“Absolutely brilliant! Years of hard work have finally come to fruition,” said a chuffed Don Lee, chairman of the Albany Vintage and Classic Motor Club, which won the club trophy for the first time in last weekend’s D&A Timbers 13th OD Inggs Memorial Run.
“Absolutely brilliant! Years of hard work have finally come to fruition,” said a chuffed Don Lee, chairman of the Albany Vintage and Classic Motor Club, which won the club trophy for the first time in last weekend’s D&A Timbers 13th OD Inggs Memorial Run.
The event saw 29 vintage and classic cars traversing across the Eastern Cape while their navigators and drivers tapped on calculators, counted white lines and tried to pass landmarks at just the right time.
Although an officially registered motorsport event, this rally rewards driving accuracy rather than speed. Competitors receive route schedules half an hour prior to their departure times (at one minute apart).
The schedules indicate numerous required speed changes and times at which certain landmarks must be arrived at along the way, often only seconds apart. Speedometers are covered up with tape, and the average speed required never exceeds 90 km/h.
Marshals are dotted along the route, dishing out penalty points for each second that a competitor is early or late.
First place went to Grahamstonians Neville and Sue Koch in their 1975 Alfa Spyder, notching up just 193 penalty points.
Excruciatingly close behind in second place were Colin and Anne Meyer in their 1957 Mercedes Benz 190 SL, with 197 points, while third place went to Peter and Julie Bolze in a 1973 Rolls Royce, with a penalty of 251.
Saturday’s morning session started at the Grahamstown Golf Club and took competitors through to Alicedale for lunch, while the afternoon session ended in Port Alfred at St Andrew’s Lodge.
Sunday’s run consisted of a morning session only, venturing out to the Bira Craft and Cottage Kitchen before returning to the lodge for lunch and prizegiving.
A few reliability problems were encountered during the course of the event: Rodney and Ruth Idris battled with fuel starvation in their 1951 Morris Minor on day 1, while Errol Michel and Bill Odendaal had ignition problems with their 1960 Lancia Appia on day two.
Mike Newlands’ 1975 Alfa Spyder suffered a fractured sump and could not start on the second day. The OD Inggs Memorial Run is held annually in honour of classic automobile enthusiast Oliver Douglas Inggs who passed away at the age of 88 in 1997.
Inggs ran a funeral business in Grahamstown and was one of the greatest collectors and restorers of old automobiles in Southern Africa. The run is entered by members of the Albany Vintage and Classic Motor Club (hosts), the Queenstown Motor Club, the Border Vintage Car Club and the EP Vintage Car Club.
Clerk of the course, Des Hill, who has the unenviable job of ensuring that the run complies with all the relevant motorsport regulations, said that this year’s rally, which saw the usual mix of competition and fun, was a resounding success. “We seem to do one better every year.
There’s always a lot of fun, always someone pulling someone’s leg. It’s good to meet up again with people you’ve met on previousrallies.
We owe a big thank you to our sponsor, D&A Timbers.” The Port Alfred-based Albany Vintage and Classic Motor Club has 18 members from Grahamstown. Joining does not require you to have such a vehicle – an interest is all that’s necessary.
To find out more about the club’s activities, contact the chairman, Don Lee on 046 624 1815.
