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MOTORSPORT SA’s POSITION ON F1
In the wake of the very successful 2010 FIFA World Cup and SASCOC’s announcement to oversee a bid for the 2020 Olympic Games, the controlling body of motorsport in the country, Motorsport South Africa (MSA) has positioned itself early towards the hosting of a F1 Grand Prix in the country.
MSA through its Managing Director, Francois Pretorius and re-iterated by the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr George Nyabadza, confirmed that it would support the hosting of a F1 event in the country with very clear provisions.
Dr Nyabadza shared the sentiment of millions of F1-fans that it would be wonderful to have F1 back in South Africa. He however made it clear that one of the conditions should be around the number of South Africans on the grid or at least with the opportunity, based on skill, to get there. “F1 enjoys very little support in countries where there is no representation. Only when we can wave our rainbow flag will there be public interest and national unity.” Another condition he would like to see included would be very clear provisions of how much money would be generated for motorsport development, particularly in the female segment and the black youth segments of South Africa. It would be irresponsible, he said, to host an F1 race and not have the stakeholders invest a portion of the proceeds in these segments. ”There would be no legacy for the sport.”
He said a very realistic economic impact study needed to be done to weigh up the tangible benefits against the substantial costs, especially considering the maximum stay by foreign visitors is now on average three nights for a F1 event. This would however, be the domain of national government and sponsors.
Francois Pretorius said any F1 event in South Africa would need to be inscribed onto the FIA calendar by MSA. The MSA Board’s current position is that it would only support the hosting of such an event in South Africa if it provided concrete benefits to the grassroots development of motorsport, which would happen under the auspices of MSA. He added that the immediate socio-economic priorities in the country outweighed the possible long-term benefits of hosting the event unless a cogent and sustainable plan of sport development was provided for.
Both Dr. Nyabadza and Francois Pretorius agree that the MSA Board would seriously consider support for any bidders prepared to factor these provisions into their proposal.
Step inside the F1 racing circuit at Sandton Mall 13 - 19 July
Fans of Formula 1 racing and Lewis Hamilton are in for a rare treat this month as they have the opportunity to view a replica of the 2008 Lewis Hamilton Championship Winning Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 car.
Johnnie Walker®, a corporate partner of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes Benz Team, will be exhibiting the car as part of their Responsible Drinking Campaign at shopping malls around the country.
Here's a quote from Mika Häkkinen, the Global responsible drinking Ambassador of Johnnie Walker:
“My entire career has been based around remaining in control of myself and my environment in order to be a winner. I want to use my experiences in order to help raise awareness of the importance of staying in control.”
“On the track or on the road, driving is about control. If you drink and then drive you lose focus, you take risks... you’re not in control and as a result are a danger to yourself and to the others around you.”
Beetle 75th @ the SA Mint - 20 June 2010
 On Sunday 20th June we celebrated the Beetle's 75th Birthday at the Mint. We took this opportunity to sell raffle tickets for the Midrand SPCA. Currently they are in serious need of funds to help them continue their services . They are doing a great job for the Midrand community and we do not want to see them close down. We managed to sell about R300 worth of raffle tickets, and many people made donations to the Midrand SPCA.
We would like to announce the winners and congratulate them, as well as thank everyone that bought raffle tickets and made a donation. It is very much appreciated.
1st Prize went to Kathy Munro from Kensington
2nd Prize went to Michelle Pretorius from Centurion
3rd Prize went to 10 year old Jordyn Staniland from Midrand
Congratulations to all!
We would also like to take this opportunity to appeal to the public. If there are any individuals or companies who would like to make a regular monthly donation of R50 to R100 or more, to the Midrand SPCA, please contact the manager, Elsje Naiker on (011) 265-9935. All donations made to the
Midrand SPCA are tax deductible in terms of Section 18A of the tax act. The necessary certificate can be obtained from the office. The donations can also add towards social responsibility when doing you yearly BEE evaluation.
 1st Cape Gate Brackenfell Gymkhana
Witzenberg Motorklub WBMK 03/2010 5 June 2010
Izak van Zyl and Danye Louw made it three in a row with the Dynotech class G VW Golf MkII 2.0 Turbo when they won the inaugural Cape Gate Brackenfell Gymkhana on Saturday 5 June 2010. It was no walkover victory though, as Fanie du Toit and Kobus Wilson Jnr produced an absolute gem of a final run in their well sorted Propshaft & CV Joint Services Worcester class A Mazda Rustler LDV 2.0 16v to finish just 0.05 seconds down on combined times. André Dreyer and Patrick Vermaak completing the podium positions in their Weskaap Bakwerke class A VW Golf MkII 2.0 16v.
Jehan de Jongh and Danye Louw impressed with fourth overall in the class C winning H&H Motor Spares & Rebuilds VW Golf MkI 1600, just 0.1 seconds ahead of the awesome Powerflow Exhausts class G VW Golf MkII of Duncan Jepthas and Nashrene Schloss. The course was extremely challenging and to watch Duncan at work with the use of just one arm was inspiring to say the least. Class B winners, Günther and Louise Appelgryn, finished sixth overall after yet another immaculate display of disciplined driving in their WBMK VW Golf MkI 1800.
Seventh going to the hard charging class C H&H Motor Spares & Rebuilds VW Golf MkI 1600 of Danye and Marcile Louw with Jehan de Jongh and Danye Louw eighth in the class B Boland Trade Centre VW Golf MkI 1800. Possibly the most loyal GTi Club competitors of all time in the gymkhana series, Brent Laurings and Duncan Andrews, finished in a superb ninth overall position in their Opel Kadett GTE 2.0 8v! Their commitment in this Opel is something to aspire to, always giving 110% in every event. Marius Swart and Leon Engelbrecht also impressive with tenth overall in their Eikestad Plastic Repairs class A VW Golf MkI 2.0. Normally these two competitors would be embroiled in their own personal war, but Marius simply dominated this time around.
Every time Danye and Marcile Louw would appear in the class B Boland Trade Centre VW Golf MkI 1800 it would splutter and they had to accept a frustrating eleventh overall. Another team struggling with a temperamental machine was brothers, Jacques and Armand Otto, in their recently completed Toyota Conquest RSi 1800. New car niggles saw them in twelfth overall but this car clearly has great potential. Leon Engelbrecht and Marius Swart thirteenth in the Eikestad Plastic Repairs class A VW Golf MkI 2.0 with Geoff Wellstead and Günther Appelgryn fourteenth in their class B G&M Autospeed VW Golf MkI 1800. Geoff making welcome return to the WBNK series after a long absence.
Johann and Petra Zulch dominated class E in their Van der Merwe Houtsaery E30 BMW 325iM and really looked the part as the Beemer lifted front wheels and subtle powerslides saw the combination post impressive times as they headed towards fifteenth spot overall. In the absence of Albertus Loubser it was brother, Jacobus, who piloted the Pro Bru Spares class C Toyota Conquest RSi 20v to sixteenth spot with guidance from Robin Wakeford. Lourens van Litsenborgh and Jacques du Plessis struggled to find rythm in the normally ultra quick class C Honda Civic V-Tec 1600 and settled for seventeenth.
Herman Mathee and Jan van der Vyver were in very determined frame of mind and the little 1400 Datsun LDV were pushed as hard as it would go enroute to a class F victory and 18th overall. Ever consistent Morné Roux and Monica Robbertse, 19th in their class B VW Golf MkI 1800. Not having competed with this almost standard Golf for some time, they were impressed by the standard of competition present on the day. This car normally a top ten contender. Marius Swart and Leon Engelbrecht also entered a VW Fox 1800 in class B and impressed with a fine 20th overall result.
Ettiene Swart and Izak van Zyl again winning class D in the neatly prepared Cape Fire & AirconVW Golf Chico 1.4i, proving that this combination have now become the stars of the category. Placing a 1.4i in 21st spot was no mean feat as the competition proved exceptionally tough. Hennie Odendaal and Donald Loubser 22nd in the SR Radiators clas B VW Golf MkI 1800.
Pierre Schoeman and Morné Roux joined forces in the Strand Fitment Centre class A VW Golf GTi MkII 2.0 in 23rd spot with Francois Naudé and Ulrich Joseph 24th in their neat class A Opel Kadett GSi 2.0 16v. Changing seats they also finished 25th in the smae car with Deon and Maralize Conradie somewhat out of kilt in 26th spot with the very neat 2.3 FFR class E VW Buggy. Cahrl Carr and Richard Hough had the silver class D Opel Corsa Classic 1.4i working overtime enroute to 27th spot and they were followed closely by the Innovative Woodwork class F 1600 Toyota powered Datsun LDV of Anton Smit and new navigator, Gavin Parsons.
Jan van der Vyver and Herman Mathee 29th in the three wheeling class D VW Golf Chico 1.4i. Danye and Marcile Louw somewhat disappointed with 30th spot in their class A Boland Trade Centre Renault Clio Sport 2.0 16v after the car developed brake problems. Dan Traut and Patrick Vermaak 31st overall in the E30 class E BMW 325i after another fun event. Nashrene Schloss and ouise Appelgryn winning class I as the first all ladies crew home in the VW Fox 1800 with the E30 KS Panelbeaters class E BMW 325i of Jacobus and Lizelle Smit 33rd overall. Nashrene Schloss and Louise Appelgryn also taking 34th spot as a class B entry in the VW Fox 1800 and they had the blue JPW Transport clas F Datsun 1400 LDV of Kobus Wilson Snr and Herman Mathee hot on their heels.
Robin Wakeford and Morné Roux 36th in the clutchless clas C Toyota Corolla 1600 whilst Jacques du Plessis and stand in navigator, Lourens van Litsenborgh, had to accept a frustrating 37th spot in the normally very quick class C du Plessis Auto Toyota Conquest RSi 1600. A broken CV curtailing their chances of another top ten result. Though clearly never intended to be the quickest car on the day the very entertaining class F Chana 1300 LDV of Desmond Harding and Henry Köhne quickly became a firm favourite with the Brackenfell crowd and it enjoyed very vocal support every time it made an appearance on the route.
Richard and Jacolien Hough 39th in their Hough Electrical class D Opel Corsa 1.3i after a consistent outing with newcomers, Pietie Erasmus and Mike Mathee 40th overall in their class D VW Fox 1.3. Swopping seats they also placed the same car 41st. Leon and Monique Engelbrecht proved very entertaining in 42nd spot with the first appearance of their immaculately prepared 1947 Studebaker LDV – complete with V8 Corvette power. Not only was this an extremely attractive vehicle, it even handled better that expected and led to a rather heated debate when the Most Spectacular Driver of the Day had to be announced. The Chempet Chemical Technologies award going to the Studebaker as they always stuck to the scheduled route.
For tyre smoking appeal alone there was no contest when the antics of Kobus Wilson Snr and Herman Mathee had to be evaluated in the JPW Transport class E BMW 535i. Incredible to see what this car is really capable of doing to a set of rear tyres when driven with enthusiasm. Hermie de Kock and Pieter Hugo 44th in their neat Super Airbrake & Clutch class D Opel Corsa 1.3 with Monica Robbertse and Marcile Louw in 45th spot with the class I VW Golf MkI 1800. They had Jacolien Hough and Petra Zulch close behind in their Hough Electrical class D Opel Corsa 1.3i. Kobus Wilson Snr and Herman Mathee not classified as finishers in the very spectacular JPW Transport class G Datsun Skyline GTX V8.
Dee-Jay Booysen claimed the Fastest Time of the Day and class H honours behind the wheel of his incredibly quick Honda 400cc powered Dico Formula M racer. Izak van Zyl second in his Dynotech VW Golf GTi MkII Turbo 2.0 and in third it was André Dreyer in the Weskaap Bakwerke VW Golf GTi 2.0 16v. Duncan Jepthas finishing fourth in the Powerflow Exhausts TSi 2.0 VW Golf MkII with Günther Appelgryn fifth in his VW Golf MkI 1800 and Fanie du Toit sixth in the very rapid Mazda Rustler LDV 2.0 16v.
Brent Laurings seventh with the yellow Opel Kadett GTE 2.0 8v, Francois Naudé eighth in the black Opel Kadett GSi 2.0 and Pierre Schoeman ninth in the Strand Fitment Centre VW Golf GTi 2.0. Jan van der Vyver tenth in the 1.4i Chico and Arno Hougraadt eleventh in his 250cc powered Bohemian Tattoos Formula M racer. Unfortunately Ryno Pentz lost an argument with a solid pavement and failed to finish in his 400cc powered Dico Formula M racer.
Leon Engelbrecht opened the proceedings with a fitting scripture reading and prayer before a group of enthusiastic rally drivers demonstrated their distinctive vehicles to the appreciative crowd. Running before the start of the event and between each of the three legs the presence of the 2009 Junior WP Rally Championship winning class S4 Winning Business Solutions / Forsdicks Tygervalley E36 BMW 325i of Thorsten Pey and Mark Palmer certainly attracted much attention. Specially remaining as it completed the recent CPMCC Vlakvlei Night Rally the car looked the part with thick mud an broken spotlights to complete the tyre smoking scene. The Teletubby still strapped to the rear spoiler!
Harry Giliomee and Frits Blom had their neat class S3 Toyota Corolla Breadvan 1800 present whilst Mike Nathan fitted in a few very entertaining runs in the awesome Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Turbo 4x4 racer of Alexander Herbst as well as the gloriously sounding BMW M3 CSL. The class A7 Toyota Run X RSi 2.0 20v of Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak proved to be a highlight of the day as Ettiene demonstrated the amazing agility of this car to good effect with a very worried looking Anette Vermaak as navigator.
The Dros Restaurant supported the event by hosting the prizegiving and included a special Gymkhana Hamburger and Chips on their menu for the day. In the weeks leading up to the event listeners of the Radio Tygerberg 104Fm Motorsport Fokus program actually had the opportunity to win free meal vouchers and on the day the Dros enjoyed brilliant support whilst Radio Tygerberg announcer, Neels Rabe, kept the crowd spellbound with his customary humour and wit. The Virgin Active Gymnasium sportingly made their undercover parking available as pit area to the competitors and PIC Projects provided the perimeter fencing for the day. Wayne Zwicky and Imperial Toyota Brackenfell also assisting in making this event a success.
