Ballito petrolheads leave competition in the dust

Ballito’s flag was flying high at the Tour Natal Rally that was held on the South Coast near Scottburgh.

Christian Revival Church pastor and driver Hanno Ehlers and his navigator and mechanic Kevin Cunningham raced to third place in their class on February 27 and 28.

Ehlers and Cunningham have only been racing in rallies for almost two years and are very happy with the result.

They drove a Toyota Corolla in the NRC 2 class, which is the national rally championship class for vehicles made before 2000.

“This was a great result. In fact it was just amazing to be able to finish the race!” said Cunningham who owns Kev’s Auto in Ballito.

Cunningham said it was quite difficult to train for the events.

“We compete provincially because we cannot afford to travel and take part in all the other events around the country.”

“Luckily we have guys like Talisman Hire who help us out with sponsoring and make it possible to compete,” he said.

They compete in the KZN Rally Sprint Series and try to get some time behind the wheel on some of the farms’ dirt roads on the North Coast.

With Cunningham as the mechanic, they save a lot of time and money with him fixing up the car in his garage.

“Ehlers sits behind the wheel and help with finances while I make sure the car drives smoothly,” said Cunningham.

He said playing the role of navigator is quite tricky.

“It gets difficult because everything happens at such a high speed so you need to know your notes on the course really well,” he said.

Cunningham said it is important to also know and understand your driver.

“We are good friends and we are huge petrolheads so it is a good combination,” he said.

Ehlers and Cunningham will race in their next rally sprint race on March 28 in New Hanover.