Petrus Harmzen Wins Diaz Race 5 as Klerksdorp Racers Takes Fancier of the Race Title
Petrus Harmzen won Diaz Race 5, with Kasouga and Loft Einkamerer close behind. Webster Lofts was the only fancier to place two pigeons inside the top 10. Klerksdorp Racers takes Velocity News Fancier of the Race and the Top 10% Follow Up Ranking.
Diaz OLR Race 5 Mount Frere 380km
The fifth race of the 2026 Diaz One Loft Race season sent 522 pigeons from 113 fanciers away from Mount Frere, KwaBhaca on a 380km flight.. PH/H&F (Petrus Harmzen) claimed the race win. Klerksdorp Racers was named Velocity News Fancier of the Race and also led the Top 10% Follow Up Ranking.
Race Conditions
Pigeons were liberated from Mount Frere at 07:30 on 8 July under clear skies, with temperatures at 7°C and a gentle north-westerly wind of around 6 m/s providing a quartering tailwind for the opening stretch.
By the race's midpoint over the Komani interior at 10:05, skies remained clear and temperatures had climbed to 18°C. The wind had strengthened to 14 km/h from the north-west, shifting into a crosswind across the birds' line.
Approaching Boesmansrivier Mouth at 12:40, skies stayed mostly clear with only thin high cloud. Temperatures sat at 16°C, while a strong westerly wind of 11 m/s produced a headwind and crosswind combination for the final approach to the coast.
Top 10 Arrivals
Team PH/H&F, took the win at Diaz OLR Race 5 with a velocity of 1224.62 m/min.
Kasouga's 'Evolved' finished second, ahead of Loft Einkamerer's *'Clapton 222-103 MR' in third. Koos Botha's 'In Common' took fourth, with Webster Lofts placing twice through 'Summer Days' in fifth and 'Ghost Train' in sixth.
Gavin Rous's 'Velvet' finished seventh, View Excello Lofts' 'Excello 1' eighth, KDK Racing & Joe Gomes 2 (USA) with *'Frank Joe 27 MR' ninth, and Anton Schonken's 'Storm' completed the top ten.
Velocity News Fancier of the Race
48 of 113 fanciers competing in Diaz OLR Race 5 met the minimum of 4 pigeons basketed required to qualify for this ranking.
Ranking is based on Efficiency : the percentage of each fancier's basketed pigeons that finished inside the top 5% of the race — position 26 of the 522 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.
Three fanciers tied at 16.67% — Gavin Rous, Kasouga and View Excello Lofts — with the tie resolved by average velocity across their qualifying finishes. A further tie at 12.50% between PH/H&F and Bruce Lord was resolved the same way.
The Top 10 Most Efficient Fanciers
Please Note: The log below can scroll from left to right*
Klerksdorp Racers was named Velocity News Fancier of the Race placing 40% of their participating pigeons inside the Top 5% arrivals on Race 5.
Webster Lofts placed the most pigeons inside the top 5% by volume, with three finishes!
The Top 10% Follow Up Ranking
48 of 113 fanciers competing in Diaz OLR Race 5 met the minimum of 4 pigeons basketed required to qualify for this ranking.
This ranking identifies which fanciers had the highest concentration of their basketed pigeons placing inside the top 10% of the race . This metric is the Follow Up Rate, a measure of how many pigeons a fancier brought home in succession relative to their participating 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.
Gavin Rous and Phillips & Engelbrecht tied at 33.33%, with the tie resolved by average velocity across their qualifying finishes. Hardy Kruger & Oberholster Loft, MB Racing and Jaco de Beer tied at 25.00%, resolved the same way.
Klerksdorp Racers led the Top 10% Follow Up Ranking by placing 40% of their participating pigeons within the Top 10% of the race.
Webster Lofts placed the most pigeons inside the top 10% by raw volume, with four positions!
Looking Ahead
PH/H&F's race-winning form set the tone for Diaz OLR Race 5, but Klerksdorp Racers was the story of the stats sheet, pairing a Velocity News Fancier of the Race performance with the Follow Up Ranking pole position . Webster Lofts backed up a rare two-pigeon finish inside the top ten arrivals. With the Diaz One Loft Race season past its halfway mark, attention turns to whether Klerksdorp Racers can repeat the sweep next time out.
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