The Race

Marlbank One Loft opened its 2026 season on 19 June with Hotspot 1, a 215 kilometre race from Winburg. The race consisted of 254 fanciers basketing 1,398 pigeons, setting an early benchmark for the season ahead. Liberation was set for 08:15 from Winburg, with Marlbank confirming increased prize payouts for this race: R15,000 for 1st, R10,000 for 2nd, R7,500 for 3rd, R5,000 for 4th, R3,500 for 5th through 8th, and R2,000 for 9th and 10th. As the first major test of the year, Hotspot 1 sets the tone for the competition Marlbank has built heading into the new season, with the road to the final starting here.

Liberation and Conditions

Liberation took place at 08:15 into a biting Free State winter morning, with temperatures between 5°C and 8°C under a clear, sunny sky that offered excellent early visibility. As the pigeons pushed north toward Sasolburg, conditions warmed steadily, reaching 12°C to 14°C by the time the first arrivals were clocked at Heron Banks Golf Course shortly after 10:51.

Wind played the decisive role. A steady east to northeast breeze of 11 to 22 km/h met the pigeons at an angle across their north-northeast line of flight, delivering a supportive cross-tailwind rather than a punishing headwind. The early morning cold demanded energy from the pigeons at the moment of release, but the dry, stable air and unobstructed visibility allowed the leading birds to hold a fast, unbroken line all the way to the Vaal River.

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The Top 10 Hot Spot 1

Jaco & Danie (ZA) won Marlbank One Loft Hotspot 1 with ZA-25-GPU-5322, taking the first major result of the new season and the R15,000 first prize. The margin was tight throughout the podium. SAIPR (ZA) finished 2nd with ZA-25-GPU-5639, separated from the winner by under two tenths of a second, claiming the R10,000 second prize. Jordaan & Bornman (ZA) completed the podium in 3rd with 'Raptor' for R7,500.

OOA&RVV&Kobus (ZA) was close behind in 4th with ZA-25-OOA-309, taking R5,000. Timeless Trio (ZA) placed 5th through ZA-25-CRU-4528, with Jagger Lofts (ZA) following in 6th via ZA-25-MOLO/D-336, both inside the R3,500 bracket covering 5th through 8th.

Leohan Hokke (ZA) took 7th with ZA-25-LEO-92. Fourie Forte (ZA) placed 8th through ZA-25-GPU-3526, completing the R3,500 positions. Niekie Peters (ZA) was 9th with ZA-25-MAC-870, and Francois Steinmann (ZA) rounded out the top 10 with ZA-25-KHS-2098, both earning R2,000.

What stood out beyond the podium was the depth shown by several lofts across the field, a sign that this season's competition runs deeper than the podium alone suggests.

The Deep Dive. Velocity News Fancier of the Race.

254 fanciers competed in Marlbank One Loft Hotspot 1, basketing 1,398 pigeons across the field. Beyond the race result itself, cross-referencing the basketing list against the top 69 (top 5%) arrivals reveals which lofts genuinely punched above their weight on race day.

How the ranking is calculated

Velocity News measured every fancier with three or more pigeons basketed against how many of those pigeons placed inside the top 5% of the field, the first 69 positions of 1,398 basketed. This produces a strike rate, the percentage of a fancier's own entries that reached the front of the race, rather than simply rewarding the largest teams for sheer volume. Where fanciers tied on strike rate, the average velocity across their top 5% finishes decided the placing, fastest to slowest. The result is a measure of genuine team efficiency rather than raw entry numbers.

Please Note: The table below can scroll horizontally from left to right.

Fancier of the Race

Hotspot 1 Winburg · Marlbank One Loft Race – Winter Season 2026 · Liberation: Winburg · 215 km · 19.06.2026

Ranking is based on Efficiency Rate: the percentage of each fancier's own basketed pigeons that finished inside the top 5% of the race — position 82 of the 1651 pigeons basketed in this race. Fanciers with fewer than 4 pigeons basketed are excluded. Ties are broken by average velocity across that fancier's top 5% finishes.

Ranking	Team Name	Pigeons Participated	Positions	Efficiency Rate	Avg Speed
1	Hans de Noon  🇿🇦	7	16, 38, 39	42.86%	1364.39 m/min
2	Tsunami Hokke  🇿🇦	6	30, 67	33.33%	1355.65 m/min
3	Charl Nel  🇿🇦	6	35, 62	33.33%	1355.44 m/min
4	Echo Ridge  🇿🇦	6	65, 75	33.33%	1343.66 m/min
5	Gavin Rous  🇿🇦	7	54, 57	28.57%	1345.10 m/min
6	Harry Wilson  🇿🇦	7	59, 61	28.57%	1344.68 m/min
7	Splendidior  🇿🇦	11	11, 24, 55	27.27%	1361.13 m/min
8	Jordaan & Bornman  🇿🇦	4	3	25.00%	1370.61 m/min
9	Andre Fivaz  🇿🇦	4	50	25.00%	1345.38 m/min
10	JJM Lofts  🇿🇦	4	68	25.00%	1344.00 m/min

Velocity News Fancier of the Race — velocitypigeonnews.com

Velocity News Fancier of the Race Top 10

Hans De Noon (ZA) takes the Velocity News Fancier of the Race award. Three of seven pigeons basketed landed inside the top 5%, finishing 16th, 38th and 39th for a 42.9% strike rate, comfortably the strongest conversion in the field.

