Early 1993, West Rand lubricant producer and supplier Habot launched its revolutionary Synergy range of synthetic lubricants. Designed to make vehicles operate more efficiently with minimum mechanical wear, these Habot oils proved fifteen years ahead of their time. It took that long for the name brands to follow that Synergy lead.
Synthetic lubes are not refined by distilling crude oils. All Habot lubricants are rather synthesised or manufactured from selected chemicals to produce an oil with a controlled molecular structure. Boasting a film strength many times that of a conventional oil, Habot’s synthetic lubricants significantly reduce friction. That in turn results in the vehicle running up to ten degrees cooler.
Habot synthetic lubes are guaranteed viscous for 40,000 km. Synergy oil furthermore not only resists the build-up pf carbon, sludge, and varnish, but it breaks down old build-up and deposits too. Knowing this and faced with the dilemma of marketing its advanced range of Synergy lubricants against a plethora of well-established brands, let alone many upstart rivals, Habot took to the racetrack to prove its product’s worth.
Its first foray was to sponsor Mark Edwards and his red Opel Kadett in Class E of the incredible Stannic Group N standard production racing series. It was a winning start as Edwards took an emphatic national championship in the hard fought ‘brat pack’. Edwards’ title earned him a factory drive for Nissan in ‘94, while Habot Synergy went big, signing Class B regular Steve Corna and young Devon Juby, whom Edwards beat the ’93 Class E title, to race a pair of Sentras in Group N’s Class B.
They enjoyed a strong season against the factory Nissans and Uno Turbos, before Habot turned its attention to two wheels for ’95. Habot Synergy backed Russell Wood and Shane Norval’s factory Hondas in the 250 GP class, and Lance Isaacs, Stewart and Brett MacLeod in 125 cc GP. The move to two wheels was in line with Habot’s national campaign to market a full range of all form of motorcycle lubricants and products.
Habot later worked with racer and journalist Michele Lupini to further prove the advantages of synthetic lubricants through a series of magazine articles based on hands-on experience over a full race season. That project included a class-winning Total Economy Run program, where those early successes saw Habot lubricants become a favourite among many competitors in that major fuel miser contest.
As time progressed, Habot’s business model moved more behind the scenes with major supply contracts. That included Habot’s appointment as the aeronautics-grade lubricant supplier of choice to the South African Air Force for use in all form of aircraft from the Cheetah E fighter to the Rooivalk combat helicopter. Habot’s synthetic lubricants have also increasingly since become major blend components of several contemporary brand name synthetic oils today.
While the company continues to lead the way in synthetic lubricants, Habot has however always supported motorsport over the years. Today’s Habot drivers include SupaCup frontrunner Jeffrey Kruger’s Polo, Compcare Polo Cup Bullion IT young guns Jurie Swart and Giordano Lupini, and Pabar VW Challenge contender Stiaan Kriel’s Design Hut entry, among others.
All of them bet their bottom dollar of Habot’s world-leading synthetic that remain the finest lubricant choices on the market today, almost 20 years later…
Contact Person: Adam Williamson
Contact Number: +27 82 965 1912
Contact Email: Adam Williamson
Website: habot.co.za
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