By Roger Houghton
The DJ Rally is an event that attracts crowds both at the start in Hillcrest, KZN as well as at the finish in Benoni. This is an iconic South African event which has been run annually since 1970 except for 1974, due to fuel restrictions, and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This year’s iTOO-sponsored event was the 53rd in the series. It took competitors from the Hillcrest Shopping Centre, outside Durban, to the Benoni Northerns Sports Club on 14-15 March.
The weather this year was reasonable for riding, with some light rain and low temperatures, but fortunately the heavy rains in KwaZulu-Natal had fallen the day before the start, so the route was unaffected.
The bikes are all around the 90 year old mark or older and the event is run in commemoration of the original Durban to Johannesburg bike race back in the 1930’s, when tarred roads were few and far between.
A lot of the race consisted of racing down dirt farm tracks, opening and closing farm gates and making sure you understood topography and had a good sense of direction, because one wrong turn on an unmarked dirt path could have you end up lost in the Orange Free State somewhere.
Gavin Walton, of Springs, notched up his seventh win in the Durban-Johannesburg (DJ) regularity rally for classic motorcycles made prior to 1937, when he recorded a score of 289 for the two day event.
Walton (64), who once again rode his trusty, 1936 model 500 cc AJS, has equaled the late Kevin Robertson with seven wins.
Runner-up was Adrian Hollis (1935 500 cc Sunbeam Lion) with a score of 328.
Scores are made up of the seconds early or late at the various control points on the route, of which there were 38 on each of the two days.
Hollis, who rode his first DJ in 1992, got a special award this year as the rider who has finished the most DJ Rallies. He is also a previous unofficial winner of the DJ Rally. In 2000, he took first place riding a sidecar combination with a 600 cc Sunbeam motorcycle and Michelle Lange in the sidecar. However, a sidecar combination did not qualify for overall victory and the win that year went to Leo Middelberg on a 1936 Velocette.
This year, third place was filled by Martin Kaiser, on a 1934 500 cc Sunbeam, with a score of 411. Fourth was Mike Venables on a 1933 BSA Blue Star, Fifth was Ryan Duncan on a 1934 500 cc Norton 18.
In 2025, there were 53 finishers from an original entry of 76 riders. Benita Palmer, on a 1935 250 cc Rudge Rapid, was highest placed of the five women entrants, finishing 27th overall.
Justin Langley on a 1936 500 cc Ariel Red Hunter was the highest placed of the nine first time entrants taking 15th position.
The oldest rider to complete the race was Clifford le Roux (87), who rode a 1936 AJS, and finished 49th.
The oldest motorcycle to complete the course was the 1921 1000 cc Harley Davidson ridden by Hans Coertse with his daughter, Camilla Hyson in the sidecar. They placed 14th.
Neville Smith, the oldest entrant at 89, was involved in a collision on the way to the start and ended up in hospital with five broken ribs. Another competitor, Jaycee van Rooyen, gave up his ride to look after his friend.
Trevor Binder, the father of MotoGP riders Brad and Darryn, was once again a competitor on the DJ, finishing 31st on his 1925 600 cc Indian Scout.
The organisers of this year’s event, particularly route director Martin Davis, came in for high praise, with Larina MacGregor, having taken over the Clerk of the Course role from Gwyneth Cronje only two weeks prior to the start.
“It was a most enjoyable event, with tough competition over an excellent route,” is how winner Gavin Walton summed up the two days.
Brian Noik, the chairman of the promoters, the Vintage and Veteran Club of South Africa (VVC), said in conclusion:
“We thank our main sponsors iTOO for their support, and all our benefactors and supporters. We also wish Neville Smith a speedy recovery and thank Hans Hartmann, of KwaZulu-Natal Private Ambulance, for their quick response to the accident. We also would like to thank the municipalities, police, and traffic departments from the areas the route passes through, for their support.”
