14/09/08 - 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 in the first race at Phakisa, Welkom.

After being comfortably fastest in qualifying he started from pole position with recently married Jennifer Murray in the other Execuline entry alongside. A well judged start saw him lead into the first turn and he was never headed until the nine-laps were over.

Murray also impressed with a race that saw her finish only 1.5 seconds adrift after keeping 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). The latter having suffered a hefty shunt on Friday that resulted in a late night for the Revolution Racing boys. Ruan Pretorius, also a former champion, was in the thick of this battle and despite a few wild moments held on to take a hard earned sixth place.

Next was Dave Beattie (Dura Soletanche Bachy) who had also been in the big battle and the top ten was rounded off by Alan Eve (Sunshine Testing) who started from the back of the grid, Bertil Hoffman (IOU Music) and Durbanite Bryant van der Merwe (Chemspec).

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. Another retiree was Sean Greve who changed his motor on Friday only to discover the replacement was down on oil pressure.

The second race saw the Altech Porsche and Execuline Shelby Can-Am fields combined to produce a brilliant 31-car spectacle for the small crowd that braved the cold wind.

As expected Venter walked away with the win, 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 from a few car lengths back. Next was Campos, the championship leader, who had a few seconds to spare over Botterill.

A steady drive saw Colin Frost (Strocam) take sixth followed by vd Merwe and Sun Moodley (Bigfoot Express) who drove the race of his life to get eighth ahead of Beattie and Har who had been lying fourth, but dropped back on lap six which saw Campos hold onto his narrow championship lead.