Hannes Grobler’s decision to end his long and distinguished motor sport association with Nissan at the end of the current off road racing season has elicited a warm tribute from the company he has served with such distinction for almost 33 years. He will be involved in a new business venture with the Pretoria-based RFS group of companies from January.
Johan Kleynhans, sales and marketing director of Nissan, commented that Grobler had always been a great ambassador for the brand. “Hannes has competed in Datsuns and Nissans both on and off the track and has won many rallies and off road races in our products. His 10 national championships since he started his motor racing career in 1977 have all been in our cars and include eight as an official Nissan works driver.
“He is a living motor sport legend and we are proud to have been associated with him and his many achievements. We thank him for his incredible loyalty to our brand and wish him all the best in the future.”
Glyn Hall, general manager of Nissan Motorsport since 1993, paid tribute to Grobler’s fighting spirit and good humour. “Hannes has been an inspiration for every team member he has ever had, whether driver, co-driver or technician. He is one of South Africa’s best-loved and most versatile motor sportsmen and he has made a great contribution towards the success of Nissan Motorsport. We will miss him and his irrepressible spirit.”
Grobler, 54, was forced to abandon a promising career in rugby as a result of a knee injury, but became a motor sport hero and to date has won a total of 10 national motor sport championships. These include two amateur rally drivers championships (1979 and 1980), two rally drivers championship (1986 and 1991), two rally production car drivers championships (1998 and 1999) and four national off road drivers championships (1986, 2003, 2004 and 2006). He was awarded his Springbok national colours for motor sport in 1987 and his Protea national colours in 1999.
Not widely known is the fact that he competed in the Dakar Rally in 2003 and 2004 in a Team Nissan support truck, rescuing his team-mates and other competitors on more than one occasion and winning the Spirit of Dakar award for his efforts.
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