The Henties Bay Rally recently held in the coastal town provided another tough test for Namibia’s rally crews, with competitors battling challenging stages as the national championship season continues.

Zachary Martin and navigator Anique Schoeman powered to victory at the 2026 JAC Henties Bay Rally, claiming an important result in the third round of the Namibian National Rally Championship.

Driving car number 43, Martin completed the eight-stage event in an overall time of 58 minutes 35 seconds, finishing ahead of Donovan Vermaak and Len Folscher, who clocked 1:02:00.

For Martin and Schoeman, their victory adds valuable momentum to their championship campaign, while the strong performances across the different classes highlighted the depth of rallying talent competing in Namibia.

Kai Pretorius and Oliver Pretorius took third place in the Rally Class in 1:02:57, while Zirk Jansen and Yolande Engels de Lange finished fourth in 1:24:11 after time penalties.

The event also produced a strong performance in the Challenge Class, where Mathys Pretorius and navigator Anja Pretorius claimed victory in a CR3-class car with a provisional time of 56:34.

Steven Marnewick and Roche Louw finished second in 58:34, followed by Werner Bartsch and Christel Fourie in 59:51. SJ Schoeman and Chane Havenga were fourth in 1:01:25, with Ekko Eisenberg and Horazio Rietz fifth in 1:01:46.

Rossouw Bezuidenhout and Michael Maritz finished sixth in 1:04:18, while Chrizelda Kritzinger and Ruan de Lange completed the listed Challenge Class finishers in seventh in 1:10:52. In the Super Rally category, Stefan Bartsch and Alexa Montagu-Fryer took first place in 1:12:43, ahead of Pieter Greeff and JP Robinson in 1:26:02.

The demanding eight-stage rally also saw several crews fail to complete the event. Jaco Coetzer and Koos Coetzer, as well as Wido Bartsch and Raymond Fourie, were listed as Did Not Finish, while George Coetzee and Jannie Coetzee were excluded.

By Rudi Bowe