The Tripple L Paardepoort rally marked the final rally for 2023 for DP Motorsport.
The day started early with doing the recce on the stages and our drivers and navigators knew it would be no easy task to complete this rally, very rough road conditions would test human and machine relationships to the extreme.
Stages were set out through Paardepoort, Glenconnor, and Mayogi areas where spectators could enjoy the thrills of high-speed gravel racing at its best.
The first stage stretched from Paardepoort entry and ended at Glenconnor with a distance of around 13km without any problems.
Stage two was set at Mayogi Wild Stall for 4km and was spectator-friendly, it was all smiles for the cameras as the cars made it into the pit area.
Stage three was the Paardepoort Ultimate of 40km, this surely tested the focus and skill of drivers, near the end of the stage the 1.2tsi Polo piloted by De Villiers Wessels and navigator Francois Anker developed a suspension problem. They made it through the stage and back to the pit area at Wolwefontein Hotel just to discover a loose control arm bolt. The 1.4i Citi Golf piloted by Ulrich Roberts and navigator Francois Vermaak had a clean run-through.
Rain caught the teams at the Wolwefontein pit area, our pit crew did excellent work under the watchful eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Kapp through wet conditions.
At the time of stage four, the roads were already wet and slippery, both cars made it through the stage, the Golf catching up to the polo in the last turns of the stage. The Polo that is much lower to the ground had to take it easy since they had slight cosmetic bumper damage from one of the riverbed jumps that was rutted by previous cars.
Stage five, the final stage of the season was made interesting by the polo hitting an inside wall and lifting the wheels off the ground, precision control from De Villiers kept the car under control and made it all the way safely to Parc Ferme.
The Golf of Ulrich had an excellent run with lots of laughter and made its way into Parc Ferme, an astounding victory for both the school cars and the whole team.
The results for the team were as follows,
Out of a field of 20 cars starting, the VW Polo 1.2 tsi piloted by Devilliers Wessels and navigator, Francois Anker finished 18th overall and fourth in the ARC 5 class.
The VW Golf 1.4i piloted by Ulrich Roberts and navigator Francois Vermaak finished an excellent 2nd in the AR5 class putting them on the podium for the last rally as their season comes to an end.
Thank you to the pit crew for always keeping the teams in the car on the road.
A huge thank you to all our sponsors and supporters for making this possible throughout this season.
Published by: Sparky Bright
Photography by: Motor Mouth
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