Young drivers changed the status quo at Zwartkops Raceway on April 23
The first evidence of the young ones changing the status quo, was when the overall winner, the 16-year-old Saood Variawa, stunned with his pole position over champion Robert Wolk in the Global Touring Car race.
Robert Wolk did, however, go on to beat his young rival and Michael van Rooyen in a Toyota Corolla 1-2-3 in race 1.
Young Saood followed Julian van der Walt, who delivered a second, rough and tough reverse grid race 2 win on the trot in his Ford Focus, with Van Rooyen third in the second heat. That saw Saood take the overall win of the day from Wolk, who incurred a fifth-place penalty in that second race, and Jonathan Mogotsi’s VW Golf. Results there remain provisional. Another Global Touring Car rookie, Bradley Liebenberg, was thoroughly impressed on his albeit troubled VW Golf debut.
It was a similar situation in the equally spectacular GTC SupaCup. Arnold Neveling delivered a dream debut overall win over his former Polo Cup rival rookie, the 17-year-old Leyton Fourie and Jean-Pierre van der Walt. Keagan Masters inherited a crazy race 1 win from Neveling and another debutant, Tato Carello, while Leyton defended Neveling and the fast-closing Jeffrey Kruger off in race 2. Nick Davidson meanwhile took his second SupaCup Masters win on the trot.
Compcare Polo Cup is all about young racing stars and while race 1 and overall winner Clinton Bezuidenhout may be considered a class veteran having just escaped his teens, race 2 winner Charl Visser in second overall, Dawie van der Merwe in third and fourth overall and pole kid Tate Bishop are all 16 or younger! Jurie Swart was sixth from Nathi Msimanga and Giordano Lupini, who made it four Cape kids in him, Charl, Tate and Jurie, and EP lad Clinton in the top seven of what has traditionally been a Gauteng stronghold. That’s another intriguing racing shift.
Another breeding ground of young champions, the Investchem Formula 1600 title race is rapidly becoming a two-horse race between another two young stars, as Antwan Geldenhuys and Josh Le Roux shared the race wins. Le Roux held Geldenhuys off from pole position in race 1 with Andrew Schofield third from Gerard Geldenhuys, Troy Dolinschek and Nicholas van Weely. Antwan Geldenhuys then went lights to flag in race 2 from young Alex Vos, Schofield, Van Weely and Cape lad Troy Dolinschek, after Geldenhuys had slipped off later in the race.
The G+H Extreme Supercars attract more mature drivers. Jonathan du Toit overcame the high altitude advantages his turbo rivals to win in his naturally aspirated Lamborghini. Du Toit took a stunning 58.9-second pole position before fending Cape lad Dayne Angel’s turbo Porsche off. The 75-year-old Ben Morgenrood’s Lexus-Chevy, Marius Jackson’s Audi R8 and GT3 winner Greg Parton’s Lamborghini off. Du Toit did the double to take the day from Angel, Jackson, Parton and Ricky Giannoccaro’s Lamborghini. There were two teenagers racing there too, as Mikaeel Pitamber’s Lamborghini and rookie Kwanda Mokoena’s Audi R8 both impressed.
The rolling thunder Mobil V8 Supecars may have delivered a thin field, but it was action all the way. Franco di Matteo made took the opening encounter from lights to flag victory over Terry Wilford’s Falcon, Julian Fameliaris’ Corvette and Mackie Adlem’s Jaguar. Adlem, however, worked his way through the inverted grid to take race 2 and the day overall from Di Matteo, young gun Fameliaris and Terry Wilford.
An emotional Graeme van Breda dedicated his double Sunbet ZX10 Masters Cup victory to his recently passed dad, former SA motorcycle racing legend Les. He beat Ronald Slamet, Trevor Westman, Jayson Lamb, Brain Bontekoning, Michael Smit, David Enticott and Sanjiv Singh to a most popular victory in a packed 30-bile field.
In other action on the day, race 2 winner Ashley Oldfield held pole man Thomas Falkiner, Mark Jones and opening race winner Sean Nurse off to the Gazoo Toyota Yaris Media overall win with Lerato Matebese and Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger next up. And Greg Wilson took a DOE Formula Vee double win to take the day from Gert van den Berg, Lushen Ramchander, Eric Booyens, Lendl Jansen and father and son Peter and Brandon Hills.
The Extreme Festival focus now shifts to Red Star in Delmas for the second round Northern Regions races on May 14. Then it is back to national action at Gqeberha’s Aldo Scribante for round 3 on Saturday May 28. Bring it on.
Source: MotorsportMedia
