The famous Durban to Johannesburg motorcycle race may have been stopped by the authorities in 1936 but the spirit of this arduous event continues in the form of a commemorative regularity run between these two cities. The 2020 DJ Run will mark the 50th anniversary of this trial which was staged for the first time in 1970.
The 2020 event is open to riders on any motorcycle or sidecar combination made on or before December 1936 in line with the timing of the discontinuation of this amazing race, due to road safety concerns. A total of 20 races for solo motorcycles were staged between 1913 and 1936 with no races taking place between 1915 and 1918 due to World War I. Motorcycles with sidecars were permitted to enter in 1921 and 1922.
Next year’s commemorative event will reverse the usual direction of the rally by starting in Johannesburg and finishing in Durban, as was the case with the first race in 1913. The 2013 DJ Rally, which marked a centenary since the first race was held, also went from Johannesburg to Durban.
This international event is organised on behalf of the Vintage and Veteran Club of South Africa by a team from a number of other clubs in Gauteng with Larina MacGregor as the clerk of the course for the third consecutive year.
The 2020 event will start at the historic Heidelberg Motor Museum on the morning of March 13, with documentation and scrutineering taking place the previous day. The first rider will depart from Heidelberg at 09:00 and then follow a pre-determined route – following the original race route were possible – to an overnight stop in Newcastle. The second day start for the first rider will be at 05:30 and the route will take riders to the finish at Shongweni Equestrian Estate, just outside Hillcrest in Kwa-Zulu Natal, arriving in the afternoon.
Supplementary regulations for the 2020 DJ commemorative regularity trial are available already. Entries close on January 24. Documentation is available on the following websites: www.pomc.co.za; www.classicmotorcycleclub.co.za; www.vintageandveteranclub.co.za; www.thedjrun.co.za; www.vmc.co.za; www.cvmv.co.za; www.ncmc.org.za
Further information can be obtained from Clerk of the Course, Larina MacGregor at larina.macgregor@gmail.com or 084-949-0937