The Ermelo-based Rally of South Africa, a mainstay on the South African Rally Championship calendar, was cancelled just days before the SASOL Rally last month.
The rallying and business fraternity combined their efforts to create the inaugural HMC Hencom Autobody Rally on 13 and 14 May, scheduled for the same dates as the original event to host Round Three of the Championship.
The rally will be based in Emalahleni (Witbank), with the Rally HQ at the Portuguese Club. Eleven stages and 180 competitive kilometers lie in wait for the rally teams, with the action on Day One taking in 45km and three fast speed tests in the Witbank area. Day Two offers competitors and spectators two gravel stages in the Witbank area before moving off to tackle high-speed gravel stages in the Bronkhorstspruit region before returning to the Portuguese Club for the finale.
“We are very grateful to the Highveld Motor Club and their members for stepping in at short notice to organise this event,” said Richard Leeke, president of the Motorsport South Africa Rally Commission. “The local community and businesses have been fantastic in pitching in to help make the HMC Hencom Autobody rally a success and we are confident it will meet the highest expectations of competitors and fans alike,” Leeke added.