Author: Stephen Penney

Volvo to contend for Year title The Volvo S90 has been announced as a finalist in the fight for the 2018 WesBank South African Car of the Year (COTY) title. Building on the strong foundation laid by the new-generation Volvo XC90, which was launched in South Africa in 2015 and won the local COTY crown in 2016, the S90 introduced the latest and greatest of Swedish luxury, safety, design and technology to the large sedan segment in South Africa, early this year. A high level of standard equipment in all derivatives, which includes full-LED smart headlights, semi-autonomous driving technology, automatic…

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Glenn Koch and Quest teammate, Grant Pentalow from Johannesburg won the Quest Spirit Award at the end of the 2017 Honda’s Quest-True Adventure. According to Jaco Kirsten, Media Manager for Specialised Adventures, “they were always in good spirits, no matter how tough the conditions, and remained loyal and supportive teammates right to the very end”. Koch, owner of Wesson’s Grahamstown, said he found out about the Quest on social media and applied and before he knew it he was one of the top 20 selected to take part, in what he described as an “epic adventure run like a Swiss…

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The annual Oldenburgia Trail Run took place on Mountain Drive on Saturday in wet and windy conditions. The poor weather conditions forced organisers to shorten the 30km trail run to 18km and the 15km runners joined the 8km trail run. Both events started from Makana Resort at the foot of Mountain Drive, with a total of 79 athletes completing the two distances. Overall winner in the 18km was Leo Sorense who finished in 1:37:55. Second overall and first Grahamstown athlete home was Rhodes University student Jonathan Benjamin, who finished in 1:48:52. He was followed by Graeme Renard in 1:51:56. Women’s winner…

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Not many people were that enamoured with a draw against Australia in the Rugby Championship last week, but it would surely be a result many would happily accept for this weekend’s Springbok clash in New Zealand. Three away wins since the Springboks’ return to the world stage in 1994 is all they have to show for their efforts in New Zealand and to say they would be upsetting the odds if they conjured up a fourth victory is an understatement. Yet the Boks, despite some costly errors against the Wallabies, are much stronger mentally than a year ago and they…

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Grahamstown’s Glenn Koch, owner of Wesson’s, is one of 20 participants of the Honda Quest 2017 which set off from the Namibian capital of Windhoek on 5 September, heading for the majestic Spitzkoppe, along a scenic 350km route of mostly gravel roads that gives everyone the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the Honda CRF 1000L Africa Twins for over 11 days and 2500km. While the excitement was palpable before the start, there was also a sense of unease among the competitors, as no-one knew who their team mate would be. For some this could be a make or break situation,…

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Volkswagen achieves International ISO Certifications During the annual OHSE and Quality audits conducted by lead auditors from Tuev Nord and Volkswagen AG, Volkswagen Group South Africa (VWSA) was again awarded the ISO 9001:2015 certification and successfully transitioned to the new VDA 6.1:2016 certification. VWSA also obtained extensions on current system certifications, namely ISO 14001, ISO 50001 and BS: OHSAS 18001. This annual VWSA Management System audit shows that the company is compliant with the latest international standards. In addition, VWSA has also been re-certified to the Conformity of Production standards (German National and International Road Traffic Legislation – KBA). This…

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A number of Grahamstonians took part in the the Nutritech East Cape Championships in Port Elizabeth over the past weekend, representing The Fitness Box with CrossFit Grahamstown. Renette Kleinhans travelled with the team to photograph the action.

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CLUBS CROSSFIT The Fitness Box with CrossFit Grahamstown members at the Nutritech East Cape Championships (NECC): Rx men individual: Justin Holliday result 6/12 Rx women individual: Emma Olley result 2/3 Scaled men individual: Dale Edwards 13/26 Scaled women individual: Nadja Fredericks 6/17; Sharika van Dyk 8/17; Rx Super Teams: Nutritech (sponsored) Rat Pack consisting of Justin Holliday, Emma Olley, Alan Foulis from Cape Town and former CrossFit Grahamstown coach Gemma Rader – result 2/3 Scaled teams: team Unicorn (Sharika van Dyk, Nadja Fredericks, Dale Edwards, Harley Searle) 3/25; team Rusty Old Thrusters (Simon van der Merwe, Ryan Palmer, Rose Palmer,…

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Three Grahamstown athletes are off to Potchefstroom this weekend for the ASA Cross Country Championships on Saturday (9 September). Malibongwe Mbelu, Jene Banfield and Terri-Lynn Penney, all members of Grahamstown based Run/Walk For life Athletics Club, are part of the Eastern province team. The three took part in a number of EPA cross-country events around the province, as part of the selection criteria. The cross country champs caters for male and female athletes from U9 up to 65 plus categories. Apart from the category events, there are also the senior events, which will see South Africa’s top men and women…

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CLUBS RUNNING Grahamstown Parkrun, Event Number 153, 2nd September 2017 This Week 105 People Ran, Jogged And Walked The Course, Of Whom 3 Were First Timers And 10 Recorded New Personal Bests. The Event Was Made Possible By 9 Volunteers: Alistair Barker • Billy Morgan • Peter Stockwell • Liz Gowans • Andrew Hunter • Jobst Bodenstein • Peter Wentworth • Mark Hazell • Shane Hazell Male Placings: Melikhaya Jacobs Was First Over The Line In 20:32 – 10th Time In 19 Appearances. Dustin Wynne Was Second Over The Line In 22:36. Scott Wilson Was Third Over The Line In…

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