DURBAN, KZN, 8 MARCH 2017 – On the 3rd of March 2017, Race 9 of the FNB Surfski Series took place at the Marine Surf Lifesaving Club on Addington Beach in Durban.
The overcast conditions favoured flatwater speed over downwind skills. Multiple marathon World Champ and Jeep Team paddler, Hank McGregor, teamed up with his wife, Pippa McGregor, for the penultimate leg of the series.
The McGregor’s made the mixed doubles race their own from the start, finishing with a winning time of 31m55s. They were followed by Jenna Ward and Luke Nisbet, who finished in 32m38s, and Donna Tutton and Shaun Burgin in third with a time of 32m58s.
Jeep Team member Barry Lewin finished 6th in the men’s long course race. Lewin finished the race in a time of 33m47s.
Following their win on Friday, Hank and Pippa McGregor made their way to Johannesburg on Saturday the 4th of March 2017, to participate in the 2017 Gauteng High-Altitude Surfski Championships hosted by Dabulamanzi Canoe Club at Emmarentia Dam.
The event attracted 141 paddlers who set out to take on the 10km simulated surf race. Boats and jet skis take to the water causing a stir in the dam, culminating in large waves, which mimic that of the sea.
The race attracted many high-profile paddlers including the 2016 World Surfski Series Champions, Hank McGregor (Jeep Team SA) and Hayley Nixon, Olympic medallist, Bridgitte Hartley, and seven-time Dusi winner, Andy Birkett.
The McGregor husband-and-wife pair finished second overall in a time of 44m36.80s. Wayne Jacobs and Dave Hamilton-Brown took first place in 43m46.09s, and third place went to Andy Birkett and Colin Wilson in a time of 45m30.75s.
Other Jeep Team News
Mountain Biking
The 2017 NISSAN TrailSeeker Series, one of the most well-known and long-standing MTB races nationwide, kicked off at Legends MX in Gauteng on the 4th of March.
Jeep Team mountain biker, Pierre Smith, participated in the Nissan Trailseeker GP 1 – 70km marathon, which saw 744 riders taking part.
The Nissan Trailseeker Marathons are notoriously tough with numerous sharp turns, long, tough climbs and fast downhills.
Smith finished some 11 minutes off the winners in 23rd overall in a time of 02:36:20 and was 11th in the Senior category.
The top 4 winners in the marathon saw Nico Bell winning the finish line sprint in a time of 02:25:21 with Philip Buys (2nd), Max Knox (3rd) and Arno du Toit (4th) with one second between each of them.
Men’s Marathon winners
Nico Bell 02:25:21 (Sub Vet)
Philip Buys 02:25:22 (Senior)
Max Knox 02:25:23 (Sub Vet)
Arno du Toit 02:25:24 (Senior)
Women’s Marathon Winners
Theresa Ralph 02:42:39 (Vet)
Vanessa Bell 02:44:41 (Sub Vet)
Adrienne Moolman 02:58:33 (Sub Vet)
Kristen Louw 02:58:54 (Senior)
The next Nissan TRAILSEEKER – Western Cape Series #1, is in Tulbagh, Western Cape on the 29 April 2017
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— Arrive Alive (@_ArriveAlive) March 8, 2017