Start and Finish marshals as always were Dewald and Meghan Nortjé with Xandré du Toit and Paul Arendse as the Judges of Fact. Arie Stylen the ever reliable track marshal on route whilst Pit Control was once again in the capable hands of André Brinkman. A task he did so well that the Marshal of the Day Chempet Chemical Technologies award was unanimously awarded to him. Chief Marshal Neville Gleeson and Scorer, André Mitchell, reported a flawless run on the Jayen Timer with John McLinden taking care of technical support.
Pierre van der Westhuizen the Clerk of the Course with Daniël Terblanche the MSA Steward and Tony Hardenberg as MSA Environmental Steward. Anette Vermaak the Event Secretary. A special word of thanks to Günther and Louise Appelgryn who were instrumental in making this event happen with the support of Pierre Appelgryn Jaco Matthee and Robin Wakeford.
Cyan Fernandes was the elated winner of the WBMK Raffle, winning a drive with event winner, Izak van Zyl, in the Dynotech VW Golf 2.0 Turbo whilst the earnings were donated toward classroom renovation at the Vissershok Primary School.
The next event on 17 July 2010 – the 5th Fairbridge Mall Brackenfell Gymkhana.
Patrick Vermaak
083 701 8116
 Specially for the World Cup.....if you are in the vicinity of PE or Uitenhage, come and see the
exciting new exhibits at Volkswagen of SA's AutoPavilion museum. SA off-road racer Giniel de
Villiers' Race Touareg with which he won the tough 'Dakar' rally, the last Citi Golf made in SA
and a monster Group B Audi quattro rally car are some of the attractions.
Rally News *MORE great rally news Soon!*
a great welcome back for CINDY HARDING as this weekends rally navigating for GUGU was her first since the untimely death of her Prior Rally Partner, Paul Pheifer
Zwartkops 29 May (gee, my grandmother was born a century ago!)
SBK @ Kyalami
REACT Vlakvlei Night Rally
Cape Peninsula Motorcycle and Car Club 7-8 May 2010
Mike Nathan and Rikus Fourie (down from Port Elizabeth) put their CPMCC S5 / N4 Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 Turbo 4x4 to good use on extremely tricky road conditions to dominate the REACT Marketing Vlakvlei Night Rally on 7/8 May 2010. Being the first night event in twelve years conditions tested everyone present, even those who had the luxury of previous night rallying experience.
Ashley Haigh-Smith and Hilton Auffray started the event with guns ablaze in the Andy Haigh-Smith class S3 / A6 CPMCC Toyota Corolla RXi 1600, winning the opening 13.57km special stage by four seconds. Something that really grabbed the attention of all present, but then the Corolla developed a misfire on special stage two before youthful exuberance got the better of this obviously talented youngster on special stage three. The Corolla getting out of shape into a flatout L4/cattlegrid – concrete grid 1 and Corolla 0.
Thorsten Pey and Mark Palmer put in the drive of the event with the heavy Winning Business Solutions / Forsdicks Tygervalley class S4 WBMK E36 BMW 325i. This much heavier rear wheel drive vehicle definitely not suited to the wet, muddy and deceptive nature of the stages but Thorsten thrives in survival mode and really revels at night rallying. Mark had only one night rallysprint as experience going into this event and found the opening two stages something of a revelation. With the spotlights gradually getting less on the BMW they clearly found the yumps challenging.
Having only two events experience behind them as a team, Sebastiaan and Daniël Klaasen, again showed great promise by keeping the CPMCC S5 / N4 Subaru Impreza WRX 4x4 Turbo intact and on the road enroute to an impressive third overall on their night rallying debut. They certainly are starting to master the challenges presented by both the Subaru and rallying and turned in some very respectable times.
André Cleenwerck and Carl Peskin entered their CCMCC class S4 / A7 VW Polo 2.0 20v and as expected this car proved to be a real handful in the muddy conditions. Somehow they kept it pointing forward and achieved a commendable fourth overall. Another comeback drive saw Shaun Jones and Ian Thebus in fifth place with the Naartjie. The orange CPMCC class S5 VW Golf Synchro 4x4 Turbo 1.8 showing a good turn of speed and for once reliability, despite steaming like a river boat.
Father and son, Clinton and Keenan Sassman, deserve special mention as their sixth overall was truly well deserved after many disappointing retirements. Their CCMCC class S4 E30 BMW 325i never missed a beat and finally returned the result they so richly deserved. This hopefully the first of many good results.
As vice-chairman of CPMCC, title sponsor of the event and team manager for Ashley the yellow submarine was placed in command of Steven White and Patrick Vermaak and once again this little car did not disappoint. Seventh overall a very satisfactory result for a driver that had not sat in a rally car for almost a year and encouraging improvements saw them quicker on every stage. The REACT Marketing class S2 CPMCC Mitsubishi Lancer GT1600 developing a slight misfire on the final km of the event and then a puncture in Parc Fermé.
Team George returned eighth overall after another steady performance in the really neatly turned out class S Flying Fridge CCMCC Toyota Conquest RSi 1600. André George and George du Toit proving that they have shaken the effects of their roll and are back in the fray. Paul-Hendrik Franken and Uwe Pey enjoyed the reliability of their 1800 powerplant in the class S3 WBMK VW Golf CSL. Hitting a rock on the final stage Uwe actually bit through his tongue but the enthusiastic team were simply exstatic to finish. Pierre Franken, father of Paul-Hendrik, setting the example by finishing a 900km mountain bike race the week before!
Stefanie and Willem Hugo had both an enjoyable and frustrating event in their recently acquired ex-Kosta Koumantarakis Wiel / Select Cars class S3 / N3 Toyota Run X RSi 1800. Enjoyable was the fact that they finished tenth overall and frustrating due to the fact that the computer had lost most of it’s performance data. Abduraghman Amlay sportingly tried to fix the problem but could do little under the circumstances. Stefanie really enjoying the luxury of decent suspension and more nimble handling.
West Coast newcomers, Divan de Goede and Henry Köhne, shared the view of almost every other competitor that night rallying rules. Making their night debut in the ex-Wessel Venter class S2 / N2 Toyota Corolla RSi 1600 the youngsters found the night event to be a real eye opening experience which they thoroughly enjoyed. Another sound finish adding the their experience level.
Winston Neethling and Garth Ritsch became a welcome late entry in their ex-Hannes Grobler class S5 Nissan Sentra 4x4, now with a standard 2.0 engine. A good looking car despite it’s age they managed a respectable twelfth spot after a long layoff. Floating the big CCMCC class S4 Nissan Skyline GTX 2.8 across the ponds of water in the early stages proved great fun for Gavin Grierson and Paul van Greunen, but then the water disappeared and the landings became uncomfortable . The team happy to finish 13th overall.
Warren Scholtz and Justin Gay made it to the finish in fourteenth – Just! The class S3 CPMCC VW Polo 1.8 lost it’s clutch coming into the final control and the duo had to push the car into Parc Fermé. No matter, another finish just what they need to stay motivated.
Derrick Benjamin and Adrie Stander stormed into the first 860m of SS4 and promptly put the S4 CCMCC VW polo 2.0 onto it’s side in the first slippy R7 corner. Though they recovered the car eventually expired with overheating. Harry Giliomee and Fritz Blom enjoyed the first four stages so much that one would have thought they won the event. The neat class s3 WBMK Toyota Breadvan 1800 finally showing some real potential before fuel starvation stopped them in SS5.
Rupert van Zyl and Marius Rudolph did not have an enjoyable event in their clas S3 CPMCC VW Golf GTi 1800 with a misfire on SS1 just the beginning of their drama. Llewellyn Jones and Christopher Pichon broke a front shockabsorber on their class S4 VW Golf IV TDi 1.9 whilst Brian Maunder and Brian Hoskins and the WPMC class S1 VW Golf Chico 1.4i disappeared from scoring after SS2.
Despite some 25mm rain leading up to the event the weather could not have been any better on the actual night of the event. Dark moon but with no wind, acceptable temperatures and marvellous atmosphere the event proved extremely popular will all involved. Clearly night rallying have nor been part of the local scene for many years and even regular photographers, Eric Joseph and Frank Pey, found conditions tricky.
Jason Joseph improved his 100m dash time when Sebastiaan Klaasen netered a L8 rather too hot in the Subaru and picked on the scenery whilst judging distances and lines for the variety of machines had both Eric and Frank scratching heads to achieve good results. As event sponsor Andy Haigh-Smith have to be complimented for the manner in which he supported crews and officials. Being a night event he provided some 75 miners lamps to make life easier.
On sheer spirit there is absolutely nothing wrong with Western Province rallying as the spirit during this event was incredible. Derek Jacobs tried his best to keep competitors informed as to conditions on the stages but watching a DVD recorded during a dry day and rallying in wet conditions at night proved challenging to say the least. When the last night event was run normal tulips were the order of the day and nobody really knew how to approach the new challenge as that big tree that was used as reference were nowhere to be seen in the dark of night!
The Cape Peninsula Motorcycle and Car Club could not have started their centenary year in a more spirited fashion. Sharing a 1910 birthday with Alfa Romeo there will still be much to celebrate later in the season. With soccer dominating the next two months round 5 of the Western Province Rally Championship will be the CCMCC All Tar on 13/14 August 2010 at the Killarney motorsport complex in Milnerton.
Patrick Vermaak 083 701 8116
  
7th Uniref Langebaan Gymkhana
Witzenberg Motorklub Sakkie makes it two 1 May 2010
Izak van Zyl and Danye Louw continued where they had left off in February by dominating the second round of the 2010 Witzenberg Motorklub Gymkhana Championship in their extremely rapid Dynotech class G VW Golf MkII 2.0 Turbo. Posting the fastest time of the day the white Golf showed that it would be hard to beat on any surface this year.
Second place was where the real action happened as no less than three teams were eventually separated by a scant 0.29 seconds after four thrilling rounds of competition. Impossible to split with conventional timing the Jayen Timer once again came into it’s own, this time in the caring hands of John McLinden and André Mitchell.
Jehan de Jongh and Danye Louw celebrated their return to competition by finishing second in the H&H Motor Spares Wellington class C VW Golf MkI 1600. They made the headlines by becoming the first team ever to roll a car on a gymkhana when they flipped the Golf onto it’s roof at Flamingo’s in 2009. There were no such errors this time round, they had to give everything to secure this position as Fanie du Toit and Morné Roux finished just 0.3 seconds behind the Golf in their class A Mazda Rustler LDV 2.0 16v. Adding further spice to the tussle were Jacques du Plessis and Walter van Dyk in their class C Toyota Conquest RSi 1600, only 0.24 seconds later. With all three cars demonstrating superb handling more of the same can be expected at the next round on 5 June.
Danye and Marcile Louw fifth overall in the same class C H&H Motor Spares Wellington VW Golf MkI 1600 with the class B winning VW Golf MkI 1800 of Günther and Louise Appelgryn hot on their heels in sixth spot. The Appelgryn couple impressive with clinically clean lines and control which will serve them well in the future. Jehan de Jongh and Danye Louw seventh in the Boland Trade Centre class B VW Golf MkI 1800 and with roles reversed the same car also netted eighth overall. Jacques and Armand Otto made their debut in a class B Toyota Conquest 1800 and though this car is clearly still being developed the brothers certainly made their intentions clear by finishing in the top ten.
Marius Swart found the opening scripture reading delivered by his navigator, Leon Engelbrecht, so inspiring that he actually beat him to tenth overall in the neatly prepared class A Eikestad Plastic repairs VW Golf MkI 2.0. Swapping roles it was Leon Engelbrecht who lacked confidence as driver, strangely hesitating on a number of occasions enroute to eleventh overall. With the score one all they will certainly be worth watching on 5 June!
Johann and Petra Zulch won class E with comparative ease in the Van der Merwe Houtsaery BMW 325i and even allowed themselves the luxury of stepping sideways at times. Listening to the advice of his very experience navigator, Izak van Zyl, it was a well deserved first class win as driver for Ettiene Swart in thirteenth overall with the very well driven class D VW Golf Citi 1.4i. Hennie Odendaal and Donald Loubser teamed up in the Boetzendaal Radiators class B VW Golf MkI 1800 to finish fourteenth overall after another steady drive.
Deon and Maralize Conradie was fifteenth, but could have challenged for class honours had they not struggled to navigate the route on almost every run in the very impressive class E FFR Buggy 2.3. Former champion, André Dreyer, present as spectator and he too started off with a rapid Beach Buggy! Radio amateurs, Jan van der Vyver and Herman Matthee, had another entertaining outing in their bog standard class D VW Golf Citi 1.4i and were well pleased with second in class and sixteenth overall.
Morné Roux and Monica Robbertse completed the event with mixed emotions as the sport had lost one of it’s most devoted members when Marius Roux passed away after a short illness recently. At drivers briefing all the competitors and officials formed a guard of honour as Morné drove the class C Toyota Tazz 1600 past in honour of his father. Seventeenth overall would have seen Marius brimming with pride but his legacy will continue through the actions of his children.
Charl Carr and Richard Hough drove hard all day long in their class D Opel Corsa Classic 1.4i and 0.37 seconds separated them from second in class. Anton Smit and Izak van Zyl joined forces in the original 1600 Toyota powered class F Innovative Woodwork Nissan LDV to record a popular class win in nineteenth overall. Dan Traut and Patrick Vermaak completing the top twenty in their class E BMW 325i. Dan proving that he could become a threat in the class should he be able to compete more regularly.
With a new car being built Herman Matthee and Jan van der Vyver have stopped development on their Nissan LDV 1400 but still showed a fair turn of speed by finishing 21st overall and second in class.
Richard and Jacolien Hough completed their debut event in 22nd spot with their very neat class D Hough Electrical Opel Corsa 1.3. It even remained neat after the Tazzmanian devil in Richard had tried to push over the tyre wall. Kobus Wilson Snr and Herman Matthee third in class F and 23rd overall in their JPW Transport Nissan LDV 1400 after an almost sedate effort in this extremely neat vehicle.
Recently married, Walter van Dyk, was allowed to compete only if he cured the sneezing problem on his CTi Golf. He had promised his wife that she would get the CTi Golf as transport and as such the Turbo engine was replaced with normally aspirated 1800 mill. With the new toy not yet ready Mom’s car did well to finish 24th as car no 24. Jacobus and Lizelle Smit 25th in their KS Panelbeaters class E BMW 325i and showing vast improvement after having some navigational problems in the early runs. Dad following his own directions for a while.
