31 Mar Collection In Action: Renault R8 Gordini
Close friend of the Mostert family and an associate of Hennie when he was competing, Patrick Vermaak provides the background to Hennie’s career and the success of one car. And Mike Monk drives the mountain machine…
Born in Klapmuts in the Western Cape Winelands on 26 March 1939, Hendrik ‘Hennie’ Johannes Mostert would, almost unknowingly, become something of a legend in his own lifetime. His motor sport career began in the late-1960s when he borrowed his family’s Peugeot 404 and took part in the Bloublommetjieskloof Hillclimb near Wellington. Bitten by the hillclimb bug, Hennie returned to the event the following year and achieved a class win in his own Renault Dauphine.
The Dauphine was the start of Hennie’s lifelong association with Renaults. As well as the hills, Hennie also took to the circuits and in 1958 had a memorable dice with Brian Peek’s modified Dauphine in a Dauphine versus VW Beetle race at the Killarney circuit. With a Paarl District registration number CJ 2553 – a number that would be transferred to his future cars – Hennie followed Brian’s example and tweaked his own Dauphine, whereupon he entered the first Stellenbosch Hillclimb in 1959 and won his class. The following year he returned to Stellenbosch with a Dauphine Gordini and, once again, won his class.
As a Paarl Motor Club member, Hennie was Club Champion from 1958, taking part in numerous races, rallies and gymkhanas as well as oval track racing, even to holding the outright lap record at the old Paarl Oval Track. He scored four outright victories and lap records at the Oudtshoorn Race Track. Continuing the success, he won seven heats and held the lap record at the Darryl Allam Circuit on the former St Albans Airfield on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth.
Hennie also took part in some of SA’s classic endurance races including the prestigious 9-Hour events at Kyalami. In 1962 he shared a Renault Dauphine with Adrian Pheiffer and the pair finished 23rd and 13th on Index of Performance. The following year, Hennie partnered Peter Gough in a Renault R8 but they were forced to retire with mechanical problems after being engaged in a prolonged crowd-thrilling dice with a BMW 700 Coupé and an Opel Kadett. Then in the Cape 2-Hour, Hennie won his class in a Renault R8 Alconi. In 1966, Hennie suffered a rare accident when he rolled his Renault at Killarney’s Malmesbury Sweep (today known as Turn 4) when a rear tyre burst.
But it was the Paarl Hillclimb that became Hennie’s ‘home from home’, dominating the event from 1968 to 1972. The 1,9-mile (3 km) course is today the track leading up to the radio tower at the pinnacle of Paarl Rock and sections of the original track can still be clearly identified due to the thousands of litres of old engine oil that was used to bind the gravel surface and curb any dust that would inevitably rise. Today, standing on top of the mountain and looking back over the course, it is easy to visualise the bravery of the competitors driving flat out along the narrow, twisting road with solid granite on one side and a sheer, unprotected drop on the other.
Hennie’s record reads as follows:
19 Mar 1966 – Renault R8 Gordini 1100 – 1min 34,0secs – 3rd Production Car, 1st in class
18 Mar 1967 – Renault R8 Alconi 1100 – 1min 28,8secs – 2nd Standard Saloon
5 Oct 1968 – Renault R8 Gordini 1300 – 1min 23,2secs – 1st overall FTD
11 Oct 1969 – Renault R8 Gordini 1300 – 1min 21,9secs – 1st overall, FTD
10 Oct 1970 – Renault R8 Gordini 1300 – 1min 20,8secs – 1st overall, FTD, new record
16 Oct 1971 – Renault R8 Gordini 1300 – 1min 16,4secs – 1st overall, FTD, new record
21 Oct 1972 – Renault R8 Gordini 1300 – – 1st overall FTD
1973 – No event due to international energy crisis
16 Nov 1974 – Renault R8 Gordini 1300 – 1min 21,0secs – 4th overall, 3rd in class
25 Oct 1975 – Renault R8 Gordini 1300 – 1min 17,2secs – 2nd overall, 1st in class
In the 1971 event, Hennie slid off the mountain on his second official run but was unhurt and the car was not seriously damaged. In the 1974 event, he missed a gear change on his second run and could only match his first run time.
But the car with which Hennie dominated the Paarlberg was the blue-and-white Renault R8 Gordini 1300, with which he competed in all the climbs from 1968 to 1975. The car was the first of its kind to arrive in South Africa and Hennie went to East London to collect it in 1967. With the Paarl registration number CJ 2553, the car stands today as a one-owner, totally original vehicle, a quite remarkable example of the iconic R8 Gordini.
In its January 1970 issue, CAR – South Africa’s premier motoring magazine since 1957 – road tested the car, by which time it already had 35 000 miles (over 56 000 km) on the odometer and the engine had never been opened, despite its relatively hard life. The 1255cc overhead-valve engine was fed by twin Weber 40DCOE carburettors and with a 10,5:1 compression ratio delivered 103 bhp (76,8 kW) at 6 750 r/min and 85 lbf (115 N.m) of peak torque at 5 000 r/min. With a five-speed close ratio gearbox, the Gordini sprinted from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 10,2 seconds and reached a top speed of 101,5 mph (163,3 km/h).
The obvious pride with which CJ 2553 has been cared for over the years was evident when Hennie drove the car as the lead for the SA Renault legend Scamp Porter’s tribute parade at Killarney International Raceway on 29 March 2019. And so it was with a sense of wonder and admiration that I took an opportunity to briefly drive the car around the L’Ormarins Estate. I could not get over the fact that this was – and still is – an off-the-showroom-floor sporty passenger car that dominated a hillclimb against often more powerful machinery for so many years. This realisation made me appreciate just what an accomplished driver Hennie must have been. Today, with now twice the mileage on the odo from the CAR road test days, the car is still lively although the gearshift has become a little loose. Nevertheless, the ‘Gordini performance’ sensation can still be appreciated.
So, a successful car with a proud history, and following the passing of Hennie, the Franschhoek Motor Museum was honoured and proud to be approached by the family and have the Gordini donated to its collection. Still in pristine condition, the car is now on a special permanent display stand to be admired and appreciated by visitors as a prime example of South Africa’s motor racing heritage.
Hennie drove an all-white Renault R8 Gordini 1300 sponsored by local agents Droomers in the inaugural Malmesbury Hillclimb on 9 September 1972 and clocked FTD, first in class, with a time of 1min 7,8 secs. This car, nicknamed Witblits, also took part the following years and was used in other competitions.
Closing his illustrious career as a racing driver, Hennie carried out the ‘0 Car’ duties on the 2013-14 Total Tara International Rally Namibia.
Hennie passed away on 12 June 2021, aged 82. As a tribute to his career, on 10 July 2021, long-time family friend Patrick Vermaak arranged a Mostert Tribute during Round 5 of the Wingfield Motors Power Series at Killarney International Raceway. Members of the Cape Town Renault Club joined the Mostert family as VIP guests of the Western Province Motor Club and Jacques Mostert led the Renault convoy around the main circuit for three laps in the blue-and-white R8 Gordini CJ 2553. Quite an emotional farewell…
