Phakisa 13/09/08

Investchem FFord

Reigning Investchem Formula Ford champion Jayde Kruger made a dominant return to the series for round eight at Phakisa, Welkom.

Kruger claimed pole position with championship leader Robbie Wolk alongside in the Chemical Logistics Mygale as Nicholas van Weely (Magnificent Paints Van Diemen) headed the rest.

The opening laps of the first race were a cat-and-mouse affair as Kruger and Wolk traded places at the front. By lap three Kruger had opened a bit of a gap then Wolk lost ground when Van Weely gave him a tap in turn one which dropped him to fifth.

His fight back through the order came to an end when he and fast starting Stevie Morris (Van Diemen) attempted to share the same piece of tar and Wolk retired on the spot with suspension damage. Morris took the flag in second but was penalised afterwards for jumping the start which saw him classified eighth.

That left Mathew Merton (Matsam Supplies Mygale) in second after a neatly driven race while Werner Scholtz (Motorvia Van Diemen) was third.

Van Weely recovered to take fourth and his charge netted fastest lap. Gerard Peters (Petro-Oil Zim Mygale) was unhappy with his car and took fifth as visiting British Formula Ford hero Rick Morris (Investchem Mygale) was sixth and winner of the Zetec Challenge class for older cars on more durable tyres.

Race two saw Kruger and Wolk closely matched and the lead changed a number of times in the first half although Kruger was ahead most of the time. Then Wolk slowed slightly with an engine problem which allowed Van Weely through into second place as Wolk salvaged third.

Fourth was Morris with Peters hot on his tail and first heat retiree David Veringa completed the top six in the Atlas Copco/Volare Mygale.

Execuline Shelby Can Am

Driving the Execuline backed car usually driven by Craig Shorter, South Africa's A1GP Rookie driver Wesleigh Orr scored his first win in the Execuline Shelby Can-Am series with a classy performance.

Starting from pole position with recently married Jennifer Murray in the other Execuline entry alongside, he judged the start well to lead from start to finish and win by 1.5 seconds from Murray who'd kept him honest throughout.

A great no-holds-barred scrap for third saw championship contender Chris Hart (Hi-Q Plettenberg Bay) hold off Guy Botterill (Fragram Tools) and former champion Neil Lobb (DK Woodcraft) who overcame a hefty Friday shunt.
Ruan Pretorius, also a former champion, held on to take sixth place.

Championship leader Rui Campos (Hugo Boss) was also in the mix, but a puncture in the closing stages saw him spin and retire two laps from the end. In the morning warm-up he smote the barrier after losing the car over one of Phakisa's notorious bumps which gave his crew a lot to do before the start.

Altech Unlimited Porsche Challenge

Toby Venter (Porsche 911 GT2) was in a class of his own as he romped to an unchallenged win in the first Altech Porsche Unlimited race. Without any opposition, the winning margin after 9-laps was a massive 45-seconds. Runner up was hard driving Charl Joubert (Lotus Exige) who was well clear of Oscar de Oliviera in the first of the Forza Racing Ferrari F360 quartet.

Next was Sharl Parsad, who's had an impressive first season of racing with Christo Lindeque and Jon Wilson a few seconds further down the road after a close tussle.

The second race saw the Altech Porsche and Execuline Shelby Can-Am fields combined to produce a brilliant 31-car spectacle.

As expected Venter walked away with the honours, but a great scrap for the Execuline Shelby Can-Am honours saw Alan Eve (Sunshine Testing) get to the line less than half a second ahead of Orr with Murray keeping them honest.
Next was Campos who had a few seconds over Botterill.

De Oliviera was first of the Ferrari brigade after Parsad retired on the opening lap after being heaved into the barriers by a, "I think it was a white Porsche," he said.

Altech Kawasaki Masters Cup

Aboard the Execuline Kawasaki, Gavin Lightfoot was the star of the show as he won from multiple SA champions Gavin Ramsay (Mail Wise) and Greg Dreyer (Altech).

Former VW Challenge racer Royden Bennett (Afinta Part) continued his impressive season as he took fourth a bike length or so clear of Adan du Plessis and Pieter de Vos who was a few seconds back.

Race two saw Lightfoot in control again as Ramsay and Dreyer completed the podium. Bennett crashed out on lap two and du Plessis was a lonely fourth as Jason Lamb pipped de Vos for fifth.

Formula Vee

Although Local hero Dennis Johns won the first Formula Vee race. It was the two development drivers who stole the show. Courtney Steenveld (Indy Oils
Rhema) and Zaahir Essa in the (NLDTF Rhema) claimed second and third.

Steeveld then won the closely fought second race from Johns as Essa continued with his good form and was third again