Smooth, precise, impressive: Phakisa 200 endurance maintains its popularity with petrolheads
The regional Extreme Festival championship spectacle returned to the Phakisa Raceway between Welkom and Odendaalsrus in style on Saturday, with nine racing disciplines taking to the tarmac.
Heading up the programme was the annual Phakisa 200 endurance race for Car Care Clinic 111 and Hot Hatch cars. With 53 competitors facing the starter at the beginning of the 48- lap race, a number of cars came to grief – mechanically or driver-induced – in the early stages. Then things settled down, with Mark du Toit and Kishoor Pitamber taking the lead in their Siris BMW Z4 (main image).
Du Toit drove the lion’s share of the race, gave the car to Pitamber with a half-a-lap lead, who then proceeded to tick off the remaining laps to the end. It was a smooth, precise and impressive show. Second was Louis Scholtz in his Car Care Clinic Honda Civic.
He led home Gary Gordon/ Danie Deysel (Honda Spares Ballade), Bertus van Jaarsveld (VW Polo), Johan van der Vyver/ Mackie Adlem (Devlaw Subaru WRX) and Phillip Meyer (LSC Group Porsche 924). Franco di Matteo blasted his Deltec Batteries Jaguar to victory in the opening Mobil 1 V8 Supercar race, ahead of Mackie Adlem (Adlem Auto Jaguar) and JP Nortje (N4 Autocraft Corvette).
Race two, which started from an inverted grid, saw an ecstatic Cronje taking his first victory in this discipline, followed by Adlem and Di Matteo. In the process Di Matteo set the event’s quickest race lap time.
The first MotorMart VW Challenge race went to Global Touring Car regular Keagan Masters, who won in his Performance Masters Polo, ahead of Bevin Masters (OPS Warehouse Polo) and Lyle Ramsay (Monroe Polo). Keagan Masters won race two as well, followed by Rory Atkinson (BHIT Polo) and Bevin Masters. Danie Deysel (Honda Spares Honda CRX) took the Car Care Clinic 111 Saloon Car sprint race from Wouter Roos (Nathans Golf GTI) and Nic Dodds (AIPM Honda Ballade).
André de Lange (Roofsure Audi A3) took an easy victory in the Car Care Clinic Superhatch sprint race, chased to the flag by Brett Garland (autObarn Honda Civic) and Louis Scholtz (Car Car Clinic Honda Civic).
After a race-long three-car war, Jaco Schriks (Cubed Coatings Rhema) won the opening Hankook Formula Vee race, marginally ahead of Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema) and Luschen Ramchander (TRA FVee). Ramchander won the next time around, closely followed by Schriks and Van den Berg.
Veteran Graeme van Breda (Stefanutti Stocks ZX10) won both the Red Square Kawasaki Masters races from Jaco Gouws (Kawasaki ZX10). Gareth Bezuidenhout (Kawasaki ZX10) and Kyle Robinson (Kawasaki ZX10) stood on the respective final podium places. The opening Bridgestone Superbike heat was clinched by Shaun Vermaak (Industry Kawasaki ZX10), ahead of Hendrik de Bruin (NETBC Yamaha) and Michael Pypers (Westside Motorcycles Kawsaki).
Vermaak won race two as well, followed by Harry Timmerman (Sandton BMW S1000RR) and Marius Koekemoer (Sherq Solutions Ducati). Mark Myburgh (Honda CBR) took both the Bridgestone Challenge races from Morongo Mahope (Kawasaki ZX6), with Ian Thomas (SA Compressor Kawasaki ZX10) and Landi Sinden (Milwaukee Yamaha R6) taking turns in the respective third places. The next round of the regional Extreme Festival series will take place at the Midvaal circuit on Saturday, August 17.
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