Donald Loubser and Hennie Odendaal also attempted to push the tyre wall around the block but their little class D Mini 1275 proved somewhat under powered for the task at hand. Discovering that his new set of 13” tyres did not fit on the morning of the event started his day in a stressfull manner and then he drove over his hydraulic jack just for fun, but it was all smiles again when prizegiving started.
Monica Robbertse and Marcile Louw won the all ladies class I in the Toyota Tazz 1600, heading home a very interesting gymkhana newcomer. Desmond Harding and Henry Köhne enjoying their first event in one of the racing Chana 1.3 LDV entries. Finding the light rear end and short wheelbase quite challenging their presence certainly became quite a talking point amongst the crowd and hopefully this vehicle will become a regular.
Kobus Wilson Snr and Herman Matthee battled to control the 5.0 V8 powered JPW Transport class G Nissan Skyline as this mean machine does not have a limited slip differential fitted but it certainly does burn rubber in a straight line and the crowd really enjoyed every run. Hermie de Kock and Richard Hough 32nd in their class D Opel Corsa 1.3i with another gymkhana debutant 33rd. Jacolien Hough making her debut as driver with Petra Zulc navigating the Hough Electrical clas I Opel Corsa 1.3i to 33rd spot.
Though classified as the finale finishers of the 7th Uniref Langebaan Gymkhana the actions of the JPW Transport class E BMW 535i left the crowd gasping for breath as it found itself balanced in a variety of strange angles enroute to being awarded the Most Spectacular Driver of the Day award. Few would believe that a big, heavy, and sedate 535i could be this spectacular!
Arnold de Leeuw and Henry Köhne completed just two runs in their Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 4x4 Turbo before calling it a day whilst the Groenewald Houtwerke class B VW Golf GTi 1800 of Attie Groenewald and Wayne Nel departed with a dropped valve after just one run.
Prizegiving at Flamingo’s Restaurant and Dance Club was festive as always with Richelieu once again providing some great lucky draw awards. Arno Ruyssenaar deserves special mention as his preparation of the route was superb. André and Leona Vorster hosting the event for the 7th time and though many find the surface at Flamingo’s extremely hard on tyres this event will remain a favourite. Donevan Denyssen and Uniref once again supporting the gymkhana series in another long association.
Thanks to Motorheads a number of competitors will now also be better informed in the Western Cape as well!
The next round set for 5 June 2010, the very 1st Cape Gate Brackenfell Gymkhana!
Patrick Vermaak
083 701 8116
News from Formula Vee
ETR has had an impressive début season as a team, Eustice and Tennant started racing Formula Vee at the same time (2008) with varying degrees of success.
The ETR drivers have proven there worth in and out of The Execuline National Formula Vee Championships as they both contest in numerous motoring events. Alan Eustice can often be found taking part in classic car races in a vast array of cars often taking top spots in his class’s. Tennant has been involved in a charity endurance kart race which was resulted in a win with team locost and a regional single seater championship race where Tennant one Formula Libre overall in a class C type car beating Class A’s and B’s in a rain drenched Kyalami.
Tennant is sitting in 2nd in the Execuline National Championships with 2 wins a DNF and a handful of top 5 places.
Eustice is sitting in 4th in the Regional Championships with a host of top 5 finishes and a 2nd at East London.
ETR Chief Engineer Craig Kinch is simply an outstanding engineer “the best”- (Nicholas Tennant). Being involved in Toyota Offroad racers in Class SP and Super D, Craig single handedly built a race winning Toyota SP Hilux for the 2009 season and has just finished a Super D, he also helps out mate Gorge in the AIM SP Hilux.
Steve Tennant, the man behind the scenes is always inspecting the two ETR Rheme’s with Craig always looking for fractions of a KG and fractions of seconds. Steve’s analytical abilities have substantially helped the team improve from two mid pack drivers to possibly the strongest team on the grid and in only a few months.
Tennant coming out of karting in 2008 is looking for sponsors in order to get back into the rough and tough National Rotax Karting class’s in the remaining races of 2010 and then a full season in 2011.
Tennant will be testing a Rotax Max Challenge in the coming weeks to ascertain the viability of his karting come back. – the goal time is a 1:45.00 at Zwartkops Kart circuit, a time that although .07 of the pace is a good stepping stone for improvement and is also respectable considering the 2 and a half year gap since his last Kart race.
ETR will be leaving for our PE National Next Thursday
Watch for ETR’s drivers on Rapid Motion Classic on:
Friday 30th April 09:00 – 10:00 SS7 (DSTV 207)
14:00 – 15:00 SS7 (DSTV 207)
Saturday 1st May 10:00 – 11:00 SS5 (DSTV 205)
Monday 3rd May 10:00 – 11:00 SS2 (DSTV 202)
Tuesday 4th May 22:00 – 23:00 SS6 (DSTV 206)
A Huge thank you goes out to our current sponsors:
Execuline Motor Insurance
Tennant Life Benefits
Engineering Unlimited
And of course to all the Fans, supporters, friends and family
For more news on Formula Vee go to www.formulaveesa.org.za
News from Shelby Can-Am
South Africa’s national championship sports car series thrilled a sizeable crowd at Cape Town’s Killarney circuit on Saturday (17 Apr) and in the process the championship fight was opened up.
Joining the Shelby Can-Am field was the Cape based V8 Masters class which added variety and spice to the races. The series was founded by the late Owen Ashley and the neatly turned out sleek coupe bodied cars fitted in well with the Can-Am field to provide two distinctive races within a race.
Driving the NJOY backed car, Shelby Can-Am championship leader Darryn Lobb was the fastest qualifier with a lap averaging a touch over 160 km/h, the only driver to break the magical 100mph barrier. 2008 champion Rui Campos (Hugo Boss) shared the front row as Durban’s Guy Botterill (Yato Tools/Bigfoot Express) and Brian Algar (Etana) occupied row two. Alan Eve (Phakisa) and Sean Greve (Vulcania reinforcing) rounded off the top six.
The opening race saw Lobb lead from start to finish but Botterill lost time at the start and was then caught up behind Campos and it took him half the race to get past. Once clear he steadily reigned in Lobb, but a last lap challenge didn’t quite come off and he was a mere .102 sec behind as they crossed the line with Campos a lonely third having elected to race on old tyres. Competitors are only allowed a certain number of tyres per season and among those was Greve.
A good tussle for fourth saw Eve get the verdict ahead of local driver Bertil Hofmann in the GP Energy Drink version. As Hanno Pengilly (Azura Retreats) rounded off the top six.
Former 250 Superkart champions Marcel Angel and Fabio Tafani came out on top in the V8 Masters class with Richard Weggelaar taking third from former Shelby Can-Am champion Neil Lobb.
Race two was another thriller. As is the norm, the top eight start in a reverse order of their fastest laps in the first race and this set the scene for a fascinating race.
Lobb’s hopes were dashed on the opening lap went he hit Reib under braking and slid off at Cape Town corner to retire with broken suspension while Reib shed a lot of bodywork. All this left Botterill to take full advantage of his rival’s misfortune and he didn’t put a foot wrong as he drove intelligently to claim a dominant three second win. A fired up Eve was the runner-up as Campos beat Algar in a close fight for third. Hoffman was a steady fifth with Greve getting sixth, well clear of Reib.
Thanks to Tafani indulging in a time consuming spin, Angel took an easy win in V8 Masters as Weggelaar was second with Charles Arton completing the podium.
The next round of the Shelby Can-Am championship takes place at Phakisa, Welkom on May 22nd and the fact that Lobb had a retirement and Botterill won in Cape Town means the two have a lot to fight for.
Sponsor's Home Race For Clare Vale
Port Elizabeth – May Day sees Clare Vale taking her Gatorback RAM Mustang to the Aldo Scribante circuit in Port Elizabeth. This race weekend holds special significance as she will be at her sponsors, Gatorback RAM’s home circuit. They have a factory in Uitenhague, and the team will be visiting the factory to meet the staff in the week before the race.
Clare has had a solid start to the year but will be looking at the Port Elizabeth race day to lift her season to the next level. She won her first WesBank V8 Supercar trophy at Aldo Scribante in 2008 and this weekend she will be aiming to add to that trophy collection.
Clare on the race in PE: “The whole team is looking forward to the PE event, and they have been working flat out to give me a really strong car. We’re excited and looking forward to meeting the Gatorback RAM staff and putting on a great show for them on Saturday.“
South African motorsport legend, Fanie Viljoen, passed away on Sunday 25 April at 1:45am. We'd like to extend our condolences to Marge, Grant and Marck.
Formula Vee
National: After three events (six races) and more than a third of the way through the season, the driver leading the National Points log (Peter Hills), has not yet won a race and the driver with the most wins (Essa) is only in fourth place, on the log. ETR's Nicholas Tennant is sitting in 2nd only 3 points of the leader. Interestingly all the wins and all the fastest laps are held by the top 5. The championship looks like this: 1st - Peter Hills - 55 2nd - Nicholas Tennant - 52 3rd - Symm Grobler - 48 4th - Zaahir Essa - 47 5th - Paul Venter - 43 Regional : 1 GEYSER SNR Jannie - 30 2 GOUWS Johan - 21 3 VENTER Paul - 21 4 EUSTICE Alan - 19 5 TENNANT Nicholas - 17 Execuline Tennant Racing: - Execuline Motor insurance - Tennant Life Benefits - Motorheads diaries - A-Z installations 
Superkarts @ Kyalami - 24 April - final results 1) Fabio Tafani 2) Greg Farah 3) Gary Gribben Congratulations to Fabio for his 2 race wins this weekend and winning the event and to Gary Gribben on his 3rd overall after a long break from the podium! Please see www.zatiming.co.za for further results. 
Pic: Motorheads
Sasol Rally 2010 Patrick Vermaak
Ashley Haigh-Smith and Hilton Auffray attacking drift
Jannie Habig and Ralph Pitchford 3rd Overall
News from the Historic Motorcycle Museum Geo Marnewick
Nicknamed the WAGON WHEEL G50. This is a total build from scratch with re manufacturerd parts fully imported from the UK and a 100% replica of Peter Williams bike. NOW only two in the world. The original is a foreighn museum and, when not racing this baby will be on view in the 1st Historic Motorcycle Museum in Africa. If not for John Boswells 245 man hours, this grand lady would not have seen the light of day. She is owned by IAN GROAT of TEAM INCOMPLETE.
It was measuered for Peter Labuschagne-former springbok and international rider and, if the finance is in line, may well be seen next year on the British tracks.
 Klein JAN Stander, leading the race series with 77 points visited the 1st Historic Motorcycle Museum in AFRICA and, rebonded with his late great fathers BOK SNOT, owned today by Gary Herbert and on kind loan to the museum. Quite emotional for Klein Janie and Geo Marnewick, as it was the late great Janie Stander that took Geo off a 49cc Girelli and onto a YAMAHA 250cc.
2010 Winner of the ‘Win the Car of the Year’ collects her prize 22 April 2010
Summya Khan, a medical typist at Flora Clinic Roodepoort, has become the “owner for a year” of South Africa’s 2010 Car of the Year – the VW Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline.
Volkswagen SA’s Mike Glendinning handed over a stunning silver coloured model to her and her husband, Ahmed, at VW's head office on Thursday, April 22. The prize includes free servicing, free comprehensive insurance from Hollard, and funding of free petrol for a year’s motoring from Total. The value of the prize is estimated to be well in excess of R100 000.
The Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI Comfortline became the Guild’s 25th Car of the Year when it took the title at the WesBank-sponsored COTY Banquet on March 18.
Ahmed drives a VW Jetta and is a Volkswagen VIP member. They visited the VW website where they got the information about the competition, in which contestants were asked to predict which vehicle in a line-up of eight finalists would be chosen by a jury of Guild members as South Africa’s Car of the Year for 2010. Summya decided that the Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI Comfortline was the hot favourite and sent just one SMS – which cost her R5. The Khans are looking into selling their current vehicles and buy another VW in the near future.
This is the seventh year that the Guild has run the ‘Win the Car of the Year’ for a year SMS competition, with revenue generated going towards the Guild’s Benevolent Fund.
Pro Tour @ Killarney - 17 April
Patrick Vermaak
Charles Arton loses left front wheel
Greg Walker tags 24 Doug MacDonald
Midas Clubmans accident
Altech GT Challenge 23 Porsche 917
Land yacht and 'green' car strut their stuff
It was a day for the boys when Toyota's newly launched third generation Prius hybrid car was pitted against the wind-powered Blokart.
Introduced to South Africa in 2008, the Blokart is a light and compact three-wheeled 'land yacht' that skims over beaches and other flat surfaces. Despite the promise of a windy, rainy March afternoon, a hot sun beat down on the Phakisa Raceway on the outskirts of Welkom on the day, with occasional gusts of wind giving a glimpse of the Blokart's full promise.
Chris Reilly, consulting editor of Toyota Zone magazine, first saw the Blokart at the National Boat Show in Johannesburg over a year ago. Reaching speeds of up to 96km per hour, a ‘shadow’ (similar to a motorcycle side car) can be clipped onto the Blokart to hold drinks, luggage or even a passenger.
So intrigued was he with the craft, that an idea immediately took hold to pit the high technology of the Prius against the wind-driven Blokart, to see which provides the most effective eco-travel solution.
And so began the search for a venue for the planned showdown. "The vast open space at Verneukpan in the northern Cape was ideal but too far for a quick jaunt. A large dry pan near Bultfontein was nearer but far from dry – a metre underwater following the wettest summer in decades. I decided to bank on the Free State breeze and booked a day at Phakisa," explains Reilly.
Emmerentia Klaasen from Imperial Toyota Bedfordview provided the Prius III and a Hilux double-cab support bakkie, while the Blokart dealer for Johannesburg, Hansel du Bruyn, provided two Blokarts.
Phakisa's huge pit paddock - a 15 000m2 expanse of flat tarmac - provided the ideal venue and soon the Blokarts' 5.5 metre high sails fluttered, heralding a promising gust. De Bruyn and fellow sailor Tony Hall leapt into their seats.
With the Blokarts' sails whipping in the breeze, Reilly jumped into the Prius and waltzed around the pirouetting Blokarts in EV mode. "The only sounds were the yells of delight from the two pilots and the soft buzz of the Prius’ electric power steering. Round and round the three vehicles danced, weaving amongst each other in an electric wind ballet," remembers Reilly.
