Ross and Roxanne Bartle delivered a performance packed with grit, speed and determination at the Algoa National Rally, battling through some of the toughest conditions of the event to claim a remarkable third place overall in Friday’s round six of the National Championship.
The siblings, campaigning their Indy-backed, 1l turbocharged VW Polo, proved that neither difficult roads nor relentless weather would stand in their way as they took on the Longmore Forest stages and roads around Despatch and Kariega.
Their third-place national finish on Friday was the standout result of a demanding weekend.
Saturday brought another fierce challenge, with the Bartles finishing 11th in round seven as persistent rain transformed the rally into a genuine battle of survival.
For Ross and Roxanne Bartle, the Algoa National Rally was a weekend that demanded commitment from the opening stage to the final kilometre.
Their strong Friday result and hard-fought Saturday performance underline the challenge presented by an event where the conditions were as much a part of the story as the competition itself.
The weather had already thrown down the gauntlet before the first competitive kilometres were driven.
Consistent rain in the days leading up to the event left the rally roads in extremely challenging condition.
The Algoa Rally Club organising committee faced a mammoth task to get the roads graded and suitable for rallying, pulling out all the stops to prepare the stages for competitors.
Then came Saturday’s persistent rain.
Conditions deteriorated further and added another dimension to an already demanding event, testing crews, machinery and concentration.
By the end, simply making it through the stages had become an achievement in itself.
The overall results are:
Round 6
National Championship: 1 Benjamin Habig/Barry White — VW Polo; 2 Dawie van der Merwe/Matt Kohler — VW Polo; 3 Ross Bartle/Roxanne Bartle — VW Polo
Regional Championship: 1 Dawie van der Merwe/Matt Kohler — VW Polo; 2 Ross Bartle/Roxanne Bartle — VW Polo; 3 Oliver de Man/Malcolm de Man — Toyota Auris
Club Championship: 1 Owen Jones/Aiden Bredenkamp — Subaru Impreza; 2 Warren Scholtz/Justin Gay — Subaru Impreza; 3 Francois Vermaak/Handre van Schalkwyk — VW Golf
Round 7
National Championship: 1 Jono van Wyk/Nico Swartz — VW Polo; 2 Benjamin Habig/Barry White — VW Polo; 3 Chris Coertse/Carolyn Swan — Mazda 3
Regional Championship: 1 Dawie van der Merwe/Matt Kohler — VW Polo; 2 Juan van Rooyen/Cailyn van Rooyen — Ford Fiesta; 3 Jeandre Marais/Henry Adams — Toyota Etios
Club Championship: 1 Owen Jones/Aiden Bredenkamp — Subaru Impreza; 2 Rupert van Zyl/Yvette van Zyl — VW Polo; 3 Neels Vosloo Jnr/Mark Irvine — Toyota Conquest
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