2022 DJ Rally

Gavin Walton wins fifth DJ Rally for classic motorcycles

- By Roger Houghton

Gavin Walton scored his fifth overall win on the DJ Rally for pre-1937 motorcycles on March 11-12. This year's win follows victories in 2009, 2017, 2018, and 2019.

This was the 51st regularity trial for motorcycles that would have been eligible for the road race between Durban and Johannesburg, which was staged between 1913 and 1936. Riders are required to stick as closely as possible to average speeds set by the organisers and are penalised for early or late arrival at the control points, with the data being collected by the electronic loggers carried by each rider.

The 2022 edition of the DJ had attracted an entry of more than 100 riders. The 700 km course from the start in Hillcrest, outside Durban, on the Friday to the finish at the Benoni Northern Club the next day followed the general route of the original road race. The 2022 rally took its usual toll on the old machinery with only 58 of the 84 starters being classified as official finishers of the two-day event.

Walton, who says this year's win was the toughest of his five, rode to victory on his trusty 1936 500cc AJS once again. He has only ridden one other motorcycle on the DJ and that was a 1929 500cc OHV Ariel loaned to him by Hew Hollard for this first DJ in 2005. Walton not only won overall, with 228 penalty points, but also had the lowest score on Day 1, from Durban to Newcastle, and the third lowest score on the second day, from the overnight stop to the finish in Benoni.

Walton, who retired from the synthetic diamond manufacturing industry in 2015, now concentrates on restoring classic motorcycles and running his business in Springs retailing replacement parts for British motorcycles.