Jan Habig Rallying

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Garden Route to be 2013 finale

04 November

The 2013 South African Rally Championship will come to an end with the Garden Route Rally in the Western Cape on 15 and 16 November after eight action-packed and fiercely-contested rounds in six different provinces.

The Garden Route Mall, conveniently situated close to George Airport and the junction of the N2 freeway and the Knysna road, will host rally headquarters, the start and finish on both days and also the event's sole service park.

Clerk of the Course Joe Fourie promises a tough, technical route that will take competitors from the start in George on Friday to the Wilderness and back to George for the overnight stop.

"Thanks to the generosity and co-operation of the land owners, who include Cape Pine for the use of their forests, we once again have a rally that will truly test both driver and co-driver and will be worthy of what has been one of the best rally championships we've had for years," said Fourie, of the Algoa Motor Sport Club in Port Elizabeth, who are organising the event on behalf of the National Rally Commission.

"This is our third visit to George and the Garden Route for our rally and we have to thank the local authorities, including municipal, traffic and police, for their enthusiastic co-operation in assisting us obtain the necessary permissions, without which we could not bring this popular sporting event to the local fans."

There will be a total of 12 gravel special stages over the two days, five on Friday and seven on Saturday, covering a competitive distance of some 180 kilometres, with the liaison stages adding another 270 kilometres. The longest stages are two and three on Friday, covering a distance of some 22 kilometres each. The shortest is Friday's opening stage of five kilometres, which is situated just 400 metres from the Garden Route Mall. This will also be the final stage on Saturday.

The events start at the Garden Route Mall at 11:00 on Friday before the competitors cross the N2 after the opening stage and on to two challenging stages in the Karatara Forest between George and Knysna. The first day, which covers the same route as last year's event, ends after two more special stages in the Wilderness area and a liaison section back to George.

The rally will restart on Saturday morning at 07:00 with the opening special stage six (repeated as stage nine) utilising part of the historic Montagu Pass, the first time this pass has been used in a rally for some 20 years. This means it will be a new experience for most, if not all, the competitors.

Two new stages follow in the Outeniqua Mountains. Stage seven (Koesterbos, repeated as stage 10) is a 15-kilometre test and stage eight (Jonkersberg, repeated as stage 11) covers 18 kilometres. The final stage, a repeat of Friday's short opening stage alongside the Garden Route Mall, will finish around 14:45 and will be followed by a podium prize-giving at 16:00.

Spectators will be well catered for and guides giving details of safe vantage points as well as information about the competitors and the championship can be downloaded at www.sarallying.co.za and will be available at the start at the Garden Route Mall.

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