UPCOMING DJ RALLY
This year’s DJ Rally, which commemorates the road race held between Durban and Johannesburg from 1913-1936, is the 53rd of these regularity rallies which began in 1970 and have been held annually except for 1974 (fuel restrictions) and 2021 (Covid). In keeping with the historic nature of this event the competing motorcycles must have been made before 1936.
Gavin Walton, of Springs, is strongly favoured to score a seventh win in the iTOO VVC DJ (Durban-Johannesburg) Rally for classic motorcycles, when he takes the start of the 2025 event in Hillcrest, outside Durban, on 14 March. Not only has he won this prestigious event in 2009, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, and 2024 but he also put up a phenomenal performance in the recent Pre-DJ Rally, scoring a total of only 52 seconds error at 11 control points. Mike Venables was second with 106 penalty points.
Clerk of the Course Gwyneth Cronje has received entries from riders of 76 motorcycles and two sidecar combinations for the 2025 DJ Rally. “We are delighted at the support because we know how costs have risen, which ruled out many of the previous competitors who came from the Western Cape,” commented Gwyneth, whose late husband, Pierre, had been both an enthusiastic DJ competitor and Clerk of the Course.
The field this year includes nine first timers – Lloyd Weber from Zimbabwe, Robert Cantwell, Candice Truda, Helen Nicolau, Brian Bontekoning, Michael Buchan (the youngest rider at the age of 21), Justin Langley, Jason le Roux, and Claude Oberholzer. The oldest rider is Neville Smith aged 89.
From the start at 06:00 on Friday in Hillcrest, the route takes competitors to refuels in Pietermaritzburg and Mooi River and a lunch stop in Estcourt before an overnight stop in Newcastle. The restart is at 07:00, with the route taking the riders over the Majuba and Laingsnek passes to Volksrust for a refuel. The next refuel is in Standerton and then there is a lunch stop and final refuel in Balfour. The first competitor is expected to arrive finish at the finish at the Benoni Northerns Sports Club at 14:00.
The 2025 DJ Rally is organised by a group of people from several Gauteng motorcycle clubs on behalf of the Vintage and Veteran Club of South Africa. Keep an eye out for them!
