Dust kings on top of their game

4x4 Vasbyt
The December Vasbyt at the coast is an event on the Namibian motorsport calendar that simply can't be missed!
Tielman Van Lill
The annual December 4x4 Vasbyt delivered the full Monty on Saturday 30 December, with 18 teams in three classes challenged to conquer ten obstacle courses at the old oval track a stone's throw east of Walvis Bay.

The well-attended action-packed event managed to test the experienced teams to their limits. The competition was completed entirely on location with no dune riding.

The South African pair of Izak and Johan Maritz was the only team that could bag the maximum of 600 points by winning all then challenges in the E Class. Their roaring V8 is an unstoppable, purpose-built 4x4 demon valued at N$2 million, and was a sight to experience. Die-hard dirt enthusiast Izak towed his 4x4 beast all the way from Gauteng on a trailer to compete at the final Vasbyt for 2023 in Walvis Bay. This vehicle is in a class of its own and had no competition in Namibia.

Rico Bothma and co-driver Jossie Maritz clinched the overall title with 550 points, securing first place in the C Class, followed by Morné Oosthuysen and Christiaan Labuschagne on 490 points that had to settle for second place. Third place overall went to Dolf Bothma and Jossie Maritz who won the D Class with 470 points, while Floris Steenkamp senior and Floris Steenkamp junior took third place in the C Class with 460 points.

The competition concluded at the tyre and mud pits - a huge crowd pleaser. In the former, competitors had to negotiate their way in a straight line over loose tyres and while it may look easy at first glance, this proved to be extremely challenging.

The mud pit was by far the tamest obstacle. With a somewhat dry challenge, the custom-built 4x4s did not have much trouble getting through this one.



Results by class

C: 1. R. Bothma/J. Maritz (550); 2. Oosthuysen/Labuschagne (490); 3. Steenkamp/Steenkamp (460).

D: 1. D. Bothma/J. Maritz; 2. Francois du Plessis/Loraine du Plessis (440); 3. Herman Theron/Nico Theron (420).

E: 1. Maritz/Maritz (600); 2. Michel Hudson/Dupie Kern (500); 3. Corrie Hudson/Robbie Hudson (380). – [email protected]