Just as the adrenaline levels were about to reach open throttle, the wind died and the Blokarts ground to a halt.
It took 30 hot minutes before the air stirred again and this time it was Reilly and colleague Pritesh Ruthun manoeuvring the steering bar and sheet rope. "The sails crackled above our heads and we let out guffaws of delight," recalls Reilly.
"Chris and his assistant probably spent an hour on the Blokarts in less than 4kts of wind. It is quite surprising how little wind you need if you have a good surface," adds De Bruyn. Added to that, with sailors safely in a comfortable sling seat, after five minutes of briefing on controls and safety, you can be on your way, as Reilly and Ruthun discovered.
The development of the Prius began in 1994 and in 1997, it became the world’s first mass produced full hybrid drive vehicle when it was launched into the Japanese market.
The new third generation Prius features a next generation Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive system with comprehensive improvements to the full hybrid powertrain. In all, 90% of the hybrid drive components have been redesigned to create a lighter and more compact system with a focus on delivering increased power, improved cold weather operation, further improvements in real life fuel efficiency and further reductions in CO2 emissions.
A lightweight 1,8 litre engine replaces the 1,5 litre unit of the second generation Prius, with total system power output increased to 100 kW and fuel consumption decreased to 4,1 l/100km.
And just as the Blokart is carving a solid name for itself among environmentally-aware adventure seekers, so too is the Prius proving how many more people are concerned about the future of our planet; by the end of 2008, cumulative Prius sales exceeded 1,2 million units.
"We all agreed that we would return with the Blokarts, come hell or high winds," concludes Reilly.
For more info on Blokart, contact Hansel du Bruyn 082 893 0139
Vlakvlei Rally
Witzenberg Motorklub 10 April 2010
Gavin Grierson and Paul van Greunen
Ashley Haigh-Smith and Hilton Auffray surprised even themselves when they won the WBMK Vlakvlei Rally in the REACT Marketing class A6 CPMCC Toyota Corolla RXi 1600. Ashley recently became the youngest rallyist to win a class on a national rally when he won class A5 on the Toyota Dealer Rally and now the Swartland talent is also the youngest ever win a Western Cape regional rally overall.
Thorsten Pey and Mark Palmer made sure that he earned the victory by running a close second for most of the event. Stage five saw the Teletubbies loose a high speed argument with a fence post and with the front wheel alignment askew on the Winning Business Solutions / Forsdicks Tygervalley class S4 WBMK BMW 325i they dropped 1.5 minutes and put their service crew to the test to mend the damage before tackling the final stage. Veltie Doetrich and his merry men working wonders to keep the BMW in the running.
Newcomers, Sebastiaan and Daniël Klaasen, ran consistently in their class S5 / N4 CPMCC Subaru Impreza STi 4x4 Turbo but a blown turbo on special stage five saw them slow dramatically to eventually finish their second rally just 41 seconds ahead of the REACT Marketing class S2 / N2 CPMCC Mitsubishi Lancer GT1600 of Andy Haigh-Smith and Patrick Vermaak. With no chance on sheer performance they simply gave everything (and a little more here and there) and to their own surprise the yellow submarine even posted second fastest time on SS5 to make this a memorable fourth overall The highest overall position ever by this amazing rally car.
Team George, alias André George and George du Toit, started slow after their roll on the recent Toyota Dealer Rally but gradually returned to form to finish an encouraging fifth overall in the neatly rebuilt Flying Fridge class S3 Toyota Conquest RSi 1600. In sixth overall it was Team Aged, alias Jerry Bailey (MSA Technical Delegate) and Brian Hoskins (Clerk of the Course Killarney) in their class S1 / A5 WPMC VW Golf Chico 1.4i. Showing honest signs of strain afterwards Jerry and Brian really charged hard towards the end of the event. Cannot maintain this pace all day at their age but good to notice the occasional spurt!
The combined ages of youngsters Divan de Goede and Henry Köhne possibly does not match either of the Golf’s inhabitants but they had to accept a three second defeat at the hands of the “oumanne”. Nursing rather tired shockabsorbers the West Coast duo did themselves proud to finish seventh overall and third in class S3 with their almost standard N2 Toyota Corolla RSi 1600.
Gavin Grierson and Paul van Greunen eighth in the tailhappy class S4 Nissan Skyline 2.8 GTX and they even shed some weight when Gavin smeared the left rear against a gate post. Second in class S4 rewarding on an event that simply does not suite the heavy rear wheel drive cars. Derrick “Swart Sarel” Benjamin and Adrie Stander should have been higher than ninth overall but the throttle body on the class S4 VW Polo 2.0 came adrift on special stage five, costing them at least three minutes.
Warren Scholtz and Justin Gay might only have been tenth overall, but when you finally succeeed in finishing your first event it feels like overall victory. Well deserved in the class S3 VW Polo 1.8. Eleventh and the final classified finishers were Paul Emmanuel and Jody Eadie in their class S1 / A5 VW Golf Chico 1.4i. They too lost serious time in SS5.
Kesevan Naidoo and Daniël Blaser had to call it a day at the start of SS6 when the Freightmore class S3 Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 refused to engage a gear. Definitely the disappointment of the event as they were fifth overall after the second stage and looking good for an encouraging result. Clinton and Keenan Sassman were credited with the fastest time on SS1 but they believe it should have been fourth fastest only. What did however impress was the fact that the neatly prepared class S4 E30 BMW 325i was fourth overall after special stage four before suspension failure saw them retire.
Llewellyn Jones and Craig Gray retired after SS1 when the class S4 VW Golf TDi 2.0 refused to perform whilst Stefanie and Willem Hugo disappeared into the scenery on SS1 with the Wiel / Select Cars class S3 / A6 Toyota Corolla RXi 1600. To her defence father, Willem, failed to inform her that shortly after the flatout R2 there was an extremely slippery R9 to negotiate and the result was a somewhat bent Toyota. Even more unfortunate was Harry Giliomee and Fritz Blom who had to retire their class S3 Toyota Corolla Breadvan before even reaching scrutineering. The gearbox failing as they drove it off the trailor.
The 155km event saw two stages repeated three times, starting and finishing on the farm Vlakvlei. Du Toit and Magda Schreuder and neighbours the fabulous hosts for the event. Fantastic to experience this much enthusiasm by the farmers to have these events run on their property. Round four will be run much in the same format but will be starting at 21h00 on Friday evening 7 May 2010. A proper night rally is something that has not happened for many a year and very few of the current teams have ever contested a night event.
Patrick Vermaak 083 701 8116
Pics: by Eric Joseph
Du Toit Shreuder and Patrick Vermaak
A7 debut victory for A&E Motorsport Toyota
Somwerset West Motorklub 26/27 March 2010
Ettienne du Toit & Patrick Vermaak at speed pics: by Frank Pey - Eric Joseph and Mark Pym
After almost a full season on the sidelines Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak found themselves on the top step of the class A7 podium when the dust settled after the 2010 edition of the Overberg Grand Prix, driving their A&E Motorsport Toyota Run X RSi 2.0 20v to a debut class victory. To finish first one first have to finish and the class newcomers took this age old adage to heart from the Caledon Casino start on Friday.
The eleven stage Toyota Dealer Rally living up to expectations as the fastest rally on the annual Sasol South African Rally Championship and thanks to the arrival of the Scottmaps Safety Notes any benefits possible through local knowledge have been negated. With the likes of Gavin Cronjé, Chris de Witt and Gugulethu Zulu entered the big dogs were out to play and they were not going to take any prisoners.
Under no illusions of the challenge ahead Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak started their event with a clean slate, learning whilst running sometimes the best schoolmaster and we were finding it to be the most challenging environment we have ever encountered. Take it easy and these guys will embarrass you, push too hard and you will be embarrassed when they eventually find you in the bush. Yes, we wanted to see what we could do against this standard of opposition, but the A7 Toyota demanded respect and a few wide eyed moments quickly trimmed us down to size on the opening two stages.
Having failed to complete a single stage on the Kwik-Fit Bredasdorp regional rally the A&E Motorsport team wisely decided to waive the Tour Natal Rally in favour of intensive preparation of team and machine and many hours went into the preparation of the complex A7 machine. Finishing was our first objective as we needed the kilometres to learn the demands of the new class and drove our own rally on Friday. No new tyres available and experimenting with everything from tyre pressures to fuel levels the team slowly settled into an acceptable rhythm.
Unbeknown to us the opposition were having their own challenges to contend with as racing ace Gavin Cronjé (karting and Le Mans series world champion) and Van Aardt Schoeman (former Gp N3 Ford Fiesta navigator with Martin Steyn) did some damage to the suspension on their VW Polo. They won the opening two stages but the rough in SS2 saw them ailing for the balance of the opening day. Gugulethu Zulu (class A5 national rally champion) and Shaun Visser (former navigator for Vusi Mabanga in class A5 Yaris) claimed stage three but then electrical maladies slowed their BP Ultimate VW Polo. Chris de Wit (former A7 national champion) and Dean Redelinghuys quietly stayed in contention with the Automark Toyota Run X RSi 2.0 20v, picking the right moment to strike. Chris won the opening round in Natal with Riaan Erasmus as navigator and simply needed a finish in the Cape to retain his championship points lead.
Keeping their noses clean Ettiene and Patrick suddenly found themselves to be the quickest of the A7 entries without having to risk their necks. Crashing the car would obviously prove painful in some way, but having to face the team would after all their work would have been even worse. Taking a debut stage win in A7 on just the fourth special was an unexpected bonus and to win SS5 and SS6 topped a great opening day. Gavin Cronjé and Van Aardt Schoeman led the class by 3.8 seconds but had to mend a wounded Polo. Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak surprised to find themselves second and the Run X still in perfect nick. The Toyota had plenty in reserve but we could not use it yet. Gugulethu Zulu and Shaun Visser a bit of an unknown as they would be quick and then slow due to the electrical maladies whilst the performance of Chris de Wit and Dean Redelinghuys had us suspecting that all was not well in the Automark camp – or was Chris simply playing a waiting game.
Saturday dawned with no rain in sight and a strong wind to clear the dust in the valleys. Gavin and Van Aardt had the Polo purring after service and were clearly the team to beat. Gugu and Shaun made it a VW one-two though when Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak learned a few more lessons in just how quickly one could screw up. Stalling off the startline the Run X valuable seconds ticked away before all the candles got lit-up again. Running really well we lost more time when we encountered an upside down JP and thick dust had us stop at the crossing.
Feeling sorry for Jannie Habig who walked quite a distance to spectate we put a smile on his face when a comedy of errors saw the Toyota turn left instead of right, stall when reverse could eventually be selected. The only positive side was that Jannie could not see us blush and we could not hear him call us idiots! Having gotten my drivers attention we completed the stage with good pace but knew we were going to have our backsides kicked by everyone else. For all practical reasons we threw all chances of staying with Gavin and Gugu down the tubes as they would undoubtedly enjoy the 40 second bonus we presented to them on a platter.
Chris de Wit and Dean Redelinghuys retired in SS7 with engine maladies on the Automark Toyota, supporting our theory that all was not well in their camp. But, being second on the road we did not have any information regarding Chris and were hopefull that we could at least recover to second in the class. We did learn that Gugu had incurred a penalty leaving Parc Ferme when the electrical gremlins saw them struggling to start the BP Polo.
Motorsport has to rate as one of the cruellest sports around as Gavin Cronjé and Van Aardt Schoeman dropped almost twenty three minutes on SS8 when the VW Polo came to a grinding halt with throttle cable problems. Gugu Zulu and Shaun Visser even more unfortunate when their BP Ultimate Polo cut out altogether, forcing them to retire. Clearly working on their car as we passed we knew that we were in with a shout and tried to maintain a comfortable but quick pace as we had no idea what our position was relative to Gugu as he was still following behind us on the road.
Driving their own rally again Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak unwittingly won SS9 to take a commanding lead in class A7. Gavin and Van Aardt addng to their miseries when the strong wind almost ripped the drivers door off their Polo and Gaving had to drive with one hand on the door whilst Van Aardt changed gears, another three minutes gone! With all the pressure gone the final two stages simply had to be completed without incident but Ettiene was starting to complain about not being able to select first gear on the Run X?
Gavin and Van Aardt had the Polo on song again and we were happy to let them push as hard as they wanted. We were determined to bring the Run X home unscathed and would not be drawn into a fight with anyone. Nine kilometres into the final 21,87km we had a heart stopping moment when suddenly Ettiene failed to select any gears, then second , then third , then fourth and finally fifth before the lever fell back in into the cockpit of the car. Fast roads, fifth gear – the decision was made to continue for as long as we could and thought it felt as though minutes were being lost Gavin only took 25 seconds off us. Driving back to the Caledon Casino with our hearts in our throats we were extremely relieved to make it into Parc Ferme.
Only to bump into Judge Dredd (alias Jerry Bailey). The last time the MSA Technical Delegate invited us for a post rally strip we also missed the girls and were disqualified from a class win. No matter how confident you are that everything on your car has been done according to the book the final technical evaluation must represent the worst part of any event. Needless to say there were worrying moments when three different intake sizes presented themselves for evaluation. Fortunately the one in the car was found to be the correct one and the dry lump in my throat found some lubrication to drop back into my stomach.
Eleventh overall, first two wheel drive team and first in class A7 a dream start to our season. The gearbox maladies proved to be no worse than a broken linkage bolt. To have run competitively first time out on second hand tyres was extremely pleasing.
A great big thank you to team owner Alan du Toit and service crew Albertus and Jacobus Loubser, Ian Erasmus and Neels. There might only be two of us in the car but we cannot achieve anything without you guys.
Still so much to learn!
Patrick Vermaak
083 701 8116
Fabienne Lanz takes Pole Position at 24hr Race in Italy
Lady Karting Star Fabienne Lanz put it on Pole again! This time it was at the 24hr COSE Endurance Race held at Jesolo Kart Track in northern Italy on 27 and 28 March 2010. Fabienne was invited by Team KAYAK Lady Racing Team to join 7 lady drivers to race against a strong field of 30 teams.
This was Fabienne’s first time at the Pista Azzura track in Jesolo and practice was limited. None the less, Fabienne is a fast learner and proved it when she did a 59.99 lap time to take pole position by 0.05 seconds.
