Pretoria mourns rally champion
“He [Jan] will be remembered as the King of rallying, a tough rival and a role model for sportsmen. R.I.P my old enemy, mentor and friend."
Condolences are pouring in after the murder of rally champion Jan Hettema on his smallholding east of Pretoria.
Many in and around Pretoria wrote messages of condolences on social media.
BREKENDE NUUS: Die sanger Helena Hettema se pa, Jan, is vroeg vanoggend op sy kleinhoewe doodgeskiet. @itsmeroz #Plaasmoord
— Netwerk24 (@Netwerk24) June 29, 2016
https://twitter.com/markdyoungsa/status/748473488361537536
Hettema (83) was killed in a robbery on his smallholding in Cullinan on Wednesday.
Jan’s former rally driving competitor Sarel van der Merwe said on social media: “He [Jan] will be remembered as the King of rallying, a tough rival and a role model for sportsmen. R.I.P. my old enemy, mentor and friend.”
Well-known as “Mr Economy Run”, having successfully competed in several Total economy run events, Hettema is survived by his wife Elsa, son Sean and daughter Helena.
Hettema also represented South Africa in competitive cycling.
He obtained Springbok cycling colours in 1955 after representing South Africa at the World Cycling Championships in Rome. Hettema also took part in the Olympic Games in Australia in 1956.
Hettema had more than 100 road rallies under the belt and won the South African Rally Championship five times.
He earned a lifetime achievement award from Motorsport SA in 2003.
Attempts to contact his singer daughter Helena were unsuccessful.
The last message on Facebook from Helena was a post where she informed the public of her singing schedule and that she would be performing at the Sir Herbert in Pretoria on the 2 July 2016.
Also read:
A rally legend killed in Pretoria
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