Bathfield, Dippenaar rule rally battlefield

Loic Bathfield (Off-Road Challenge Class) and Wilro Dippenaar (Rally Class) won the 2023 Windhoek Shell V-Power Rally after 12 gruelling special stages totalling 108 kilometres in and around the capital.

The rally kicked off last Friday afternoon at the Tony Rust racetrack west of Windhoek, where both Bathfield and Dippenaar clinched the first special stage in two minutes and 28 seconds and two minutes and 17 seconds respectively.

The duo continued their winning streak in the last three stages of the day.

Dippenaar, with navigator Carolyn Swan in their S4 PZN Panelbeaters 4x4-Ford Fiesta R5, left Zachary Martin (S2 class) and Wido Bartsch (S2) in their wake, followed by Dippies Dippenaar (S4), Pieter Greeff (S1) and Gertjie Truter (S4).

Dippenaar concluded the previous evening with a lead of six minutes over Martin in the second place. Although Martin is an exceptionally talented racer, his J&P Hydraulics 2-litre 2x4 VW Polo did not have the traction or power to keep up with the flying Dippenaar.



Ferocious pace

On Friday, Bathfield was merely warming up in the CR1 class and getting the hang of his roaring seven-litre V8 7 African Gas Solutions 2x4 Century Racing CR6.

Ewald Bisschoff (four-litre V8 2x4 Toyota Hilux), Rian Kritzinger (four-litre V8 2x4 Nissan Hardbody), Willie Schoeman (2x4 Toyota Hilux GD6) and Ekko Eisenberg (four-litre V8 2x4 JAC double cab) tried to keep up with Bathfield’s ferocious pace.

Bathfield ended his day in the lead with 22:30, followed by Kritzinger (24:07), Eisenberg (25:24), Bisschoff (26:38), Schoeman (27:02) and Werner Bartsch (27:39).



Flawless performance

On Day 2, Dippenaar delivered a skilled and flawless performance to emerge victorious in a total time of 01:18:21. Martin came second with 01:27:58, while Wido Bartsch clocked in on 01:29:59 for the third spot.

However, Bathfield had such an exceptional day in the CR6’s cockpit that his performance even overshadowed Dippenaar’s winning time, which was quite an achievement by a driver in the Challenge Class. Bathfield registered a total time of 01:14:39 – a whopping four minutes and 18 seconds faster than Dippenaar!

Rian 'Sideways' Kritzinger came second in 01:24:22, followed by Eisenberg (01:28:50) in the third spot.

Bathfield started competitive racing during this year’s M + Z Motors Tara Rally and this was only his fifth competition. He and navigator Johan Steyn have since become an awesome combination to watch.

Meanwhile, brothers Ewald and Hein Bisschoff’s V8 Hilux had overheating problems, and Willie and SJ Schoeman also did not have a good race. The pairs ended fifth and sixth respectively in the Off-Road Class.

Ferdi Gericke and Natasha Smith (S4) could not start the rally. Paul Ackermann and Walter Kinnear did quite well in the CR1 2x4 Sand Master until gearbox problems in the first stage on Saturday morning forced them out of the competition.



Top results (S1 to S4)

Overall:

1 Wilro Dippenaar/Carolyn Swan (01:18:21)

2 Zachary Martin/Anique Schoeman (01:27:58)

3 Wido Bartsch/Raymond Fourie (01:29:59).



S4:

1 Wilro Dippenaar/Swan

2 Dippies Dippenaar/Myer Duraan (01:32:28)

3 Gertjie Truter/Louise Truter (01:44:44).



S2:

1 Martin/Schoeman

2 Bartsch/Fourie.



S1:

1 Pieter Greeff/JP Robinson (01:33:43) and fifth overall.



Results: Off-Road Challenge Class

Overall and CR1:

1 Loic Bathfield/Johan Steyn (01:14:39)

2 Rian Kritzinger/Ian Stander (01:24:22)

3 Ekko Eisenberg/Rassie Riets (01:28:50)



CR2:

1 Werner Bartsch/Christel Fourie (01:34:08), fourth overall in the Challenge Class.



• The last remaining leg of the Namibian national rally championship series will be hosted on 17 and 18 November by the Walvis Bay Motor Club over two days in and around Swakopmund.



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