KAYAK Sports Sunglasses Lady Racing Team made a superb start and was in the mix for the lead in the early stages of the race. A few incidents and a puncture caused the KAYAK Lady Racing Team to lose a couple of positions during the race. “My main aim was to be consistent in lap times and to not loose much time whilst over taking, as I could gain time on the opposition that way” Fabienne commented.
Fabienne topped the times sheet throughout the race and did her quickest lap in her last stint with a 59.2. The KAYAK Lady Racing Team ended in a very strong and well deserved 6th position overall.
“It was a great experience and I would like to thank KAYAK Sports Sunglasses for inviting me to participate. I would also like to thank everyone in the KAYAK team for their hospitality, superb effort, great sportsmanship and team spirit.”
 Anne Van Dyk Cheetah Charity Karting Day
28 March
Kyalami, Midrand – Sunday the 28th of March saw 12 teams hit the Kyalami kart circuit tarmac for a two hour endurance race. Corporate MDs mixed it with celebrities and racing driver champions on track at the Clare Vale (who races her Gatorback RAM Mustang in the WesBank V8 Supercar series) hosted event. All was in aid of the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre with Byron, the centre’s ambassador Cheetah, making a personal appearance at the prize giving.
A wonderful day’s racing was had on track and the battle for the win went down to the wire, with the Renault SA and Locost teams fighting it out until the final lap. The Locost team eventually held out for the victory. A big thank you to all the teams that competed including teams from WesBank, Renault SA, Locost, Gatorback RAM, CBC Fleet Insurance, Kyalami Marshals Association, Permatex, a Celebrity team and an enthusiastic team made up of staff from the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre sponsored by the Kyalami Kart Circuit. There was constant action on track as the racing was close throughout the day.
Celebrities in The Truckman Celebrity team included Brendan Jack – actor/director well known for his ‘Straight Outta Benoni’ movie, Bevan Cullinan – actor/comedian well known for his ‘Gary the tooth-fairy’ character, Sagie Moodley – 702 radio personality, Renelle Naidoo – SAFM radio producer and media personality, Annie Silva – Speed & Sound Publisher and Wynter Murdock – motoring media personality. The event was lucky enough to have Roger McCleery the voice of motorsport on hand to present the prizes. Prizes were sponsored by Gatorback RAM and Speed & Sound magazine. A big thank you as well to Playstation whose Playstation 3’s kept spectators and especially the children busy all day.
Byron, the ambassador cheetah took over proceedings after the racing and a special appearance by Ann van Dyk, legendary Cheetah conservationist added to the occasion. Some participants were lucky enough to have the opportunity to stroke Byron while the rest were able to marvel at the majesty of the Cheetah.
Clare Vale on the event: “The Gatorback RAM team’s relationship with the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre began almost three years ago. We wanted to share the idea that motorsport and conservation need not be mutually exclusive. Thanks to the generosity of the corporate teams and the motorsport fraternity, a substantial sum was raised today which will go towards the purchase of a new tour vehicle to be used for visitors to the centre.”
For more information on the Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre please go to www.dewildt.co.za or contact Marilyn Hull at marliyn@dewildt.co.za.
Toyota Dealer Rally
Foto's deur Frank Pey
1ste Algeheel Conrad Rautenbach - Peter Marsh Ford Fiesta
1ste S2000 Conrad Rautenbach - Peter Marsh Ford Fiesta
1ste Privaat Conrad Rautenbach - Peter Marsh Ford Fiesta
1ste A7 Ettiene du Toit - Patrick Vermaak Toyota Run X RSi 2.0 20v
1ste A6 Leeroy Poulter - Henry Dearlove Toyota Run X RSi 1.8 20v
1ste A5 Ashley Haigh-Smith - Hilton Auffray Toyota Yaris 1.3
1ste Gp N3 Abduraghman Amlay - Garth Ritsch Toyota Run X RSI 1.8 20v
1ste Streek & S4 Thorsten Pey - Mark Palmer BMW 325i
Patrick Vermaak 083 701 8116
Jannie Habig - Ralph Pitchford - VW Polo - At his very best
Leeroy Poulter - Henry Dearlove - Toyota Run X RSi - 1st Class A6 and 1600
Ettien du Toit - Patrick Vermaak - Toyota Run X - 1st Class A7
Thorsten Pey - Mark Palmer - BMW 325i - 1st Regional and S4
Adenco 400 Darling ABSA Off Road Challenge Round 1 - Patrick Vermaak
A3 Maxxis - Naeem Moosajee - Rayhaan Bodhanya - Jimco
A88 JMR FM - Brandon Harcus - Scott Watson - BAT Spec 4
SP4 RFS - Hannes Grobler - Hennie ter Stege - Toyota
Fabienne Lanz to compete at 24hr Karting Endurance Race in Italy
Fabienne Lanz:
"We finished 6th in the end. Very good. the ladies drove well :-) we gave them boys a run for their money haha :-) Thank you to KAYAK for the great experience and thanks to the LADIES team and the Boys team for the great team spirit and I had so much fun with you guys!"
Karting Star Fabienne Lanz will be making her debut in the all girls Kayak Team at the 24hr Karting Endurance Race in Italy on 27th-28th March. The event will take place at the Jesolo Kart Track. The Jesolo Kart Track is situated in northern Italy. The spectators will have some action packed racing as 32 teams battle it out on this very twisty track which boasts many challenging corners. Fabienne will have to keep her cool and strategise for the long run as this track looks quite demanding physically.
“I am very excited to be joining the Kayak all girls team. I am very amped to give it my all and look forward to the Italian racing scene.” Says Fabienne
This race will be Fabienne’s first outing for 2010. She is planning to take her career to the next level which is to race High Performance Karts in Europe. She wants to make her way through the ranks in KF2 racing and make her mark in the heart of karting, which is in Italy.
WESBANK SUPER SERIES
pics: Patrick Vermaak
   
Positive Weekend in Cape Town
Cape Town – The weekend saw the WesBank V8 Supercar Series travel to the Killarney Race circuit near Table View in Cape Town. Clare Vale arrived confident about building on her solid season opener at Kyalami and the weekend started well. Clare set a time almost two seconds better than she had ever done at the circuit, good enough for 8th on the grid. Unexpected rain just before the first heat meant that the V8s started in quite damp conditions, Clare raced consistently in tricky conditions and came in a creditable 8th place.
Heat 2 saw a perfect Cape Town afternoon with the sun baking the track dry. Starting from 9th Clare was running well when a back marker disregarded the Blue Flags shown to him and spun in front of her. Clare had nowhere to go and spun as well, resulting in her losing precious time and track position. Still she put in some stellar laps and finished a strong 7th. If not for the spin Clare had an excellent chance of finishing 4th if not on the podium.
Clare on the race weekend, “Although the end result was a little disappointing, the Gatorback RAM team made excellent progress this weekend. We made some radical changes to the car and finally eliminated the understeer that has dogged us for two seasons. As usual we had great support in the Cape and we can’t wait to return to Killarney in October.”
Looking forward to the next round of the WesBank Super Series at the Phakisa circuit in Welkom on the 10th of April, Clare will be aiming to build on the progress made in Cape Town and push for that elusive podium finish.
Car of the Year - 18 March  
... and the winner is ...
Volkswagen über Alles!
Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline is named the 2010 South African Car of the Year by the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists The South African Guild of Motoring Journalists (SAGMJ) announced the Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline as South Africa’s 2010 Car of the Year (COTY) at a gala banquet at Gallagher Convention Centre, Midrand, on Thursday, 18 March. The awards function, hosted by competition sponsor WesBank, was attended by the who’s who of the South African motoring industry. The announcement of the prestigious accolade comes after a stringent process of voting and physical testing of eligible cars launched onto the SA market from 1 November 2008 and 31 October 2009. An in-depth poll of the SAGMJ full members, followed by a second vote by the COTY jury, arrived at eight finalists towards the end of last year. The COTY jury, made up of the top motoring journalists in the country, then put the finalists through two days of testing in February and subjected them to a rigid scoring process. The final audited scores showed the Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline as the eventual winner of what is widely considered to be the most prestigious accolade in the motor industry. The SAGMJ, a professional body of qualified motoring writers, has annually awarded the title of SA’s Car of the Year for 25 years. The Volkswagen Golf VI 1.4 TSI 90 kW Comfortline beat off strong competition from the Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 TBi, Audi Q5 2.0T FSI® quattro® S tronic, Chevrolet Cruze 1.8 LS, Hyundai i20 1.6 GLS, Suzuki Alto 1.0 GLS, Toyota Prius 1.8 ECVT Advanced and Volvo XC60 3.0T Geartronic, which were the other finalists vying for honours in the country’s premier motoring event. Much of the evaluation process took place at the world renowned Gerotek vehicle test facility outside Pretoria, making the South African Car of the Year competition unique amongst similar accolades awarded globally because of the extensive testing which takes place in a controlled environment. The contenders are also evaluated taking their direct market rivals into account and are therefore judged in their segments rather than against each other. By definition, the SA Car of the Year should evoke automotive passion and excitement to make it a truly outstanding car both in its class and in the whole market. The COTY competition is about automotive excellence and the winning car must score highly in its class across a variety of categories including those which reflect value for money, safety, dynamics, technology and aesthetics. It should also demonstrate that it strives towards representing innovation and ingenuity in marketing and engineering in its class and should represent a brave step forward in motoring, preferably setting new benchmarks in its market segment. The winner must show that is truly worthy of the ultimate accolade and the singular title of ‘The South African Car of the Year’. The COTY competition is sponsored by WesBank, with support sponsorship from Total South Africa.
- The SAGMJ has run the South African Car of the Year competition since 1986.
- WesBank has sponsored the competition since inception.
Previous winners:
1986 Toyota Corolla Twin Cam
1987 Mercedes 260
1988 BMW 735i
1989 Toyota Corolla GLi Executive
1990 BMW 525i
1991 Opel Monza 160 GSi
1992 Nissan Maxima 300 SE
1993 BMW 316i
1994 Opel Kadett 140
1995 Opel Astra 160iS
1996 Audi A4 1,8
1997 BMW 528i
1998 Ford Fiesta Fun
1999 Alfa Romeo 156 T-Spark
2000 Renault Clio 1.4 RT
2001 BMW 320d
2002 Audi A4 1.9 TDI
2003 Polo TDI
2004 Renault Megane 1.9 dCi
2005 Volvo S40 2.4i
2006 Audi A3 Sportback 2.0T
2007 Honda Civic 1.8VXi Sedan
2008 Mazda2 1.5 Individual
2009 Honda Accord 2.4 Executive
Annual Side Car Rally - Graskop 6 & 7 March
  Our trip to the annual sidecar gathering certainly started off with a bent front mudguard bang!! What happened was that the hired trailer’s two ramps turned out to be too short. The edges were elevated like IBR roof sheeting and what happened was when I rode the bike up it started skidding just after the front wheel got onto the trailer. This was because of the elevated flipped ramp catching on the sump! Then when I tried to reverse down the ramp the front mudguard bottom flange got well and truly wedged in the trailer’s u-channel where the ramps hook in. Consequently there was a lot of buckling both to the flange and to the one mounting bracket. The bike was listing at approx. 40% so the only way to get it back down was to try and remove the bumper and all the brackets, pull it forward and slowly let it down. Needless to say the sheer weight of the bike and sidecar was too much for one person. Luckily one of my steel worker colleagues came to the rescue and he is STRONG!!!
Thank goodness for him.
We put the bike back in the garage, loaded our puppies and luggage in the bakkie, took the trailer back and proceeded to Graskop to join the sidecar gathering without our bike. WE WERE NOT HAPPY!
Unfortunately due to this commotion we clean forgot to take our camera with.
We were welcomed with open arms by everyone when we got there and they all sympathized as to what had happened. We didn’t feel too bad . One guy came all the way from JHB with his sidecar on a trailer and never took it off!! Something wrong with the gearbox.
Everyone stayed at Summit Lodge. We stayed at Panorama because of our puppies. There are other dogs there and what a jol they had.
Saturday everyone rode to Sabie for brekkie. We joined the clan at Pilgrim’s Rest for socializing before we headed back to Graskop for tyre throwing, slow racing,(see who can ride with the sidecar up for the longest time in a demarcated distance).
Simon Fourie from Bike SA was there and full of fun. Really nice guy. We get on very well with him and his partner, Sharon. Also there was Tim Clarke from Cape Sidecar Adventures. We know him very well. When we visit my old man in Fish Hoek we hire a sidecar from him. We also get spares from him. Nice to see he could make it all the way from Cape Town.
All things said we actually had a very nice weekend. At the time of writing this I have since managed to panel beat the mudguard and bracket, have it sand blasted and base cote primed, ready for final coat including pin stripe and clear coat.
Unfortunately we have a lot of dust where we are because PPC factory is right on our back doorstep. I have consequently opted to have the final coat and pin striping to be done by the same friend that did the original pin striping and top coat of the bike and sidecar at his location which has a cleaner environment.
We are not particularly worried about perfect cosmetics in view of the sidecars we saw! One bike had some very hap dash panel beating done to his sidecar bumper which he obviously hammered out himself. He also has a machine gun mounted on the sidecar as well as a fire extinguisher and jerry cans. What fun! P.S. The machine gun is a toy A.K. 47. This sidecar is painted military green and has swastikas and maltise crosses painted on the sides. Quite a site to see.
Simon took a lot of pics of the event and will be published in the next issue of Bike S.A.
Nick & Talitha
 National Championship Battle resumed at an incident filled Midvaal Midvaal was host to round two of the Execuline Formula Vee National
Championships and round one of the Execuline Formula Vee Regional
Championships. Execuline Tennant Racing (ETR) pairing of Alan Eustice and
Nicholas Tennant have enjoyed a great start to the championship with East
London’s double win and team one – two, however it wouldn’t all go to plan
in Midvaal. Nicholas was fastest during Friday practice with Alan’s times
improving consistently.
ETR would have to put up with championship chasers Peter Hills, Zaahir Essa,
Paul Venter and Johan Gouws all of whom were posting good times on the
Friday free practice. The bumpy track makes for an incredibly challenging
task, however, qualifying on Saturday saw the top six drivers covered by
less than a second. This promised a good close battle within the lead
bunch. The same was with the chase group headed by Jannie Geyser, Ben
Pienaar and ETR team mate Alan Eustice.
