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Eish! 3 crazy SA rally crashes that blew our minds in 2015

Cape Town - From Matthew Vacy-Lyle/Schalk van Heerden rolling their Toyota Etios to rally pair Giniel de Villiers/Carolyn Swann's cringe-worthy smash, Wheels24 looks back at some of the craziest rally crashes during the 2015 SA National Rally Championship. 

The championship

Mark Cronje (S2000 class) secured the Drivers' title during the final event, the Polokwane Motor Rally, in emphatic style behind the wheel of his Ford Performance Fiesta S2000.

Read: 20 defining moments of the 2015 SA rally championship

Cronje, champion in 2012 and 2013, battled with 2014 champion Leeroy Poulter in his Toyota S2000.

Crashes

During the course of the 2015 SA rally season, there has been some amazing footage captured of vehicles in all sorts of trouble.

We've found three crashes that make for eye-wincing viewing:

1. Matthew Vacy-Lyle/Schalk van Heerden, Cullinan Rally, August 2015

An on-board camera captured this insane video of rally driver Matthew Vacy-Lyle and navigator Schalk van Heerden, rolling their S1600 Toyota Etios multiple times on Stage 7 of the Cullinan rally in August.

Mercifully, the pair walked away unscathed. Both members escaped injury, thanks to the advanced safety systems and the vehicle's roll cage.

Watch: on-board footage of SA rally crash

Now watch the Vacy-Lyle/Van Heerden crash from a fans view

2. Giniel de Villiers/Carolyn Swann, Dealer Cape Rally, September

A major crash that sent fans into a spin involved former Dakar winner Giniel de Villiers and navigator Carolyn Swann during Stage 10 of the Dealer Cape Rally in September.

De Villiers was chasing rally leader Mark Cronje/Gerhard Snymam (Ford Fiesta) when he lost control of his Toyota Yaris on a bend. The Yaris crashed and rolled multiple times. The pair walked away unharmed.

Watch: SA rally ace Giniel rolls car in dramatic crash


3. Japie van Niekerk and Henk Lategan, Sasol Rally, April

This crash between Ford's Japie van Niekerk and Volkswagen's Henk Lategan saw tragedy averted.

During a tarmac stage at the Sasol Rally in April, Lategan spun his Volkswagen. He then inexplicably started to drive the wrong way down the stage to crash into Van Niekerk's Ford Fiesta.

Watch: VW, Ford crash at 2015 Sasol Rally

Special mention - Gugu Zulu's amazing save

SA motorsport veteran Gugu Zulu and co-driver Hilton Auffray, competing in a S2000 Volkswagen Polo, braved a particularly tough route through the Eastern Cape.

The pair took on a simple jump before things went horribly wrong.

The clip shows the experienced driver control the rally car and narrowly avoid what could've been a race-ending crash.

Watch: SA driver avoids huge rally crash

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