04 Sep RIP WILLIE GOUWS
It was almost with disbelief that we learned of the passing on 31 August of Willie Gouws, a man who firmly believed that age was just a number – in his case a racing number.
Many racing drivers get into the sport because their fathers raced; Oom Willie, as he was universally known at Killarney, started in 1992 at an age when most drivers are ready to retire from racing – because his son Steven was a competitor and he got tired of watching from the pit wall!
His first race car was the ex-Astrid Huckstedt Ford Escort. However, that was soon replaced by his well-remembered Toyota Corolla SR5, which he campaigned until his first retirement in 2002.
But there was no stopping Oom Willie, and in 2017 – at the age of 77! – he was back, competing in a Volkswagen Polo. He was planning to retire at the end of 2021, but the Polo’s engine blew so, for Oom Willie’s final season, Steven stepped back and lent his father his Volkswagen Jetta 3.
The Killarney paddock will be a little quieter, a little less fun without Oom Willie. Our thoughts are with his children – Steven, Erna, Neil and Wayne – in this sad time, but we will remember him as the old uncle who simply refused to slow down.