The Formula Vee races would produce plenty of close, multi car battles. Ex
National Champions Peter Hills and Symm Grobler, along with Zaahir Essa and
Johan Gouws provided the experience up front but current Championship log
leader, Nicholas Tennant (Execuline Tennant Rhema 2) and Paul Venter (Nashua
Mobile Laser) who set the fastest lap in East London, have already declared
their intention, of challenging the established championship contenders.
Race one set the scene for possibly the best drive of Tennant’s life. He
started 5th with Venter starting 6th and Eustice 10th. Turn one of the first
lap often plays host to incredibly daring moves and often spectacular crash’s,
Race one wouldn’t disappoint with a flying Keegan Campos taking out
Championship hopefuls Nicholas and Paul. Eustice had a great race
representing ETR with vigour finishing in a credible 6th place after a close
battle with Jannie Geyser Snr.
(Watch the video coverage of the accident, curtacy of Nico Blignaut, on the
Execuline Tennant Racing group)
ETR, Nashau mobile racing and Campos Racing had quite the task of getting
their cars ready and prepped after the ‘incident’ with only 45 odd minutes
to do this. All the teams and drivers managed to complete this task just in
time.
An 18 car field, with the three battle scarred cars from race one starting
right at the back of the grid (Paul 17th, Nicholas 16th and Keegan on 18th)
for race two. Eustice was flying our flag proudly up in 6th. The race was
set to be interesting with two of the quickest drivers starting from the
back. Tennant fought his way up to 4th with Venter to 6th. Tennant and
Venter were swapped positions almost every lap whilst at the same time
passing more than half the field during the race. Eustice dropped 4 places
after two spectacular spins in turn 2 & 6.
Execuline Motor insurance and Tennant Life Benefits received immense
coverage with the crowds around the track eagerly watching.
The final overall results were Eustice 5th and Tennant 14th. Zaahir Essa
was the winner overall. Eustice also finished 3rd in the Association
Championship.
The 2010 National championship is in full swing and is set to be an exciting
year long battle between Tennant, Essa, Hills and Venter. With the results
in race two Tennant holds a 9 point advantage on Essa.
The Formula Vee Circus moves to round 3 of the Nationals and round 2 of the
regional’s at Zwartkops on the 10th of April.
Please visit http://www.facebook.com/l/19ad3;www.formulaveesa.org.za for
Championship points.
A big Thank you goes out to:
Chelsea Eustice and Mellissa Zwaneveld for their umbrella work
The Zwaneveld’s for their support
Craig Kinch for getting the car sorted in 45 minutes
Alan Eustice for being an awesome team mate
Steve and Pat Tennant for their support
Special thanks also go out to the sponsors:
Execuline Motor Insurance
Tennant Life Benefits
Engineering Unlimited
A to Z Installations
And the various other sponsors and supporters
FedGroup
Links:
http://www.facebook.com/l/19ad3;www.motorsport.co.za/msa/NewsView.asp?ID=4663http://www.facebook.com/l/19ad3;www.motorsport.co.za/msa/NewsView.asp?ID=4612http://www.facebook.com/l/19ad3;www.execuline.co.zahttp://www.facebook.com/l/19ad3;www.springbokseries.comhttp://www.facebook.com/l/19ad3;www.the9hour.comhttp://www.facebook.com/l/19ad3;www.formulaveesa.org.za
Clare Returns to Cape Town
Cape Town - Clare Vale goes to the second race of the season in Cape Town after a solid start to the season opener at Kyalami. The race takes place on the 13th of March at the Killarney circuit near Table View. After the first round Clare is lying 7th in the Super GT championship. Only under-steer problems late in the race resulted in her missing out on a 3rd place finish. She will be looking forward to CT where the team will have an opportunity to get the setup right and get her on the podium.
Clare, a former Hout Bay resident, is looking forward to returning to her home track and hopes that the home town backing will help her get that podium finish. The racing promises to be close and she will be hoping to use the race to cement her challenge and take her Gatorback RAM Mustang to the front of the field.
Clare on the Killarney race: “I love racing at Killarney, and the big V8s are always exciting to drive at sea level. We’ve been working hard on our set up gremlins so we’re looking forward to some close racing in Cape Town!” 
_____________________________________________________________________
1st Franschhoek Motor Museum TT & Concours
27/28 February 2010 - more pictures from Patrick Vermaak
John Atkins - 1957 Aston Martin DBR2
Anton Rupert Jnr - 1968 Chevrolet Camaro RS
Sarel van der Merwe - Pietie Smit - Serge Damseaux
Chris Routledge - 1957 Maserait 250F
Saturday 27 Feb - the Tractor & engine show - and Zwartkops Inland Champs
...... sadly Gerrit de la Rey's Formula GTi suffered some damage ........
3 very good reasons to buy Fair Lady magazine!
Giniel de Villiers honoured as Bridgestone/Guild of
Motoring Journalists Motor Sportsman of the Year
   
Giniel de Villiers, winner of the 2009 Dakar Rally in Argentina and Chile in a factory Volkswagen Race Touareg, is the 2009 Bridgestone/Guild of Motoring Journalists Motor Sportsman of the Year.
Competing in his seventh Dakar, the 37-year-old professional motor sportsman from Stellenbosch improved on the second place he achieved in the 2006 Dakar in Africa in his first year with the VW team, winning three stages and beating team-mate Mark Miller of the United States by nearly nine minutes. He is the first South African to win this iconic event, arguably the world’s toughest motor race, and he gave VW its first victory in the diesel Touareg.
There were six other nominations for the prestigious award, which was first won in 1964 and has been sponsored by Bridgestone for the past 17 years. They were Gavin Cronje, winner of the inaugural Formula Le Mans Cup for prototype sports cars; Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries, winners of the Sasol Rally Championship for the second year in a row; Evan Hutchison, winner of the Special Vehicle category of the Absa Off Road Car Championship as well as class A7 of the Sasol Rally Championship; Sheridan Morais, who won both the Interfile Superbike and Supersport championships in the same year; Ralph Pitchford, who started the year finishing second in the Dakar Rally as co-driver to American Mark Miller and ended the year as champion off road racing production car co-driver with Nissan Motorsport’s Duncan Vos; and Vos, champion off road production car driver for the third year in succession. ! ;
Winner of the Colin Watling Award for special achievement in motor sport by someone other than a competitor was Peter du Toit, owner of the popular Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria, which he rebuilt and revived, and who has done more than anyone to popularise historic car and bike racing, importing cars and drivers from overseas for his annual International Historic Car Racing Festival.
Also nominated for the Colin Watling Award were Glyn Hall, who, in his last year as motor sport manager of Nissan, saw his off road team win an unprecedented ninth successive driver’s and co-drivers championship and who also managed a privateer team of South African-built Nissan Navaras that finished fourth, fifth and 21st in the Dakar Rally; and Jan Hartzer, who has been in the forefront of filming and production of television programmes of all kinds of motor sport both on tar and in the dirt for many years, distinguishing himself by providing a service to many of the non-mainstream and grass roots forms of motor sport.
1st Franschhoek Motor Museum TT & Concours
The 1st Franschhoek Motor Museum Time Trial and Concours D’Elegance on 27/28 February 2010 will finally see the South African motoring and motorsport heritage receive the recognition it so richly deserves. So much of our incredible motorsport heritage have been lost to international collectors and few have ever been publicly recognized for their individual contributions towards those milestone achievements.
The Rupert family fortunately recognize this and with the Franschhoek Motor Museum now without doubt the hub of motoring history in Africa the time have come to share the invaluable chest of classic and exotic history with the public at large. Even true enthusiasts have to date struggled to collect information and rued the fact that most of the truly historic cars have found new homes internationally.
The good news is that FMM have stemmed the tide with renewed interest and enthusiasm slowly but surely seeing cars return, being restored, and once again being presented to the interested general public in both static and moving displays. Forget the expensive trip overseas, you can now enjoy much more, for much less, by attending the many events planned at FMM for 2010 and beyond.
Forty one years have passed since Peter Gough and Willie Meissner masterminded the entry of the very first Ford Escort in international motorsport. When Y151 started it’s first race it became the very first Ford Escort in the world to be utilised for motorsport and what an entry, winning ten consecutive races. Of the three cars built, one was destroyed and the third now in the hands of a British owner. Unbeknown the original Meissner Ford Escort was stored in a Somchem garage, Strand, for many a year and even after having acquired the car for a Clubmans project Louis Powell still doubted it’s originality.
Researched by Henry Korkie and confirmed by Peter Gough this is the most original Group 5 in existence today and what an absolute privilege to see it driven by the original driver after 41 years. Rebuilt to exact detail this combination alone should be reason enough not to miss this event.
Those present at the recent Springbok Series races at Killarney would have learnt that when Peter Lindenberg won overall in the Basil Green built Gunston Ford Capri Perana 5.0 the end of another era was witnessed as this car will now become another proud member of the FMM collection. In the hands of the late Bob Olthoff this car became legendary and to Ford supporters the presence of both the BG Perana and Meissner Escort must represent the ultimate attraction.
50 years of the South African Rally Championship will be celebrated by 10 times South African rally drivers champion, Serge Damseaux, driving the Audi Quattro beating, Owen Ashley designed and built, Toyota Dealer Team Conquest 4x4 Turbo. Ferdi de Vos may well find himself behind the wheel of an ex-Serge Damseaux, Hugh Turner restored, Toyota Liftback rally car.
More good news is the fact that Toyota will also have their pristine 1967 Toyota 2000GT present and Dr van Zyl will be entering his personal 1965 Toyota 800 Sport. Just as a matter of interest only 337 2000GT cars were built with two convertibles specifically for the fifth James Bond movie, You Only Live Twice. Strangely enough Sean Connery never drove the car in the movie – instead he was chauffeured by the beautiful Japanese agent Aki (Akiko Wakabayashi). In fact, being built to Japanese specs the 1.88m frame of Sean Connery simply could not be made to look comfortable in the conventional GT and thus the convertible was created at a Toyopat Service Centre near Yokohama. The convertibles actually running without a boot or side windows.
With the first Japanese Grand Prix held in 1963 Japanese manufacturers began developing sportscars. Satoru Nozaki designed a classic without the aid of full size models or wind tunnels and thanks to the engine expertise of Yamaha the GT2000 became one of the finest 2000 cars of it’s era. It would become known as the enduring Toyota after running for 72 hours at an average speed of 128mph but a hefty price tag prevented it from becoming a commercial success. With the 1998cc six cylinder twin cam engine delivering 150bhp at 6600rpm the car was capable of 137mph. Only 337 (351) cars being produced when production ceased in 1970.
Though You Only Live Twice premiered on 12 June 1967 the Toyota 2000GT is still considered as the most rare James Bond car to date.
Then 11 times South African rally drivers champion, Sarel van der Merwe, will be seen behind the wheel of the ex-Sir Stirling Moss 1955 Jaguar D-Type as well as the enormous Chevrolet Chevelle SS V8. Serge Damseaux will also be driving a completely original and almost priceless factory 1955 Aston Martin DB3S. Present as guest will be former South African rally drivers champion, Enzo Kuun.
Giniel de Villiers will attend the Sunday proceedings only as he will be celebrating another Dakar success with Volkswagen in Germany till Saturday.
Track racing will be proudly represented by 6x South African Drivers Champion, Ian Scheckter, and he will be driving his championship winning Lexington March 78B Formula Atlantic. Who knows, with a little luck, the Tyrrell 007 might just make an appearance as well. Ian will also be driving the ultra rare Mclaren M6 road registered sportscar.
Anton Rupert will take to the 3km circuit behind the wheel of both the 1968 Chevrolet RS Camaro and Shelby Mustang 350GT whilst Johann Rupert is scheduled to drive the beautiful 1963 Ferrari Lusso GT.
Di Dugmore has entered her neat 1957 Lotus 11 and Dave Alexander have entered his neat 1963 Lotus 23. Fitting to note that 2010 also sees the return of Lotus to the F1 Championship. Shannon Winterstein have a 1970 Renault Alpine A110 present and Charlkes Arton has a neat 1973 Datsun 240Z. Add Lourens Bester in a 1974 Porsche Carrera and Reinhart Schwendinger in a Ferrari 308. Quickest car on the day could however be the giant killer supercharged 1968 Mini Cooper S of Steve Miller.
Malcolm Uytenbogaardt will have his wheel lifting 1963 Ford Fairlane 500 present whilst Mark Uytenbogaardt will be driving the ex-Koos Swanepoel 1966 Ford Cortina GT 1600.
And the good news is that there is much more to look forward to!
Buying a ticket to attend also qualifies as an entry into the lucky draw that will see four lucky spectators on Saturday and Sunday fill the suicide seat in either the Ferrari F50, Porsche Carrera GT or McLaren F1. Giniel de Villiers, Dakar 2009 winner, will be driving the Porsche Carrera GT as a demonstration on Sunday and John Tingle is scheduled to drive the LDS Repco made famous by his father, Sam.
Did we mention the presence of the 1957 Maserati 250F, Bugatti variants including the Type 35 and even a Ford Model T Sportster? Simply too many to mention.
Dress the era or simply come and enjoy a classic day with the classics.
Visit www.fmm.co.za for all the details
Patrick Vermaak 083 701 8116
2nd Kwik-Fit Bredasdorp Rally
Witezenberg Motorklub Sizzling Bredasdorp Opener 20 February 2010
Pic: Ettiene du Toit & Patrick Vermaak
Global warming took on a new perspective when the sun parked itself directly above the Overberg town of Bredasdorp on Saturday 20 February 2010. Twenty rally cars and forty live and colourful saunas (alias overheating drivers and navigators in nomex) really allowing for a fresh “very hot” air of expectancy before the start of round 1 of the Western Province Rally Championship for 2010.
Kwik-Fit Bredasdorp not only retaining their title sponsorship of the event but thanks to a sterling effort the event received good marketing via Jurgen Lesch and the Flames Pub and Grill prizegiving venue of Suna Lesch will undoubtedly become a rally institution! Even the new format Suidernuus newspaper attracted comment and will hopefully feature more motorsport this year.
What a surprise to arrive at Kwik-Fit Bredasdorp to find a brand new Porsche Panamera in front of the scrutineering bay. Just recently named the firm favourite acquisition by the MMWC (Main Manne Wot Count) it certainly attracted much deserved attention. A stroll through the “pits” left a very positive vibe about regional rallying despite the obvious economic restraints. Lance and Rosemarie Maytham as a always the backbone of this event and the 259.41km route would prove quite a challenge.
