The Brakpan resident smashed the national speed record in his class (Competition Eliminator) in his Ford Escort, with a newly rebuilt engine (205.6 km/h on the standing 400m).
The original engine was essentially destroyed due to a mechanical failure, during tuning after round one of the nationals.
“We had it rebuilt and set up just in time for the third round of nationals,” said Havenga.
“I had planned to go for the record this year, but I did not expect that we would take it first time out.
“I was thrilled with the result and I am pretty sure that, as the motor settles, we will improve on that record again.”
This is the second record that Havenga holds – the other was set in 2007, in the HP category (normally aspirated cars with a weight to capacity ratio of above 0.36 kg/cc). This was set in his V8 Cobra, with a speed of 172.6 km/h
Check out a video of Havenga in action:
