23/10/08 - The penultimate round of the WesBank Super Series at Kyalami on October 25 has all the ingredients to turn into a crackerjack meeting.

One or two championship issues have already been settled – with pressure off WesBank V8 Supercar and CitiBike Supersport champions Hennie Groenewald and Dane Hellyer – but title races in other categories are delicately balanced. In one instance there is a three-way tie at the top of the points table, and championship races don’t come much closer than that.

With championship issues so finely balanced, the Kyalami outing could make or break title challenges. Championship contenders will be living on their nerves and in a pressure cooker atmosphere anything could happen.

In the prestige Bridgestone Production Car title chase veteran Graeme Nathan is still clinging to a 24 point margin at the top of the overall leaderboard. It provides Nathan with a little breathing space, but he will be well aware that one bad outing could scupper his season.

The situation in Class A is explosive. Just nine points separate the top four contenders with a fifth lurking in the shadows and ready to pounce on mistakes.

The action will start on October 24 with the practice and qualifying sessions loaded with interest. With so much at stake good grid positions are going to be crucial, and the qualifying sessions are also likely to produce their fare share of drama.

Entrance at Kyalami is R40 per adult with children under 10 free, while the public Legends Corner entrance fee is R50 with all tickets available at Computicket. The pits will be open to the public at no extra cost with shuttle services operating between public areas and the pits.

Bridgestone Production Car Championship

Veteran Graeme Nathan (Indy Oil/Kaye Eddie Seat Cupra) is still clinging to a 24 point advantage in the Bridgestone Production Car overall championship. That gives him a slight comfort zone, but Nathan is experienced enough to know the situation could change in a flash.

Nathan’s closest challengers in the overall stakes are a group of drivers who will probably be more engrossed in their own little battle with the Class A championship at stake. Here Anthony Taylor (Afrox BMW 330i) leads Johan Fourie (Indy Oil Audi A4) by just three points with Etienne van der Linde, in the second Afrox BMW, and Michael Stephen (Xtreme Team Audi A4) tied for third a further six points in arrears.

It is an explosive situation loaded with potential for high drama. And, lurking in the wings is Leeroy Poulter (Sasol Nissan 350Z) who is not yet out of the championship picture.

There is no doubt the fur will fly, and other drivers could upset championship applecarts. Melvill Priest (Lenovo/MiKar Audi A4), reigning champion Shaun Watson-Smith, in the second Xtreme Team Audi, and Tschops Sipuka, in the second Sasol Nissan car, all have the potential to win or interfere with well laid plans from other drivers.

The likes of Dawie Olivier in the Subaru and Darryn Lobb and Marco da Cunha, in the SAM Racing/Tubular Tech Nissan 350Z entries could also be influential, particularly if a reverse grid is employed for the second of two heats. All in all it adds up to two races that could turn into memorable affairs.

In the Class T battle Nathan’s primary objective will be to stay out of trouble and score points. He is firmly in control of the Class T title race and will be quite content to see rivals like reigning champion Iain Pepper (PG Glass VW Golf GTi), Gary Formato, in the fast but fragile Ford Racing/Nandos Ford Focus and Regardt Roets in the Webcom Opel OPC slug it out.

Veteran Ben Morgenrood (Mazda Motorsport RX8) has wrapped up yet another national title in Class B and can go out an enjoy himself. Danie van Niekerk (Stanger Auto Ford Fiesta) could give Morgenrood a run for his money but it won’t mean anything from a championship point of view.

WesBank V8 Supercar Championship

With Hennie Groenewald (Team Timken Holden) having already wrapped up a third successive WesBank V8 Supercar title, the focus shifts to the battle going on behind him for the minor placings.

Here the protagonists are Mark Auby (Jonnesway Jaguar), Robert Briggs (Team Timken Jaguar) and veteran Willie Hepburn (Project Orange Chev Corvette) who, at the age of 65, will say what is bound to be an emotional farewell to Kyalami in his last appearance at the famous circuit. Auby currently has a 16 point advantage over Briggs and Hepburn who are tied in third place.

Auby also has consistency going for him in what are the final two WesBank V8 races of the season. Much, however, could depend on the now universally accepted WesBank Supercar practice of reversing the grid for race two.

Further down the field there are some tight personal duels that will need watching. Richard Pinard, in another Team Timken Jaguar, is in a safe fourth place only eight points separate Deon Auby (Meta Forge Holden), Jaco Correia (Liqui Moly Chev Corvette), Danie Correia in a second Liqui Moly entry and veteran Larry Wilford in the Fuchs Titan Ford Mustang.

Other drivers who could come up with good results include teenager Brandon Auby in the Masana Petroleum Jaguar, Franco di Matteo in the Optima Batteries Jaguar and Roelf du Plessis in the Venter Motors Chev Lumina.

Engen VW Cup

Down the years the Engen VW Cup has never failed to produce tight championships, and this season it could not be closer.

Going to Kyalami three drivers – teenager Gennaro Bonafede (Champion/Ferodo VW Polo), Mathew Hodges (PG Glass VW Polo) and Jared Mortimer (Emerald Casino VW Polo) – are locked in a three-way tie at the top of the leaderboard. It does not come much closer than that with the pressure now firmly on the trio.

And, just to muddy the waters a little, Capetonian Miguel Pasqualli is only 13 points in arrears. That keeps him firmly in the championship picture and there will be no prisoners taken at Kyalami.

For young Bonafede son of former rally champion Vito, it is going to be a test of character. He has seen what was a comfortable championship lead slowly eroding away, and is now under huge pressure from more experienced campaigners in the likes of Hodges, Mortimer and Pasqualli.

Formula VW Championship

The fledgling Formula VW championship, which has national challenge status this season, returns to Kyalami with the title fight now down to two drivers.

Gavin Cronje’s two wins last time out in the Jonah Capital FVW at Aldo Scribante have given him a tenuous 10 point lead over Cristiano Morgado in the Morgado Plant FVW. Cronje and Morgado, both of them former Rotax Max kart world champions, have dominated the series and will resume their personal battle and the 10 point difference could be crucial.

Of the rest of the field Wesley Orr (SAM Racing/Global Solutions FVW), another former Rotax Max world champion, talented Michael Stephen (Terry Moss Racing/Southern Sun FVW) and Formula Ford champion Jayde Kruger (Wap Alto/First Freight FVW) look to be the pick of the bunch. Tasmin Pepper (VMP/Pepper Racing FVW) is a rose among thorns and the young Centurion matric student has been improving with every outing and is now a top five candidate.

There is little doubt the FVW contingent will be the quickest cars around Kyalami. The prospect of two good battles between Cronje and Morgado is also enticing.

CitiBike Superbike Championship

With four races left, amounting to 100 points on offer, and a 53 point lead in the series CitiBike Superbike champion elect Sheridan Morais is not yet out of the woods.

Morais, on the Emtek Racing Kawasaki, has dominated the season and richly deserves a second South African title to go with his 2005 success. But motor racing is a funny old game, and the sport is littered with also rans who at one stage looked to have championships signed and sealed.

For Clinton Seller (Nashua Mobile/Daikin Yamaha) who is the only rider left with a mathematical chance of catching Morais, it is perhaps a last throw of the dice. That sets up an interesting confrontation between two young chargers – with Seller in a situation where caution must be thrown to the winds.

While the attention will be mainly focussed on the Morais/Seller battle, there are a string of other riders capable of winning. Outgoing champion Arushen Moodley (Dynamic Express Suzuki) would love to end his season on a high note, while youngsters like Chris Leeson, on the second Emtek Kawasaki, and Greg Gildenhuys (Race Nation Honda) will be looking for maiden wins at this level.

Former champion Shawn Whyte, on the second Nashua Mobile/Daikin Yamaha, invariably goes well at Kyalami and Robert Portman (Sinotec Suzuki) would like to salvage something from what has been a largely disappointing season. There will also be a great deal of interest in the debut of newly crowned Supersport champion Dane Hellyer who will be out on the Kyocera Kawasaki.

CitiBike Supersport Championship

With Walkerville teenager Dane Hellyer already walking around with the CitiBike Supersport title in his pocket, pride will be the major commodity at stake in what will be the final two races of the year for the category.

Veteran Graeme van Breda (Springs Suzuki) has a tight hold on the runners-up slot in the championship, but another veteran in Lance Isaacs (Pta Noord Suzuki) is embroiled in a fight for third place with a couple of youngsters. Dylan White (White Aluminium Yamaha) and James Egan (Timefreight/Daikin Yamaha) are within 10 points of Isaacs and an interesting little battle is likely to develop between the trio.

Other riders like Graeme Green (Leatt Brace Yamaha), Steven Odendaal (Mitsubishi Electric Suzuki) and Jacques Pesken (Algoa Structures Honda) would like to end their seasons on a high note. Although the championship could be construed as a dead rubber, pride and the racing instinct set the scene for what could be two entertaining heats.