Pic: Jean-Pierre Damseaux & Carolyn Swan
Jean-Pierre Damseaux and Carolyn Swan got down to serious business and simply annihilated the field in preparation for their national campaign in the S2000 / S5 Team Total Evoluzione Toyota Run X RSi 2.0 4x4. Now running as number seven the popular Somerset West driver set to impress in 2010 as bad luck simply has to stop sometime. The presence of 10 time SA and 17 time WP champion driver, Serge Damseaux, kept the Total team on edge and their commitment was clearly visible. Expect to see the Damseaux name return to the podium.
The 2009 Junior Western Province Champions, Thorsten “Pau” Pey and Mark “Dipsey” Palmer, arrived armed with a pink Teletubby strapped to the roof vent of the S4 Winning Business Solutions / Forsdicks Tyger Valley WBMK BMW 325i and whilst those present were pondering the new, softer, pink approach the now much wiser Medulla Palmer saw to it that the almost invincible Beemer maintained it’s status as the best rear wheel drive car in the Western Cape by actually beating all the front wheel drive cars to second place overall. Thorsten admittedly scared himself once or twice, but really revels in the Overberg. A stupendous drive by the Teletubbies!
Pic: Thorsten Pey & Mark Palmer
Sharing the opening stage win with the S2000 Run X looked extremely impressive but the latter suffered a puncture. Times on stage six puts matters in better perspective and even so the BMW was most impressive.
Charl Strydom and Sakkie “no voice” Bosman returned to the fray and the always immaculately prepared Sabre Paints CPMCC class A6 / S3 VW Polo 1.6i gradually stepped up in pace. Hopefully Sakkie will soon have his voice back and it is expected that this team will be doing every round of the 2010 championship. Third overall on their return well deserved. With CPMCC 100 years young this year their presence on the podium certainly had Bill Bright in high “spirits”. Abduraghman Amlay and Garth Ritsch made their debut as a team in the rapid class N3 / S4 Amlay Motorsport CCMCC Toyota Run X RSi 1.8 and though they obviously enjoyed their event the fact that they arrived at the halfway service park with the engine VVT hiding in the sump did slow their pace.
Kesevan Naidoo and Daniël Blaser missed the oval gate but still managed to part company with the front bumper of their class S3 Feightmore CCMCC Toyota Conquest RSi 1600, officially claiming that it improved cooling of the crew and increased engine power. Beating their Conquest rivals was impressive and fifth overall was very satisfying on this high speed event. Team George was taking strain in the extreme heat. André George and George du Toit could not take in enough liquid to cool themselves whilst the trusty class S3 Flying Fridge CPMCC Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 proved as consistent as ever in sixth overall. Flying Fridge vs Overheating (better have a word with sponsor).
Stefanie and Willem Hugo had a mixed day of encouragement and disappointment. The disappointment came in the form of a left driveshaft that would simply dislodge itself from the gearbox. Sorting the car and gaining valuable seat time they persevered, posting good times on every clean stage with the Wiel / Select Cars class A6 / S3 WBMK Toyota Corolla RXi 1.6.
Shaun Jones and Ian Thebus encountered some interesting obstacles along the route when instructions arrived somewhat slower that the pace at which they happened to be travelling. Shaun is not known to be fond of the middle pedal on any car and the almost silent class S5 (do not know why it qualifies in this class) CPMCC VW Polo TDi only comes alive when the rather heavy right foot is buried in the corner. Should be an interesting combination to watch once the revitalised “nartjie” returns from Dynotech with turbocharged 4x4 propulsion. Eigth overall still managed to keep a smile on their faces though.
Newcomers, Divan de Goede and Henry Köhne, once again did themselves proud by finishing ninth overall in their ex-Wessel Venter class N2 / S3 CPMCC Toyota Corolla RSi 1.6. Taking matters in their stride the only hiccup occurred when the navigators electric window guide failed. They finished the event decidedly more dusty than they had planned . Good news was that the surprise Panamera also led to two more newcomers in the sport as brothers, Sebastiaan and Daniël Klaasen, completed their debut rally in tenth overall with the ex-Stephan van Dyk class N4 / S5 CPMCC Subaru Impreza STi Turbo 4x4. Wisely taking matters rather calmly it was also evident that this car was not in mint spec.
Running on just three cylinders for most of the day Paul-Hendrik Franken displayed maturity by nursing his obviously ailing class S2 WBMK VW Golf CSL 1600 to an eventual eleventh spot overall. Uwe Pey the ever cheerful navigator and a class win despite a torrid time was most rewarding for the young Gansbaai driver. The final team home Gavin Grierson and Darren van Greunen in the popular tail wagging class S4 CPMCC Nissan Skyline 2.8 GTX .
Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak were really excited about their debut in the ex-Huchison class A7 / S5 Toyota Run X RSi 2.0 20v and with just a short drive on public roads as experience they wisely opted to treat the Ugly Duckling Filmset Rental entry with gloves on. Unfortunately their lack of seat time in the Silver Dream Racer was to unseat them as early as stage one when a simple electrical problem saw them stranded 2.31km into SS1. Trying a variety of settings on their new toy the team continued until they were time barred at the halfway service park. Possibly a wise decision as the Run X was developing a serious appetite for oil. After many years in production based cars it was really an absolute joy to tackle a stage in what can only be termed a real rally car. Cannot wait for the next event!
Martin Esterhuyse Snr and Paul van Greunen were heading for a podium finish when the left rear suspension on the class S4 WBMK Nissan Sentra 200STi failed in a high speed sweep which saw the hapless crew roll quite spectacularly in SS6. Being rather solid countryside both crew members suffered a few cuts and bruises but by prizegiving a Sabre body had been sourced and they were planning their return in the Toyota Dealer Rally.
Warren Scholtz and Justin Gay also impressed with a determined effort in their class S3 VW Polo 1.8 but sadly they ran out of gears after SS5. Jerry Bailey and Brian Hoskins were really looking forward to a good event as many hours have gone into preparing this class A5 / S1 WPMC VW Golf Chico 1.4i. This is motorsport though and overheating saw them vanish after SS4. Slowing down they became quite a challenge to pass as Ettiene du Toit and Patrick Vermaak caught up with them approaching the yump made famous by Jon Williams.
Fortunately it saved the Toyota crew from having to take this now much higher yump flatout and it was somehow pleasing to think “eat our dust” when eventually squeezing past the veterans. (Okay, I accept the fact that this little personal pleasure will be used against me somewhere in the future)
Llewellyn Jones and Christopher Pichon retired the class S5 CPMCC VW Golf IV TDi 2.0 with a broken brake disc after SS3 and overheating saw the demise of the Derrick Benjamin and Jody Eadie class S4 CCMCC VW Polo 2.0 after SS2. Harry Giliomee and Fritz Blom made it through SS1 before their neat class S3 WBMK Toyota Corolla Breadvan 1800 developed terminal fuel pump problems.
Ashley Haigh-Smith and Hilton Auffray had an even shorter event in the much improved REACT Marketing class A5 / S2 CPMCC Toyota Yaris 1.3 when a spring broke in the throttle body enroute to SS1. Albertus Loubser eventually fixed the problem and they served clear notice of what the VW crews could expect before they too were time-barred from the event.
With the German Airforce completing missile tests nearby the Overberg really found itself in the news again and this event looks set to become even bigger and better in 2011. Rallying in the Western Cape holds great promise for 2010.
Leon Esterhuyse drove the 00 Mazda Rustler with Johann and Petra Zulch as always in the 0 Toyota Hilux and the Follow-up Chrysler Neon had Lance and Rosemarie Maytham in command. Pieter Hugo, Stefan Brand and Jean van der Westhuizen the much valued Arrowing and Pick-Up crew. The latter three really doing a fantastic job in the searing heat.
Pic: Willem Hugo, Derek Jacobs, Stephanie Hugo
Patrick Vermaak
083 701 8116
 
Hi all just a quick cut and paste from MSA:
"The historic East London Grand Prix circuit, proved to be a happy hunting ground, for nineteen year old Nicolas Tennant and he came away from the first round of the 2010 South African National Formula Vee Championship, with two wins and the Championship lead, for the first time in his brief Formula Vee career.
As expected, seasoned campaigner Peter Hills (MLS Brokers Rhema 2) took pole position, for race one, while Tennant lined up alongside Hills, in his recently acquired ex Chad Van Beurden (Tennant Life Benefits Execuline Rhema 2), with Paul Venter (Nashua Mobile Laser) and Nico Blignaut (Gilus IT SAP Rhema 2), occupying the second row of the grid, for the first time in their National Formula Vee careers.
Everyone was expecting Hills to dominate the race but after leading for the first few laps, his motor started overheating and he was forced to surrender the lead, to Tennant. Venter had a moment early on, losing a number of positions in the process and then proceeded to battle it out with Greg Wilson (Reflex Technology Rhema 2). They swapped places, on a regular basis and Venter managed to use Wilson’s tow to good effect and set the fastest lap of the race, to secure the bonus point for the day. Also swapping places, a little further back, where Hugo Wallendorf (Lantis) and Mile Stewart (Rhema 1), with Formula Vee debutant Mark Stewart (Rhema 2), having to play second fiddle, to his more experienced son.
It was however Tennant who came home, to record the first victory of his Formula Vee career, ahead of a struggling Hills, while Alan Eustice (Tennant Life Benefits Execuline Rhema 2) had passed Blignaut, who had picked up a problem selecting fourth gear, to finish third. In the end, Eustice beat Blignaut to the line, by less than a second and they where followed home, by Venter, Wilson, Mile Stewart, Wallendorf and Mark Stewart.
A change of motor between heats, did not resolve Hills’ problem and although he also led for the first couple of laps, of the second heat, the overheating problem persisted and Tennant swept by, to take the lead again. This time the problem was even worse than before and Hills was soon passed by Venter. The following lap, Hills regained the position but the next time around, Eustice, Venter and Blignaut had all slipped past. Then Wilson and Wallendorf, went by as well and Hills retired, with a couple of laps to go. Wilson was also in trouble, retiring just ahead of Hills, when his carburetors came loose.
Out front, there was no stopping Tennant and he romped home to his second win of the day, ahead of teammate Eustice and they where followed across the line, by Blignaut, Venter, Wallendorf, Mile Stewart and Mark Stewart."
Below is the championship standings:)
Formula Vee South Africa 2010
National Standings after Round 1/8
1 Nicholas Tennant 30
2 Nico Blignaut 22
3 Paul Venter 20
4 Peter Hills 17
5 Mile Stewart 15
6 Hugo Wallendorf 15
7 Greg Wilson 14
8 Mark Stewart 12
3de Fairbridge Mall Gymkhana 13 Februarie 2010
Izak van Zyl en Danye Louw wen die 3de Fairbridge Mall Gymkhana in hul Dynotech Turbo VW Golf met Günther en Louise Appelgryn tweede in hul klas B VW Golf 1800. Derde plek ingeneem deur Danye en Marcile Louw in hul klas B H&H VW Golf 1800. Heelwat nuwelinge in klaswenner posisies en dag het gesorg vir n goeie opening vir die 2010 seisoen.
Klas A Leon Engelbrecht en Marius Swart - Eikestad Plastic Repairs VW Golf MkI 2.0
Klas B Günther en Louise Appelgryn - WBMK VW Golf MkI 1800
Klas C Jacques du Plessis en Walter van Dyk - du Plessis Auto Toyota Conquest RSi 1600
Klas D Jan van der Vyver en Herman Mathee - VW Golf Citi 1.4i
Klas E Deon en Maralize Conradie - FFR Buggy 2.3
Klas F Herman Mathee en Jan van der Vyver - Datsun 1400 LDV
Klas G Izak van Zyl en Danye Louw - Dynotech VW Golf Turbo 2.0
Klas H Izak van Zyl - Dynotech VW Golf Turbo 2.0
Mees skouspelagtige span : Kobus Wilson Snr en Herman Mathee - Datsun Skyline GTX 5.0 V8
Izak van Zyl and Danye Louw started the 2010 Witzenberg Gymkhana Championship in much the same way as they finished the 2009 season – simply dominating the opening round in their Dynotech class G VW Golf GTi 2.0 Turbo. Setting the fastest outright time of the day and also winning the single seater category had Izak van Zyl in confident mood to reach his wedding date on 4 December as champion for the second successive year. Fiancé, Jolanda van der Merwe, sharing the success going into Valentine’s Day.
Round one of the 2010 Championship took 37 teams to Fairbridge Mall Brackenfell for the third time and thanks to the sterling efforts of Jaco Matthee and Robin Wakeford the venue was prepared to perfection very early on Saturday 13 February. Weather conditions near perfect despite warnings of light rain with a fair sized crowd enjoying some great action.
Günther and Louise Appelgryn raised their game for 2010 and second overall in their class B VW Golf Chico 1800 was very well deserved after some very determined driving. The Durbanville couple taking the fight to the opposition and showing that they can now hold their own amongst the senior competitors in the sport. Sadly, many of those were not present for the opening round, but are set to return later in the year.
Danye and Marcile Louw had to accept second in class B and third overall with their regular H& H Wellington / Boland Trade Centre VW Golf MkI 1800 and given the performance of the Appelgryn couple some midnight oil will be required to see the Moorreesburg team take up the challenge. The ever consistent Bonnie Brae combination of Morné Roux and Monica Robbertse just beaten into fourth overall in the ex-Fanie du Toit class A winning Mazda 323 EGi 2.0 16v. Morné losing a potential second overall with a single mistake on his final run.
Another pleasant surprise was the vastly improved performance of Stellenbosch based Leon Engelbrecht and Marius Swart in their Eikestad Plastic Repairs class A VW Golf MkI 2.0. Trading seats Marius Swart and Leon Engelbrecht showed that they are truly competitive this season by placing the orange Golf fifth and sixth respectively.
Much was expected from Nashrene Schloss and Louise Appelgryn in the Duncan Jepthas class G VW Golf TSi 2.0 and though they certainly treated the powerful machine with due respect they gradually truned on the pace to eventually finish in an encouraging seventh position overall. Now challenging the men for overall honours these ladies deserve to be watched closely in 2010! Jacques du Plessis and Walter van Dyk won the first Fairbridge event but simply cannot find the rhythm to repeat that performance. The du Plessis Auto class C Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 at times looked incredibly quick but a clean run was not achieved and eighth overall possibly a disappointing result.