A group of four fanciers tied on a 33.3% strike rate, separated by average velocity across their top 5% finishes. Niekie Peters (ZA) led that group with a single pigeon basketed from three landing 9th at 1369.78 mpm. Frost Lofts (ZA) followed with one from three at 23rd, averaging 1368.69 mpm. Tsunami Hokke (ZA) placed two pigeons from six basketed, 30th and 67th, averaging 1355.65 mpm. Charl Nel (ZA) matched that with two from six, 35th and 62nd, at 1355.44 mpm. Chapmar (ZA) completed the group with one from three at 60th, averaging 1344.66 mpm.

Gavin Rous (ZA) and Harry Wilson (ZA) both posted a 28.6% strike rate from seven pigeons basketed, with two reaching the top 5% apiece. Gavin Rous finished 54th and 57th at an average of 1345.10 mpm, while Harry Wilson finished 59th and 61st averaging 1344.68 mpm.

Splendidior (ZA) rounds out the top 10 with a 27.3% strike rate, the strongest three-pigeon return of the chasing pack, placing 11th, 24th and 55th from 11 basketed for an average velocity of 1361.13 mpm.

The Follow Up Ranking

Top 10% Follow Up Ranking

Hotspot 1 Winburg · Marlbank One Loft Race – Winter Season 2026 · Liberation: Winburg · 215 km · 19.06.2026

This ranking identifies which fanciers had the highest concentration of their basketed pigeons landing inside the top 10% of the race — position 165 of the 1651 pigeons basketed in this race — relative to how many pigeons they had participating. This metric is the Follow Up Rate, a measure of how many pigeons a fancier brought home in succession relative to their total pigeons in the race. Fanciers with fewer than 4 pigeons basketed are excluded, and ties are broken by average velocity. This ranking does not decide Velocity News Fancier of the Race.

Ranking	Team Name	Pigeons Participated	Positions	Follow Up Rate	Avg Speed
1	Hans de Noon  🇿🇦	7	16, 38, 39, 148	57.14%	1355.41 m/min
2	Jaco & Bossie  🇿🇦	4	141, 143	50.00%	1328.66 m/min
3	Tashreeq Smith  🇿🇦	4	153, 159	50.00%	1328.01 m/min
4	Michael Burger  🇿🇦	5	95, 106	40.00%	1340.41 m/min
5	Pierewaaiers  🇿🇦	5	103, 129	40.00%	1334.67 m/min
6	Chris & Mike  🇿🇦	5	136, 157	40.00%	1328.38 m/min
7	Splendidior  🇿🇦	11	11, 24, 55, 160	36.36%	1352.80 m/min
8	Theunissen & Labuschagne  🇿🇦	17	33, 53, 72, 101, 115, 155	35.29%	1342.44 m/min
9	Tsunami Hokke  🇿🇦	6	30, 67	33.33%	1355.65 m/min
10	Charl Nel  🇿🇦	6	35, 62	33.33%	1355.44 m/min

Velocity News Top 10% Follow Up Ranking — velocitypigeonnews.com

Pigeon of the week

Pigeon of the Week · Marlbank One Loft

Two Race Comparison · Training Ventersburg 164km (12/06/2026) & Hotspot 1 Winburg 215km (19/06/2026)

Ranking date: 09/09/2026

Ranking is based on Average Margin: the mean of a pigeon's time behind the race winner across two races. Smallest average margin ranks highest.

1 Splendidior South Africa

Avg +00:00:09.515

ZA-25-WBU-1310

Training Ventersburg 164km · Pos 9 / 1411 +00:00:04.850 1408.4265 m/min

Hotspot 1 Winburg 215km · Pos 24 / 1395 +00:00:14.180 1368.6030 m/min

2 Frost Lofts South Africa

Avg +00:00:09.705

ZA-25-FROST-017

Training Ventersburg 164km · Pos 12 / 1411 +00:00:05.820 1408.2310 m/min

Hotspot 1 Winburg 215km · Pos 23 / 1395 +00:00:13.590 1368.6886 m/min

3 Jaco & Danie South Africa

Avg +00:00:12.495

ZA-25-GPU-5322

Training Ventersburg 164km · Pos 33 / 1411 +00:00:24.990 1404.3781 m/min

Hotspot 1 Winburg 215km · Pos 1 / 1395 +00:00:00.000 1370.6650 m/min

Velocity News Pigeon of the Week — velocitypigeonnews.com

Looking Ahead

Marlbank One Loft has opened its season with a result that sets a high bar for the rest of the participants to chase. Jaco & Danie (ZA) took the win and the R15,000 first prize, but Hans De Noon (ZA) showed that consistency and conversion across a smaller team can be just as telling a sign of form. With the road to the final now underway and strong strike rates already on the board from several lofts, the competition through the rest of the season promises to be tightly contested from front to back.