Benoni’s Clare Vale and her team recently took part in a nine-hour Endurance Race presented by Bigfoot Express Freight and adjust4sleep adjustable beds at Killarney International Raceway.
“We had such an awesome weekend,” she said.
“I had a new co-driver, Morné Jurgens, as Wade van Zummeren and his dad decided not to participate this time.”
Jurgens is a Boksburg resident and a very accomplished driver, having won many championships in karting and also on the main circuit.
“He raced for the Alfa Romeo team in Production Cars too,” explained Vale.
“He has not been competing for a while, so he was very excited at the prospect of entering the nine-hour race with us.”
Most of the teams had three or four drivers.
“It was a bit daunting to be tackling such a long race with only two drivers but we were up for the challenge,” she said.
They didn’t get much practice before the race due to an issue they had on Friday.
The brakes were binding and not releasing.
“We got things working in time for qualifying and Morné put our BestDrive car near the top of our class,” Vale explained.
“Race day on Saturday dawned very hot and the race got underway at 12.10pm.
“We had a great start and after about four hours we were lying third in our class and eighth overall.
“The Backdraft Cobras were doing very well, as the top classes are made up of very fast sports cars like Lamborghinis.”
Unfortunately, the team then had a problem with their fuel pump, which entailed a lengthy pit stop while they replaced it.
“This dropped us right back down the field and we returned to the track near the back of our class,” explained Vale.
“However, some determined and consistent driving saw us reaching the flag at 9.10pm in 15th place overall and eighth in our class.
“This is not a bad result, considering only 21 cars actually completed the nine hours, and we drove for most of the race with virtually no brakes. We were proud of our whole team for getting the car to the end.”
The racing season is now over for this year.
“We are looking forward to seeing what next year will bring,” she concluded.
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