This weekend will see (because spectators won’t) the third and fourth legs of the 2020 South African Rally Championship. The NTT Toyota Rally will take place in the Delmas area on Friday 16th October when the third – and Saturday 17th October when the fourth leg of the 2020 championship will be decided. On Friday […]
Botterill and Vacy-Lyle take the lead in the SA Rally Championship Very few South African fans knew exactly what to expect from the new R4 class on the local rally scene and with a little bit more sense the combination of classes now make – many of us hoped that the S2000 would be […]
THE 2020 LAKE UMUZI RALLY 1 AND 2 The late Jan Hettema always sang “On the road again” at the start of anything we did that involved wheels and it would have been appropriate to sing “his” song before the rally this weekend. We all came through a strange period in time during the first […]
Lewis Hamilton supreme from start to finish to win Spanish Grand Prix and extend world championship lead Lewis Hamilton dominates from start to finish to win in Spain – the 88th of his career Max Verstappen, last week’s winner, finishes second with Valtteri Bottas in third Lewis Hamilton said he completed his crushing Spanish Grand […]
JACO VAN DYK AND KIDS – UPDATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON 19/07 One of my contacts Michael Barnard has spoken to Jaco on his cell phone today and could find out how Jaco is handling this very serious event. From the phone call one could only conclude that he was still very brave about it, but the […]
UPDATE 15H00 18 July 2020 – Jaco van Dyk and his two daughters Ousus and Ulandi. Jaco and his eldest daughter Ousus are both still in ICU. Before I say anything else – the fact that Ousus is still in ICU makes her conduct after the horrific helicopter crash all the more significant – […]
We will use this space to keep you updated for the next few days on the condition of Jaco and his two daughters after the helicopter accident. Chucky – Jaco’s son who was with them in the accident has been discharged from hospital and is in good health. JACO AND CHILDREN – UPDATE 12H50 BETTER […]
Permission granted by Honourable Minister Nathi Mthethwa on 15 July 2020 Strict sanitation and health rules to apply at all racing venues Permission applies to all motorsport categories run under the auspices of MSA, subject to no spectators being permitted Motorsport South Africa (MSA) is pleased to announce that it has received full permission […]
MOTORSPORT’S SHARE OF “NOTHING WILL BE THE SAME AGAIN!’ Times have without doubt changed – but so did the people. I could not help smiling this morning when I saw a promo clip telling “people” that watching WorldWideWrestling on TV, was like bringing the sport into your living room. In this promo, the wrestlers actually […]
Those were the days my friend, unfortunately they came to a sudden end.. Rallystar will – if we manage to stay open of course – bring you some motorsport news from as early as the 60’s. Our stories will be about some of the South African rally stars and also some racing stars. Some of […]
“Perception” is the way you think about someone or something. It is also formed by what you understand through your five senses – touch, sight, sound, smell and taste. Colour is added to your perception of things, by your past experiences, feelings and thoughts. So, what does this have to do with driving and especially […]
Carlos Sainz crowned The Greatest WRC Driver Carlos Sainz has been crowned The Greatest WRC Driver of all time in a poll of fans and expert journalists on the FIA World Rally Championship’s official website. The double world champion, from Spain, defeated Sébastien Loeb in the head-to-head final. Sainz claimed 57.28 per cent of […]
Fanatec announced as new official partner for WRC eSports German company boasts strong motorsport portfolio Development underway on rally products for WRC gamers Fanatec backs WRC’s virtual challenge in Rally Argentina classic WRC Promoter has completed a multi-year agreement with sim racing hardware experts Fanatec to become the official partner of the […]
When I left Pretoria early Sunday morning it was so overcast that the auto lights on the Hyundai switched on and my optimism about Corona disappearing in a week and a driveable track at Rallystar was about the same. The closer I got to the track the more water puddles I saw next to the […]
2020 WRC RALLIES AN UPDATE BROUGHT TO YOU BY RALLYSTAR MOTORING We at Rallystar your favourite motosport website will do our best to update you on the evolving around the Covid-19 pandemic and the various government restrictions. . No decisions on event dates will be made by the WRC organisers before updates on the respective […]
THE SAD PART OF FRIENDSHIP Some one asked this morning, “When is this going to stop?” after I told him of the passing of one of our stalward members at PMC – Alex Costa – one of the best story tellers, passionate rallyist and one of the Tie-brigade. Always wore his tie when driving a […]
If I say I was not slightly worried when I first had a look at the completely revamped Toyota Yaris Theuns Joubert acquired – I will be lying. The car looked great – but we were supposed to get it set-up for a tar event the following day and it looked high and it sure […]
The FIA Rally Star project brings good news. If you’re between 17 and 25 and pretty sharp on DiRT, your virtual moment could be about to get real thanks to the FIA’s all-new Rally Star initiative. World motorsport’s governing body is chasing the next generation of talent to take them from grass roots right through […]
When the board of the holding company of Mercedes sits around the 12th of February, they are going to decide whether they should leave the F1 scene as constructor team. The team may then be rebranded as Aston Martin. The poor financial performance, objective to develop road-car technologies and their strife to reduce their environmental […]
