Diaz Race 3 Report: Dave Gilbert Leads The Way From Qumbu 352km - Team Judels Tops The Stats
Third Race Qumbu 352km, Dave Gilbert took the win, while Team Judels topped the Velocity News Fancier of the Race and PH/H&F lead the Follow Up Ranking. PH / Rammie won Pigeon of the Week to round out Race 3.
Third Race Qumbu 352km
Third Race Qumbu covered 352km from Qumbu, Eastern Cape, to Diaz One Loft at Bushmansriver Mouth, with 915 pigeons basketed across 131 competing fanciers. Liberation at 07:30 opened under a crisp 6-8°C winter sky, mostly clear, with a light north-westerly breeze giving the field an early cross-tailwind push. By the race's midpoint over the Eastern Cape hinterland, temperatures had climbed into the mid-teens under continued clear skies, the north-westerly firming to a moderate breeze along the birds' south-westerly line. Conditions held sunny and stable into the coastal finish, where temperatures reached the high teens under a light westerly cross-breeze as the pigeons dropped down to the Sunshine Coast.
Top 10 Arrivals
Pigeon & Duifie claimed the win at 1269.41 m/min with 'Blue Dragon', leading Diaz One Loft's Third Race Qumbu home. Camelot Hokke followed in 2nd with 'Rav 344306'. Bontebok claimed 3rd with 'Suitable *MR', with Webster Lofts close behind in 4th with 'Bet On Me *MR'. Team Judels took 5th with 'Blackcat', with Bruce Lord following again in 6th with 'Eleventwonine'. Banie Deetlefs came home in 7th with 'Peace of Mind', with Marnes Nel in 8th with 'Breakaway'. Bontebok claimed 9th with 'Low Risk *MR', and Marnes Nel completed the top 10 with 'Triumph' — the entire top 10 arriving within 9 seconds of the winner!
Velocity News Fancier of the Race
In Diaz One Loft's Third Race Qumbu, 76 out of 131 competing fanciers qualified for this ranking by meeting the minimum requirement of basketing at least 4 pigeons.
Rankings are based on the percentage of a fancier's basketed pigeons placing within the top 5% of the race (the top 45 out of 915 total entries), with ties broken by the highest average velocity of those positions.
TEAM JUDELS is named Velocity News Fancier of the Race, topping the ranking with 50.00% of their participating pigeons inside the Top 5%.
Please note: This log scrolls from left to right*.
The Follow Up Ranking
The Follow Up Ranking measures fanciers with the highest percentage of their basketed birds finishing in the top 10% of the race, which means the leading 91 out of 915 pigeons. In Diaz One Loft's Third Race Qumbu, 76 of 131 participating fanciers qualified by basketing at least 4 pigeons. Ties are resolved using highest average velocity across their arrivals.
PH/H&F led the Velocity News Follow Up ranking with 66.67% of their pigeons placing inside the top 10% arrivals.
Please note: This log scrolls from left to right*.
Pigeon of the Week
Velocity News introduced Pigeon of the Week to identify the best pigeons week by week. It is awarded to the pigeon with the smallest average margin behind the winner across two consecutive races.
Comparing Race 2 Mthatha against Race 3 Qumbu, PH / RAMMIE's 108 DIAZ 2026 earns Pigeon of the Week, averaging 28.735 seconds behind the winner with a 21st-place finish at Race 2 and 15th at Race 3. MARNES NEL's 766 WPU 2025 follows closely at 38.020 seconds (7th at Race 2, 18th at Race 3), while WEBSTER LOFTS's 50 DIAZ 2026 completes the podium at 45.910 seconds (42nd at Race 2, 4th at Race 3).
Please note: This log scrolls from left to right*.
Looking Ahead
Pigeon & Duifie's win sets the tone for Diaz One Loft's Third Race Qumbu, but it's PH/H&F who leaves the strongest mark on the week, topping the Follow Up Ranking after also finishing runner-up in Velocity News Fancier of the Race performance. Team Judels' win points to real consistency building off just four basketed pigeons, while PH / Rammie's Pigeon of the Week showing adds another name to watch. Whether any of them can carry that momentum into next week's race remains to be seen.
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