(Article by Stuart Konig)
In class B we had Nicky Dicks in his Porsche 911 RSR taking on Andre van der Merwe in his Evapco SA (Pty) Ltd Porsche RSR. Qualifying saw van der Merwe post an impressive lap to take a secure and convincing pole position for Race 1. The race started and van der Merwe maintained his 1st position until the latter part of the race when he started to feel something was not right with the car – with the symptoms pointing to a lack of fuel getting to the engine. This crippled van der Merwe’s race allowing Dicks to comfortably overtake stricken competitor to take 1st position in Race 1. Race saw both 911’s start the race with van der Merwe starting a long way down the field due to the issues experienced in race 1. The race began and Dicks was comfortably out in front with a very quick van der Merwe slicing his way through the field. Van der Merwe was catching Dicks when sadly the same issue occurred in Race 2 as had done in the previous heat. Despite their best efforts the exact fueling issue could not be detected trackside resulting in van der Merwe having to limp the 911 home only completing 8 of the 10 laps. Congratulations to Dicks for taking a double win on the day and placing 1st overall.
Class C saw the Scirocco battle ignited with Jannie van Rooyen in his VW Scirocco, Andre ten Napel in his TNMC Medical Devices VW Scirocco and Stuart Konig in his Northern Bolt & Tool VW Scirocco all trying to gain an advantage on each other to take the top step of the podium. In qualifying it was van Rooyen who recorded the quickest time, from ten Napel and Konig. In the early stages on the race van Rooyen was able to pull a gap on ten Napel and Konig, but thanks to a mid-race safety car the trio were bunched up together again. Van Rooyen was once again able to pull out an undisputed lead on the other two competitors leaving ten Napel and Konig to battle it out for 2nd place. The fight for second was very close and exciting but in the end it was ten Napel that got the upper hand and came second in Race 1. Race 2 was similar to Race 1 with no one being able to match the outright pace of van Rooyen who extended his lead and took a comfortable double victory on the day. The race for 2nd was not as close as in the previous race with Konig falling off the race a little allowing ten Napel to take an unchallenged 2nd place in Race 2. Congratulations to van Rooyen for an overall Class C win on the day.
The Class D battle was as close and competitive as ever. Jonathan Konig in his Northern Bolt & Tool VW Scirocco started in 1st position and had a fantastic start to Race 1. Gavin Lundin in his Silvergaurd Datsun 1200 GX did not let Konig go and managed to catch up to Konig where they swopped positions, fighting for first place, throughout the majority of the race. In the end it was Lundin who came out on top by the narrowest of margins. The second heat of the day was much the same as the first with the Scirocco of Konig and Datsun of Lundin trading positions from corner to corner. On this occasion it was Konig who was able to edge Lundin out for a victory in the second race of the day. Well done to both drivers for the wheel-to-wheel racing with no contact throughout both races. Congratulations to Konig for the overall win on the day.
Class E once again had all the action with no less than 9 competitors competing in this class. Qualifying revealed that Terence Ladner in his Hamilton’s VW Scirocco would be the man to beat after posting the quickest time in qualifying. Sadly, it was not Ladner’s day as he unfortunately suffered catastrophic engine failure shortly after the first lap of the race. This left it wide open for the rest of the Class E contenders to take victory. When the flag came down it was Sean Hepburn in his AA Datsun 1200DL who took victory in Race 1 closely followed by Cameron Foster in his Jensen Towing Datsun 1200 GX who was promoted to Class E after a strong qualifying performance. It was Franz Jensen in his Hamilton’s Datsun 1200 GX who managed a 3rd place finish, followed by Grant Cramer in his Jensen Towing Datsun 1200 GX, Louis Cloete in his Automotive Racing Components VW Beetle and Travis Jensen in his Hamilton’s Datsun 1200 GX who recovered after a small error caused him to lose a substantial amount of time toward the end of the race. Michael Lundin in a Silvergaurd Datsun 1200 GX had a ‘moment’ on the penultimate lap of Race 1 sliding off the circuit and almost rolling his Datsun, luckily there was not too much damage and the car was checked over and made ready for the second race of the day. Sadly, John McLachlan in his Hamilton’s Datsun 1200 GX retired just after the second lap of Race 1. Race 2 was just as exciting as Race 1 but despite the best efforts of the other Class E competitors it was Hepburn that took the chequered flag to record a double victory on the day. The fight for 2nd place was super close with the father-son rivalry of Travis and Franz Jensen on full display. As they got to the finish line it was Travis getting the better of his father to take 2nd place by a few tenths of a second. These two were closely followed by Foster who put on a very strong performance this last weekend, from Cramer and Lundin. Unfortunately, McLachlan suffered another DNF in the early stages of Race 2. Congratulation to Hepburn for taking a dominant double victory on the day.
Class F saw Shane McLachlan in his Datsun 1200 GX taking 1st position in qualifying over his fellow competitors. In race 1 however it was Deon Schwabsky in his Ford Escort who took victory but in doing so recorded a lap time that saw him breaking out of his class times and incurring a time penalty. The penalty was not enough to deny Schwabsky the win, with the time penalty placing him just ahead of McLachlan. Ian Odendaal in his AIM Precision Engineering Ford Escort MK1 who was only able to complete 9 of the 10 laps of Race 1 before suffering a mechanical fault. Race 2 saw Odendaal make a strong return to take the Class F win from Schwabsky and McLachlan. Overall though it was Schwabsky who won overall on the day.
Class G competitors included Mike Bishop in his Gasoline Denim Co. Renault Gordini and Riaan de Ru in his Ford Prefect. Qualifying saw de Ru getting the better of Bishop to start race 1 in 1st position. Race 1 saw some fantastic and very close racing from the pair but as the chequered flag came out it was Bishop who had come out on top. Race 2 was similar to Race 1 with the pair trading positions throughout the race, some proper door to door action. On this occasion however it was de Ru who won the second heat by enough of a margin to narrowly take the overall victory by a few seconds.
A special mention must be made to the marshals who, on the day, displayed their passion and unwavering enthusiasm for motorsport as after each race they all came out with flags blowing in the wind while they waved and congratulated each and every competitor throughout the entire day. This was something to behold and without the marshal’s motorsport would not be possible or safe. The love displayed for motorsport by the marshals on the day was magical and on behalf of all the HRSA members we would like to thank the marshals for their efforts on the day.
Overall, the day was a huge success with plenty of entertainment and action from start to finish. Congratulations to all the winners, we hope to see everyone on 20 April 2024 for Round 3 of the 2024 Championship at Zwartkops Raceway.
