Having to contend with a major oil spill during pre-race practise, pushed driving skills to the limits, as track conditions were extremely trying.
The various karting classes provided their share of action and entertainment and, fortunately, some track incidents resulted in no serious injuries to any competitors, thanks to safety measures in racing.
The not so new kid on the block, Rieckerd Louwrens, proved that entertainment by calling in “Rent-a-Gent”, the #14 Lexus of Chante Wiese, was unbeatable on the night.
Wiese was unable to compete and passed her driver’s seat on to Louwrens in the good looking green Minion-monster.
He drove like the deserving South African champion contender that he is and took overall honours for the night in this class.
Louwrens was, however, hotly pursued by Eugene Wiese in the #10 Lexus, while Basie Louwrens made a welcome return to the track, be it in the younger Louwrens’s car, on Saturday.
The Lexus pack of four was completed by the young Amore Wiese, who proved that dynamite comes in small packages.
With the first rounds of the 2017 South African Championships around the corner, many competitors chose to keep their cars intact and to watch the action rather than compete.
Certainly one of the strongest contested classes, and quickly growing in numbers, is the Stock Rod class.
With a large field battling it out to make it to the chequered flag first, the Stock Rods provided great action.
Jossie Macdonald, Adriaan Diedericks and the likes all put their cars through the paces in three close races.
A combined 2.1 Pinto and 1660 race made it clear that racing is not just about the size of the engine under the hood, but how you put together driving skills and horsepower and often a bit of luck, too.
Pieter le Roux and Gideon “Spanner” Pretorius led the chase, while Mauritz Nigrini, Frik Kruger, Johan du Plessis and the rest followed.
Formula N racing and Super Saloons completed the saloon classes.
Hannes Vermeulen, in his “starry” Skyline, was not going to show fellow Super Saloon racers anything but the Skyline’s rear end and raced to victory in the finals.
The open wheelers also provided tons of thrills, with the Standard Midgets, Super Midgets and Sprint cars all adding to the action.
The Super Midgets and Sprints had the crowds nailed to their seats as they revved it up and took the cars around the track with tyre-smoking exhilaration.
The next Oval event takes place in May.