Brent Laurings and Duncan Andrews and the yellow class A Opel Kadett GTE 2.0 8v ran like clockwork and ninth place added another encouraging result on the long CV of the Opel. Lourens van Litsenborgh and Jacques du Plessis tenth for Ceres in the silver class C Honda Civic VTec 1600 and clearly there is more to come from this combination. Deon and Maralize Conradie gave air head fans something to cheer about when they won class E in their very well prepared FFR Buggy 2.3. Lightning fast off the line the short wheel base buggy struggled with understeer but it clearly will be a serious pain to the BMW squad in this class for the balance of the season.
Johann and Petra Zulch a close second in their Van der Merwe Houtsaery BMW 325i. Unfortunately the class champion, Danie Smuts, tore the ligaments in his right knee whilst playing a friendly game of cricket and he will have to miss a number of rounds. Jacobus and Albertus Loubser broke a cv early in the day but the class C Toyota Conquest RSi 1600 20v recovered to finish 13th and 14th. Just interesting to note that Albertus was once again beaten by his younger brother in his own car. There must be some truth in the fact that a car owned by somebody else always revs that little higher! Albertus is better known as service crew for the REACT Marketing star in the making, Ashley Haigh-Smith, and serious performance advances is envisaged for the Conquest.
Herman Mathee and Jan van der Vyver showed that they can do more than just chat on radios in support of local rallying when they managed to win class F in their hard working Datsun LDV 1400, complete with radio ham aerial mounts. This class also delivering surprises in the absence of champions Jacques Otto and Emile Blanché and their Nissan LDV 1600. The similar Innovative Woodwork 1600 Toyota powered Nissan LDV of Anton Smit and Albertus Loubser did make the trip from Van Rhynsdorp on the West Coast, finishing a close second in class and sixteenth overall.
Pierre Schoeman and Marinelle Kock admitted to being more nervous of the fact that they are getting married on 3 April than the event but certainly enjoyed their outing in the neat Strand Fitment Centre class A VW Golf GTi 2.0 to finish seventeenth overall. Expected to challenge for top honours Fanie du Toit and Morné Roux found themselves in eighteenth overall after a disastrous day in the very capable clas A Mazda Rustler 2.0 16v LDV. Setting the quickest time on the first run they incurred a ten second penalty, then on the second run they snapped a cv, then they managed to take out the Jayen timer at the finish of the third run to incur another ten second penalty and finally they just cruised through run four to record a single clean run for the day. Definitely the dark horse for 2010!
Walter van Dyk is another getting married on 3 April but with Jacques du Plessis as navigator in the class G VW Golf CTi 2.0 Turbo they had to drive neatly to protect clearly ailing cv’s. Jan van der Vyver and Herman Mathee traded cars and seats to record a second class win when they netted first place in class D with their VW Golf Citi 1.4i after a sterling effort. Ettiene Swart almost withdrew from the event with a serious stomach ailment but with Izak van Zyl as navigator managed to finish a close second with the Dynotech tuned VW Golf Citi 1.4i. Another class that will become very entertaining this year.
Gymkhana debutant, Riaan Snijman, and Herman Mathee 22nd overall in the neat 1600 Lotus 7 replica. Their only concern was getting toasted in the sun whilst waiting for their start and Richard Hough provided the umbrella ala F1. Try as hard as only he could, Charl Carr could not match the VW teams on the day and with nashrene Schloss showing the way they had to accept third spot in class D with the silver Opel Cors Classic 1.4i.
Hennie Odendaal had Donals Loubser as new navigator in the neat Boetzendaal class B VW Golf MkI 1800 and settled for a confidence building 24th spot. Danye and Marcile Louw 25th in their standard class D Mazda Sting 130 with the KS Panelshop class E BMW 325i of Jacobus and Lizelle Smit 26th. Monica Robbertse and Marcile Louw winners of the all ladies category in the Mazda EGi 2.0 16v with Hermie de Kock and Pieter Hugo celebrating their return to the sport in 28th spot with the neat class D Opel Corsa 1.4i. Donald Loubser (newcomer) and Hennie Odendaal 29th in their standard class D Mini 1275.
Kobus Wilson Snr made quite an impact on the day with two JPW Transport entries creating quite a stir. The regular class E BMW 535i have become a crowd favourite and is now joined by what is almost certainly going to become the most spectacular car at any event – a 5.0 V8 Ford powered Datsun Skyline GTX. This car simply has excessive power available and lights up the rear end at the touch of the accelerator. Herman Mathee enjoyed the ride as navigator in both machines and only his ears stopped the grin from splitting his head!
Izak van Zyl also dominated the single seater class H with the Dynotech VW Golf GTi 2.0 Turbo and was followed home by Günther Appelgryn in the VW Golf MkI Chico 1800. Izak also entered the Duncan Jepthas VW Golf TSi 2.0 and finished third in the strange car with Nashrene Schloss fourth in the same car, about a second per run down on Izak. Jan van der Vyver fifth in his 1.4i Citi Golf.
As always it was André Brinkman in control of the Pit Area with Dewald Nortjé on the Startline and Meghan Nortjé at the Stage Finish. Jaco Matthee and Robin Wakeford accepted the responsibilities of Judge of Fact whilst Ari Stylen managed the on track marshalling. Clerk of the Course, Pierre van der Westhuizen, ably assisted by Danie Terblanché as the MSA appointed Steward and Dave Malan as MSA appointed Environmental Steward. Anette Vermaak the very capable Secretary of the event whilst Neville Gleeson (Jayen Timer) and André Mitchell (Scorer) provided rapid results.
In the twelve year existence of the Witzenberg Motorklub Gymkhana Championship the 37 team entry represented the worst entry of all time with respect to numbers and not only reflects the current tough economic times but also the fact that little support exists to retain true grass root motorsport where competitors from all categories of the sport could enjoy their sport without breaking the bank.
Round two is set for 10 April 2010
Patrick Vermaak
083 701 8116
News from Cindy Evans-Finney
 The Extra Mile / Drivelines team ended the year off really well with 4 trophies, including 1st Overall on index for the Springbok Series at Kyalami in December. How “Old Faithful” lasted so many races in the year, plus a 3 hour at Kyalami still amazes me.
As a bonus I also got to race one of the Forza Racing Ferraris [the F360 Challenge] for the first time at the Superstars event a week later. Awesome, awesome, awesome is all I can say. Unfortunately I had some gear problems in both races but I at least got to lead both for a brief moment before our client’s in their super-fast F430’s came flying past and Ross and Andrew gave me a hard time in their 360’s! Ladies, Valentine’s day is coming up – check out our website if you think your man would like to drive or be driven in a Ferrari around a race track - www.forzaracing.co.za – well worth it!
Back to Renault land. Sadly “old Faithful” finally gave up on us at the Zwartkops leg of the Springbok Series a couple of weeks ago. We were doing really well in the championship but because of overheating problems in the endurance race we had to call it quits. “Old Faithful” will be parked and have a well deserved rest whilst we get “Blue Bomb” back on track [excuse the pun]! Thank you Old Faithful – you will never be forgotten!
We decided to “test drive” Blue Bomb during the sprint races at Zwartkops so we would be ready for the first championship round on 6 March. Jay spent night after night for a month building the Gordini engine himself. After stripping everything we discovered that the oil pump had been the problem all along. All seemed perfect and the car was very strong! Unfortunately I was so ill that day that I didn’t drive the car so Jay took it out. He was happy but the gauge seemed to be faulty so he came in to double check that the oil pressure was in fact okay, rather than tempting fate.
Now that “Old Faithful” was damaged and parked, we towed “Blue Bomb” down to Cape Town last weekend and treated her to a new set of Dunlops. Wow... is all I can say. I went out for a few laps and I fell in love all over again. With that engine and those Dunlops there was no better car in the world to drive. The power was just unreal and it felt like I was driving on rails. A misfire started to develop though so I came in.
Jay promptly sorted the problem out and drove it on the road outside the pits to make sure it had cleared. Our hearts sank when we saw him walking back to the pits with a long face. Now what!??
The diff had broken. The team took the engine out and stripped the gear box to see what and where exactly it had broken. It was the pinion gear. As all us “historic racing” people know, we definitely weren’t going to be able to pop down to the spares shop and find another 40 year old Renault Gordini pinion gear, so there was just one thing left to do, pack up, enjoy the beauty of Cape Town for a couple of days and go back to Jo’burg. It was obviously 40 years of wear and tear.
Most of you are probably wondering why on earth we haven’t given up by now. If it is not the engine, it’s the gear box or something else. We are determined to get “Blue Bomb” to not just finish races but to win a championship. The potential of the Gordini is extraordinary, but with a lot of horse power being pushed out of a small and very old car, parts are going to keep on breaking. We will just keep trying, keep on replacing the parts and get that car to live up to the expectations of the team and of all those Gordini fans out there if it is the last thing we do!
Midvaal, 6 March...we'll be there - we need all your positive thoughts sent out way!
From the Drivelines / The Extra Mile Team
KILLARNEY - 6 FEBRUARY 
Pics: Patrick Vermaak
Irvine Laidlaw - Aston Martin DBR2
above: Killarney - Martin richard's Datsun 140Z repaired and doing fine
below: Expensive lawnmowers....
Nick Clark - Ford GT 40
Ian Scheckter - Tiga Sports 2000
Dave Peterson - Suzuki
Sarel van der Merwe in Paolo Caveleiri's Chevelle, built by John Ten
Franz Bezuidenhout - Porsche 956
Gerrit van Zyl's Anglia
  WAYNE MASTERS – THE 16-YEAR CHALLENGE
Apologies to Wayne Masters for the errors which occured in the article printed in Motorheads 2010
It was back in 1993 that Wayne Masters, qualified engineer technologest and these days the owner of a successful body-shop business, began spending his weekends racing Volkswagen tin-tops.
In those days the series for VW hatches was known as the GTi Challenge, these days it’s the VW Challenge, and Wayne Masters and his immaculate Volkswagens have been front-runners for what seems like forever.
He’s won a bunch of titles and as this was written for Motorheads 2009 he was once again challenging for the overall Class A title in his Jonnnesway Golf.
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” says Wayne
“But the biggest change has been that my son Keagan, who’s nine-years-old, has started karting and he’s really been doing well. In 2008 he was given the Iain Pepper trophy for the newcomer to karting showing the most potential.
And he won races in the GP Junior national championship in 2009, only his second season in karting.
“We looked at our situation and we were spending 36 weekends of the year at the race circuit. My wife Keryn brought up our daughter Danielle at the race track, and although she’s been a star racing wife, it hasn’t been easy. So karting is the way to go.”
Wayne, who runs Elite Auto Body in Kya Sands, north of Jo’burg, has produced some wonderful weekend racers over the years. He was the first Challenge competitor to run a Polo Classic in the Challenge series, and also the first to run a Golf III and a Golf IV. Since 2005 he has run his cars in Jonnesway colours, placing 2nd in Class A VW Challenge title in 2008, losing out by a single point. And 2nd in 2009, and always in there, mixing it with the likes of Ray Wilford and, lately, Lee Thompson.
“The big trick we learned was to run a stiff anti-roll bar at the rear and soften the rear springs. You still get stiffness at the back that enables you to point the car in and get the power down, but it makes the car much more forgiving, as far as snap-oversteer is concerned.”
So what is Wayne, at the tender age of 43, going to do with all his weekend time in 2010? Well, in between running Keagan in karting, he’s driving a Rotax Max DD2 two-speed kart.
“It’s a real challenge, it’s so hard on the body compared to a Golf racing. I’m still a second or two off the pace, but I’m working on that for the coming season”
 MAN TopUsed supports First Lady
MAN TopUsed has confirmed their new relationship with Clare Vale and the Gatorback RAM Racing Team for the 2010 season. Clare Vale is the first female driver to race in the WesBank V8 Supercar series in its 26 year history, and she had a successful 2009 season in her 600hp Ford Mustang.
“MAN TopUsed, the used truck division of MAN Truck & Bus (SA) (Pty) Ltd, are proud to provide a “TopUsed” 6 x 4 MAN TGA “Stallion” to showcase together with the Mustang of Clare Vale, to our racing enthusiasts. This also allows us the opportunity to raise awareness about our quality used vehicles country wide,” said Desmond Bothe, Group Manager Business Development (TopUsed).
“We are delighted to be associated with MAN TopUsed,” said Clare. “We share the same values of delivering top quality performance at the highest level, and the team is proud to represent their brand both on and off the race track."
MOTORHEADS 2010 DIARY THE BEST ONE YET!
The unique Motorheads Diary just gets better and better. Now in its fourth year, the 2010 Motorheads
Diary provides a unique service to motoring and motorsport fans throughout the country.
It enables you to plan your motoring year with the utmost precision, while functioning as a conventional
diary for business, household or social purposes.
The brainchild of Midrand artist and motor enthusiast Heide-Marie von der Au, the fourth edition of
Motorheads follows a format that is by now popular with many thousands of enthusiasts throughout
the country.
Motorheads 2010 is once again in handy A5 size, and provides plenty of space for notes and reminders
on each day of the year.
However car enthusiast will once again treasure the inclusion of a Fact of the Day on each of the 365
days that make up the year 2010. And what’s possibly the most handy aspect of all, on each weekend, Motorheads lists countrywide motoring events from a wide range.
For instance, a typical Motorheads weekend listing will inform you of a Formula One race, a World
Superbike event, a classic car show in George, and a National Championship rally. Or perhaps a classic
car race at Zwartkops.
In addition to this there is all sorts of useful motoring related information, such as diagrams of race tracks throughout South Africa, a listing of every F1 and MotoGP champion in history, and a listing of all the major
car clubs in South Africa.
This year’s edition is once again peppered with interesting articles on a diverse number of motoring personalities and cars. Of particular interest is a special photographic tribute to the 1968 South African
Grand Prix by John Foster, showing pictures of the late Jim Clark taking his last victory, as well as the likes
of Denis Hulme driving a BRM-engined McLaren!
Once again many articles have been prepared by some of the country’s top motoring journalists, including
VW historian John Lemon, Mini author Ryno Verster, Witzenberg Motorklub stalwart Patrick Vermaak, motorcycling personality extraordinaire Clive Strugnell and Car Magazine’s Gauteng correspondent Stuart Johnston.
And still just R 140 per book!.
Vacancy: marketing / sales person to assist with ad sales for Motorheads 2011 - please contact Heide-Marie
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