Most Rallystar readers will know about the war of words between Steve Wyndham and MSA. Lots have been said and claimed by Steve and MSA’s first reply came from their CEO a short input from the current Chairman after they obtained an interim court Interdict silencing Wyndham. Quite a number of Wyndham supporters and […]
MSA seems all bright eyed and bushy tailed after obtaining what we hear is an interim order against Steve Wyndham. The press release they sent out appears below. From what one can read in this release neither MSA nor one single one of the six applicants for the interdict (they were not mentioned in the […]
All of us at Rallystar Motoring would like to wish you a blessed, healthy, properous and fun filled new year and at the same time hope that the third decade of this millenium will bring more joy than especially the one we are moving out of. We will still endeavour to bring you as much […]
Timmy Hansen was crowned as the 2019 FIA World Rallycross Champion a count-back of wins over Andreas Bakkerud at a breathtaking SABAT World Rallycross of South Africa at a sweltering Killarney International Raceway on Sunday. The Cape Town crowd was treated to a spectacular and bruising season finale as the two ended on even points […]
The Toyota driver Ott Tänak finished second overall on the RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de España, 17,2s behind Belgian rival Neuville to clinch the World Rally Championship crown. Tänak became the first Estonian to win the FIA World Rally Championship in a tense finale on Sunday afternoon. He snatched second place in the closing Wolf […]
OTT TÄNAK SEALS THE CHAMPIONSHIP … With one more rally to go, Ott Tänak has secured the 2019 World Rally Championship in Spain with the Australian Rally still to come. It was a brave effort from Neuville who truly had only an outside chance to pocket the championship. He started […]
If someone shouts, “Will the real World Rally Champion for 2019 please stand up,” few people will not look in the direction of Ott Tänak, before any one stands up. This morning before the start of the last leg on Rally Spain, the only driver with a bit of a risky, if not illogical mathematical […]
EGG IN THE FACE MOMENT FOR ME… When I wrote the previous article this morning before the RallyRacc Catalunya started, I said that I doubt Loeb would be able to pull off his 10th win in succession in Spain. Well to say the least, Sebastien Loeb made me look more stupid than the youngsters he […]
I suppose that what happens in 1m36s before or on a WRC rally does not say much, but the message was clear when Khris Meeke posted the fastest time on his third run, beating Dani Sordo by 0.3s and Jari-Matti Latvala by 0.7s. Ott Tanak is not world champion yet! If you are a betting […]
RallyRACC Catalunya – Rally de España Three days, seventeen special stages, three hundred and twenty five comma 56 Spanish stage kilometres and some serious luck, and then maybe lucky for him, Rally Australia stands between Ott Tänak and his maiden WRC title. Everything where a winner or champion is crowned has a Fat Lady […]
HAT IN HAND TIME AGAIN…after quite a number of years. If this was not necessary – I promise we would not have asked. Looking at the number of readers of the Rallystar website and Facebook page I can not help but smile. Thousands of people do read our reports on a daily basis and […]
OLIVER SOLBERG SECURES SECOND U.S. WIN AT SUSQUEHANNOCK TRAIL RALLY When you has it, you has it. I can just imagine what it is like to manage a 17 year old hot head driving a Subaru that goes like the proverbial clappers. That will be bad enough without him having won a previous event, after […]
BIRTHDAY BOY BRAD BINDER’S – BIG BASH! (11 August 2019) Leon Botha So used to something going wrong for us South Africans – due to many reasons of our own making, I was pleased to see “our” Brad Binder sitting on the front row of the Moto2 GP grid in Austria. Armed with a naartjie […]
This is worth a look. Dieter Zetsche the former CEO of Mercedes retired a day or so ago. BMW send him and the world this very funny message.
REDEFINING “THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK” I missed the first few words of the call, but heard…“Will you help this young man into rallies. He needs some training as he has never driven a rally car. He is from Uganda.” The phone was still not very clear – to be honest I believe the […]
THE CAPE OVERBERG GRAND PRIX The rally that has teeth behind its head as well, but can also place a soft hand on a rally driver’s shoulder when least expected. This is arguably the fastest rally in South Africa – especially after the Mountain Trial Rally in the North Cape disappeared from the scene. Johnny […]
Episode 2 – (die verhaal wat elke moeder hart sal roer – wie onthou nog Sprinbok Radio se middag stories?) VERDER DIE PAD AF – OPSOEK NA DIE PLAASBLITS Geskryf deur Leon Botha Ek het weer vanmiddag tydens besoek aan een van ons borge gesien hoe lojaal die manne aan die maak van die bakkies […]
BOEREPLAAS TOWERGROND – IEWERS RY DIE PLAASBLITS ROND [of dan – die pad tot by die kroning van Suid-Afrika se PlaasBlits] Geskryf deur Leon Botha Het jy al ooit varsoggend met die klipperige pad na die kraal gestap? Koue winter om jou kaal voete gevoel, stoom van beesmis, wat jy al van ver af kon […]
It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of one of the bigger role players in rallies over many, many years. Billy Bright is not with us anymore and I for one will sincerely miss him. His unexpected calls – that stopped about a year ago, his straightforward manner in calling a spade […]
The Geneva Motor Show is fast approaching. And so is the 10th anniversary for Danish supercar brand Zenvo. If everything aligns, perhaps we’ll get a glimpse of the brand’s eagerly anticipated hypercar the TS1 GT. While it already made an appearance at 2016’s Geneva Motor Show, here’s hoping lightning strikes twice in the same spot. […]
RALLYSTAR – THE RALLY PRO’S NEXT STEP IT IS A “MIND GAME” (mostly) So many people believe if you are a reasonably good driver and you can make a handbrake turn, then you are a racing – or goodness forbid a rally driver. The ability to drive a car obviously forms the biggest part of […]