fighting second in their 461 CPMCC S4 Coastal Tool Hire BMW E36 328i.
Warren Köhler and Lloyd Brady happy to step into third place with an encouraging fourth for the acciDent Guru Audi. Seraaj Amlay and Ziyaan Amlay fifth in their class S3 winning 457 CCMCC S3 Ramlay Builders Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 and in sixth it was Riyaan Amlay and Amaan Amlay in their 433 CCMCC S3 Ramlay Builders Toyota Corolla RXi 1600. 24 seconds separating the duelling Amlay’s after seven stages.
Koos Swanepoel and Sebastiaan Swanepoel slotted into seventh spot with the 446 WPMC S4 KSD BMW E36 328i. Great to see the father and son combination back in action and they will most certainly be growing in confidence. Gareth Vernon and Marius Rudolph eighth in their ex-Shaun Jones 459 CPMCC S4 BMW E36 328i. They lost second gear along the way but are really starting to enjoy the rear wheel driven Beemer.
Justin Engle and Ryan Pey (youngest son of Thorsten Pey) brought their ex-Keenan Sassman 445 CCMCC S3 Toyota Corolla RXi 1600 home in ninth after a brief contact with a fence and the final classified finishers in tenth were Junayed Edas and Reyenah Edas in their 466 CCMCC S3 Toyota Conquest RSi 1600.
Trevor Hodges and Ian Thebus retired their 421 CCMCC S4 Xtreme Racing / The Agents Garage VW Golf MKIII GTi 2.0 with no right rear suspension on SS5 whilst the happy 13 year re-union of Paul Emmanuel and Clint Lingeveldt lasted until SS5 when the 449 CCMCC S4 VW Polo 2.0 retired itself with a loose flywheel. Keenan Sassman and Weston Peiser and the 413 CCMCC S4 Howard Centre Motors BMW E36 328i also disappearing in SS5 with an unknown reason.
No matter how you read the result the positives are what counts and in that respect both overall standings and class results are proving to be very competitive and entertaining. The gap between the superior 4×4 Turbo entries and the entertaining Beemers continue to shrink and a positive atmosphere in all spheres will hopefully lead to more entries and support for future events.
The CPMCC Portervile Rally calls on Saturday 3 June 2023!
Published by: Patrick Vermaak
Picture Caption: 454 CPMCC S5 Owen Jones – Aden Bredenkamp – Subaru Impreza WRX STi 2.0 Turbo 4×4. 1st Overall
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