New sponsor for forest race
YORK TIMBERS: BUSH OWNERS TAKE OVER SECOND LEG OF 2017 NATIONAL RALLY CHAMPS
New crossover bridge promises to ensure a spectacular finish.
The South African Motorsport Club (SAM) has announced that Mpumalanga forest owners York Timbers will be the new title sponsor of the second leg in the 2017 National Rally Championship (NRC).
The event, which will take place around Sabie and Graskop early in April, has long been regarded as one of the most scenic and spectacular rallies in South Africa.
It is doubtlessly the most popular forest racing event on the South African motorsport calendar among competitors, officials and spectators.
The NRC consists of seven events all over the country with each event organised by different clubs or committees.
The York Rally in Mpumalanga, organised by SAM, will form the second leg in the championship.
SAM, located in Pretoria, will be 60 years old next year, and previously received sponsorships for this event from Molyslip and NGK Spark Plugs with Sasol Energy as the main sponsor for the past 25 years.
“We are very grateful to Sasol for their support over the past 25 years,” said Willie du Plessis, the chairman of the South African Motorsport Club.
“With their help we managed to organise a true highlight on the motorsport calendar each year, but with the recent announcement that they will no longer be the main sponsor of the event, SAM was left with a huge predicament.”
As landowner of the routes for the rally, York Timbers was already heavily involved with the event and in partnership with local businesses including the Sabie and Graskop Business Chambers they stepped in to ensure the continuation of the rally.
“This rally has become an institution in the Lowveld each year and we couldn’t allow it to disappear,” said Piet van Zyl, CEO of York Timbers.
“This will be a major York Corporate Social Investment initiative that will also support the local communities. We look forward to making a difference in the environment where we operate.”
York Timbers owns 7 800 km of plantation roads and land, and has been a co-sponsor of the Rally for 25 years.
The new “grand finale” stage, with a crossover bridge built by York specifically for the Rally, was a first in 2016 and will grow to a spectacular feature of the event in 2017.
The York Rally will kick off in Sabie on Friday 21 April.
After a tough test for competitors in the York forests around Sabie and Graskop, the rally will end with the spectacle of the “grand finale” stage on the outskirts of