The GR Legends Rally, the third round of the SA National Rally Championship saw the reigning SA National Rally Champions bag their third consecutive victory in their Volkswagen Polo NRC1 after a thrilling 13-stage duel with their closest rivals Jono van Wyk and Nico Swartz in a similar Rally Technic VW Polo NRC1.
Nico and Juandre Nienaber won two stages and had to fight their way back onto the final step of the podium in their Hyundai i20 NRC1 after overcoming myriad problems including a failed alternator, flat battery and fuel pump failure.
The GR Legends Rally took place on the farmlands in the Bronkhorstspruit area as a last minute replacement for the postponed Algoa Rally and was notable for its high-speed sections and thick dust.
Friday’s opening salvo saw Habig win the first four stages shaded by Van Wyk who ended the day just 0.2 seconds off the lead after Habig stalled in a sharp corner while blinded by his own dust which allowed Van Wyk to set up a Saturday showdown.
Saturday’s opening two stages saw Habig battle with a loose rear belly plate which cost the KZN driver the lead as his Polo was 70km/h down on his rivals on the long straights as the offending part dragged under the car and battled with erratic handling as well as the loss of power steering.
“The belly plate was acting like a plough for the next planting season”, Habig smiled at the Soetdoring Venue finish. “On corners, the plate lifted the rear of the car making it a real handful which was made worse when the power steering failed.”
After the first service, where the Polo was repaired, there was another setback as the Polo started to overheat, requiring the driver to turn the wick down until the next service break where the hard-working technicians could resolve the issue. After the Polo was restored to full health, it was business as usual with Habig taking five wins from the remaining six stages to fight his way back into the lead battle.
Victory for Van Wyk seemed assured until stage 11 when he wrong slotted after being blinded in his own dust, losing 43 seconds – and the rally lead. “I turned left instead of right in my own dust.
That mistake cost us the victory”, he rued.
Fourth overall and winning class NRC3 was George Smalberger and co-driver Etienne Lourens in their Shield Racing Volkswagen Polo after a clean run, barring a bent steering arm after hitting a rock, ending 39 seconds ahead of the NRC2 class winners Bruce Swatton and Craig Reyneke in their VW Polo, who took a commendable fifth overall in only the third rally for the newly built machine.
Sixth overall and second in class NRC3 went to Rudolf Pretorius and Jack Radford in their VW Polo, comfortably ahead of the visiting Zambian crew of Mayur Patel and co-driver Colin Gander in their Subaru Impreza STi. The visitors had a near rally ending moment in Friday’s final stage when they hit a dip and jump at almost unabated speed. The Impreza launched into the air and landed heavily on its nose, and while the car suffered front end damage, they were able to complete the event, albeit at reduced pace.
Lynton Swatton and Tommy Coetzee took eighth overall and the final step of the NRC2 class podium in their VW Polo, with the Cape pairing of Ismaeel Davids and Yusuf Ganief coming home in ninth in their Toyota GR Yaris after a rally fraught with technical issues which slowed their pace after setting consistent top four stage times.
Chris Coertse and Elzaan van der Schyff rounded out the top ten in their Rally Technic Mazda2 NRC1. The former SA Rally champion was in the fight for a podium place, setting top three and four stage times until thwarted by fuel pressure issues and incurred lateness penalties as his team battled to cure the fault, which dropped them down the order.
Mark Jones and Kes Naidoo were forced to retire their Toyota Gazoo Racing GR Yaris in the final stage with technical issues while Kent and Justin Rutherford retired their Shield Racing VW Polo in stage ten after losing drive with suspected driveshaft failure. Anton/Isabel Raaths retired their Toyota RunX after encountering brake problems.
The GR Legends Rally also hosted rounds two and three of the Northern Regions Rally Championship; the Friday rally-within-a-rally was won by Juan de Wet and Gert Nienaber in their Subaru Impreza STi, followed by Johan de Bruin and Wallie de Bruyn in their Nissan 350Z, with Michael Mullany and Lehlohonolo Letuka taking their final step of the podium in their Subaru Forester.
Saturday saw the de Bruins go one better taking the rally victory by eight seconds from Johan Strauss Jr and Kemaine Venter in their Subaru Impreza. Ashley and Les McKenzie had a strong run to third overall in their Ford Escort Mk1.
The GR Legends Club Rally, run over four stages, was won by Rudolf Pretorius/Jack Radford in the VW Polo followed by Ashley/Les McKenzie in their Ford Escort and Schalk van Heerden Junior and Senior in their Datsun 1600 SSS.
The SA National Rally Championship is proudly supported by Toyota Gazoo Racing, Dunlop, ATS Motorsport, TRAC, Ctrack, Fixed Mobile Telecoms and Mibern Medi-Call.
Reigning SA National Rally Champions bag their third consecutive victoryhttps://t.co/KN4cYUBquL#ArriveAlive #SARallying pic.twitter.com/MxZOD78nxw
– Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) July 12, 2026
