Joost wins SA�s first �Drive for Charity�

Fourteen South African charities took home three quarters of a million rand on Valentine�s Day � the product of a unique �Drive for Charity� where an impressive line-up of celebrities piloted Car of the Year finalists in eight driving tests spread across most of Gauteng.

Former Springbok Joost van der Westhuizen narrowly beat Top Billing presenter Michael Mol into second and popular comedian Barry �My Cousin� Hilton was third just one point behind. The charity payouts to those three totalled R405 000, and the remaining 11 charities each won a minimum of R27 500. Joost�s R210 000 prize went to the Irene Home for the Mentally Disabled, Michael Mol won R105 000 for South Africa Cares and Barry Hilton handed over R90 000 to FeedBack Food Redistribution.

The remaining finishers, in order from 4th to 14th,with their charities were: Colin Moss (Abraham Kriel Centre for Abused Children), Cindy Nell (Red Cross Air Mercy Services), Bruce Fordyce (Quadriplegic Association of SA), Danny �K� (Compassionate Friends Association), Kobus Wiese (Forest Town Foundation), Christina Storm (Khomanani Early Learning), Petrie Wannenburg (SA Depression and Anxiety Group), Bob Mabena (SPCA), Michael McGovern (Childline), Glen Lewis (Nkosi�s Haven) and Ferdie Rabie (Be a Friend Foundation). Barry Hilton won three of the eight �Best-in-Test� awards (at R5000 each), Joost van der Westhuizen won two, and Michael Mol, Kobus Wiese and Cindy Nell won one each.

The Drive for Charity will run annually and is a SA Guild of Motoring Journalists initiative launched to both raise funds and distribute them by combining motoring fun with excellence and celebrities. The excellence came from the Guild using examples the 2004 Car of the Year finalists as the 14 competing cars. The celebrities were commissioned by the charities themselves, and the final 14 were chosen out of a four times over-subscribed array of 60 available when entries closed last October.

Drive for Charity was anchor-sponsored by WesBank (which also pays the costs of running the Guild�s Car of the Year competition), together with Pick&Pay; Hypermarkets (who provided a wide range of facilities, including the test venues at six shopping centres through Gauteng), Total South Africa (who provided fuel and other support), and Nationwide (which has become the Guild�s preferred carrier).

The R750 000 Drive for Charity Prize Fund was accumulated by �selling� each of the competing cars to sponsors, �auctioning� the celebrities and providing exposure at the eight driving tests. The car sponsors included: Federal Mogul Aftermarket, Autozone (Super Group), FNB, Netstar, OUTSurance, TopCar, Castrol, Pick&Pay; Hypermarkets, Total, Avis Fleet Services, Imperial Select, McCarthy Call-a-Car, e-Bucks, Auto Trader and Nationwide.

Celebrity buyers included Pick&Pay; Hypermarkets (3), Toyota (2), Auto Africa, Delta Motor Corporation, Ford, Citroen, Renault, Classic FM and WesBank. Other contributors to the fund included Equals Group, Lazarus Ford, Budget Rent-a-Car and Barloworld Motor.

Each of the competing cars was crewed by a celebrity together with a navigator and an additional driver provided by the Guild. The celebrity and navigator moved from car to car after each driving test whilst the Guild co-driver stayed with his or her assigned car throughout. The celebrities generated and carried the points from each test to produce an ultimate result.

The first 2004 Drive for Charity started in a heavy downpour which lasted most of the morning. After a slight delay, the field was running on time from the third test venue in Boksburg and stayed that way through to the end. The celebrities competed in a wonderful spirit and unanimously announced their intention of taking part again next year.