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Namibian Sun 2024-11-13

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Premier League: Chelsea 1 vs 1 Arsenal | Tottenham Hotspur 1 vs 2 Ipswich Town | Nottingham Forest 1 vs 3 Newcastle | Manchester United 3 vs 0 Leicester City Katima Mulilo: 20° | 27° Rundu: 20° | 33° Eenhana: 21° | 35° Oshakati: 23° | 35° Ruacana: 23° | 35° Tsumeb: 22° | 32° Otjiwarongo: 19° | 30° Omaruru: 20° | 35° Windhoek: 18° | 33° Gobabis: 20° | 32° Henties Bay: 14° | 22° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 07:06, High tide: 13:31, Low Tide: 19:42, High tide: 02:00 Swakopmund: 14° | 16° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:04, High tide: 13:29, Low Tide: 19:40, High tide: 02:00 Walvis Bay: 14° | 22° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:04, High tide: 13:28, Low Tide: 19:40, High tide: 02:00 Rehoboth: 18° | 33° Mariental: 19° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 20° | 36° Aranos: 19° | 35° Lüderitz: 18° | 36° Ariamsvlei: 18° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 31° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 20° | 29° Lubumbashi: 18° | 33° Mbabane: 12° | 17° Maseru: 13° | 25° Antananarivo: 17° | 33° Lilongwe: 22° | 30° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 18° | 33° Cape Town: 14° | 23° Durban: 17° | 19° Johannesburg: 15° | 25° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 18° | 28° Harare: 16° | 23° Currency: GBP to NAD 22.84 | EUR to NAD 19.08 | CNY to NAD 2.5 | USD to NAD 18.02 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.36 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.13 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 133.08 | USD to AOA 918.14 | USD to BWP 13.62 | USD to EGP 49.27 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1654.88 | USD to ZAR 18.02 | USD to ZMW 27.33 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1851.79 Down -1.41% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14650.02 Down -0.28% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 31582.39 Down -0.12% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9879.51 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 612.09/OZ UP +0.50% | Copper US$ 4.13/lb DOWN -0.0017 | Zinc US$ 2 970.00/T UP 0.6% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 72.36/BBP UP +0.52% | Platinum US$ 944.02/OZ UP +0.00% Sport results: Premier League: Chelsea 1 vs 1 Arsenal | Tottenham Hotspur 1 vs 2 Ipswich Town | Nottingham Forest 1 vs 3 Newcastle | Manchester United 3 vs 0 Leicester City Weather: Katima Mulilo: 20° | 27° Rundu: 20° | 33° Eenhana: 21° | 35° Oshakati: 23° | 35° Ruacana: 23° | 35° Tsumeb: 22° | 32° Otjiwarongo: 19° | 30° Omaruru: 20° | 35° Windhoek: 18° | 33° Gobabis: 20° | 32° Henties Bay: 14° | 22° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: S, Low tide: 07:06, High tide: 13:31, Low Tide: 19:42, High tide: 02:00 Swakopmund: 14° | 16° Wind speed: 19km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:04, High tide: 13:29, Low Tide: 19:40, High tide: 02:00 Walvis Bay: 14° | 22° Wind speed: 23km/h, Wind direction: SW, Low tide: 07:04, High tide: 13:28, Low Tide: 19:40, High tide: 02:00 Rehoboth: 18° | 33° Mariental: 19° | 35° Keetmanshoop: 20° | 36° Aranos: 19° | 35° Lüderitz: 18° | 36° Ariamsvlei: 18° | 35° Oranjemund: 14° | 31° Luanda: 25° | 26° Gaborone: 20° | 29° Lubumbashi: 18° | 33° Mbabane: 12° | 17° Maseru: 13° | 25° Antananarivo: 17° | 33° Lilongwe: 22° | 30° Maputo: 19° | 26° Windhoek: 18° | 33° Cape Town: 14° | 23° Durban: 17° | 19° Johannesburg: 15° | 25° Dar es Salaam: 26° | 32° Lusaka: 18° | 28° Harare: 16° | 23° Economic Indicators: Currency: GBP to NAD 22.84 | EUR to NAD 19.08 | CNY to NAD 2.5 | USD to NAD 18.02 | DZD to NAD 0.13 | AOA to NAD 0.02 | BWP to NAD 1.28 | EGP to NAD 0.36 | KES to NAD 0.14 | NGN to NAD 0.01 | ZMW to NAD 0.65 | ZWL to NAD 0.04 | BRL to NAD 3.13 | RUB to NAD 0.18 | INR to NAD 0.21 | USD to DZD 133.08 | USD to AOA 918.14 | USD to BWP 13.62 | USD to EGP 49.27 | USD to KES 129.2 | USD to NGN 1654.88 | USD to ZAR 18.02 | USD to ZMW 27.33 | USD to ZWL 321 | Stock Exchange: JSE All Share Index Same 0 | Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX) Overall Index 1851.79 Down -1.41% | Casablanca Stock Exchange (CSE) MASI 14650.02 Down -0.28% | Egyptian Exchange (EGX) 30 Index 31582.39 Down -0.12% | Botswana Stock Exchange (BSE) DCI 9879.51 Same 0 | NSX: MTC 7.75 SAME | Anirep 8.99 SAME | Capricorn Investment group 17.34 SAME | FirstRand Namibia Ltd 49 DOWN 0.50% | Letshego Holdings (Namibia) Ltd 4.1 UP 2.50% | Namibia Asset Management Ltd 0.7 SAME | Namibia Breweries Ltd 31.49 UP 0.03% | Nictus Holdings - Nam 2.22 SAME | Oryx Properties Ltd 12.1 UP 1.70% | Paratus Namibia Holdings 11.99 SAME | SBN Holdings 8.45 SAME | Trustco Group Holdings Ltd 0.48 SAME | B2Gold Corporation 47.34 DOWN 1.50% | Local Index closed 677.62 UP 0.12% | Overall Index closed 1534.6 DOWN 0.05% | Osino Resources Corp 19.47 DOWN 2.41% | Commodities: Gold US$ 2 612.09/OZ UP +0.50% | Copper US$ 4.13/lb DOWN -0.0017 | Zinc US$ 2 970.00/T UP 0.6% | Brent Crude Oil US$ 72.36/BBP UP +0.52% | Platinum US$ 944.02/OZ UP +0.00%