TARA: The Siamese cat with a long rally history

To date, no one has lifted the massive white marble Tara floating trophy more than three consecutive times. This year, Wilro Dippenaar and his navigator Carolyn Swan stand a chance of making history in their Ford Fiesta R5 to bag the first ever three consecutive wins for any rally team.

Few drivers in the past managed two consecutive wins. South African (SA) team Louis Cloete and navigator Willem van Heerden managed this in 1972 and again in 1973, and recently, Dippenaar and Swan in 2023 and 2024.

The Tara is all about bragging rights, and joining the class of Chris Liebenberg (driver) and Andre de Jager (navigator) who won the very first Tara in 1969 in their Renault Gordini.

Created 55 years ago by Dennis Kent and named after his Siamese cat, the Tara drew international attention with teams from as far as Zambia and SA.

The rally had several faces from the beginning, such as an enduro-like race where teams raced through the night.

As vehicles became faster and more sophisticated, and due to safety issues and regulations prescribed by the International Motorsport and Namibia Motor Sport Federation, safety for both teams and spectators had to be adjusted.

This year, the 55th Shell V-Power supported by M+Z Motors will take place over three days, starting tomorrow in the capital with the first of the 17 special stages at the Tony Rust Race Track. The super special stage event will see two cars racing against each other on the same tracks. The time slotted for this stage is 20h00.

Day two will take the teams to Rehoboth where the first cars will start with the second stage at 09h30 from the Rehoboth Shopping Mall. The last car for the Rehoboth stages is expected to be back at the starting point at around 15h00.

Day three will again start at the Tony Rust Race Track on Saturday, with the first car expected to leave around 09h30 for the last day’s stages in and around Windhoek. The rally will end on Saturday at around 15h00 at the Tony Rust Race Track, followed by the prize-giving.

To date, 17 teams entered the event, including Dippenaar and Swan, contender Allan Martin and his navigator Martha Olivier, Zachary Martin and Anique Schoeman, and sisters Stefanie Botha and Mandi Landsberg.

Martin and Schoeman won the 2025 Swakop Rally.

Regulars Pieter Greeff and JP Robinson in their Toyota Corolla will once again make their appearance.

In the CR (bakkie/off-road ) class, stiff competition is expected as Ruaan Viviers and Cecil Koortz entered with a powerful Renault Duster 5.0L V8, as well as Werner Bartsch and Christel Fourie with a Land Rover Defender V8.

This vehicle belonged to Stefan Labuschagne who bagged several local and regional rallies with it.

Ekko Eisenberg and Horazio ‘Rassie’ Rietz entered with their JAC T8 V8.

The classes are divided in the S-class that comprises of sedans. This class is sub divided into four classes. S1 are vehicles up to 1 600cc, S2 1 601cc to 2 000cc (2.0L), S3 2 001cc to 3 000cc (3.0L) and S4 3 000cc and above.

Additional car modifications like turbos, rotary engines and 4×4 driven engines add to the classification before entry.

In the rally challenge, (CR Class) entries are divided in CR1, which is the 2×4, and CR2, the 4×4 class.

Speaking to Top Revs during the launch of the 55th edition in Windhoek at the M+Z Mercedes Benz showroom, Windhoek Motor Club chairperson Richard Slamet said: “The mere fact that the legacy continues is already special in its own right, and this year again the organising committee put in so much effort to make the event happen again.”

It was only during Covid-19 period in 2020 and 2021 that the event did not take place.

Slamet also thanked sponsors Shell V-Power, M+Z Motors, Van Dyk Petroleum, Savanah Car Hire and Cema Drilling and Compressor Solutions, and a few smaller sponsors for making the Tara a reality again.

In true sportsmanship Slamet wished all the participants well for the rally.

“Firstly, take care of your car as there are fast stages, as well as tough parts and remember this is not a sprint this is a marathon and finishing the Tara is already something to be proud of.”

Meanwhile, Eisenberg managing director of M+Z Motors and Tara participant, said the idea is to enjoy the rally.

“The important part is to have fun and nobody takes part in a competition not to compete, so while competing you can have fun as well.”

OSH-Med international will provide medical standby throughout the entire Tara.

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