Zwartkops Passion for Speed 2021 getting traction

Planning for this year’s Passion for Speed racing extravaganza at the Zwartkops Raceway from 18 to 20 June is in top gear.

The event, South Africa’s biggest apart from the Kyalami 9-Hour, was supposed to take place at the beginning of February, but Covid-19 related lockdown protocols forced its postponement.

As in the past, the 2021 Passion for Speed will incorporate a wide variety of historic and current day racing, with more than 300 competitors expected to face to starter.

Legend Sarel van der Merwe will come out of retirement again, to drive the Pablo Clark Racing Ford Galaxie in the races for Pre-1966 Legend Saloon Cars. Picture: Paul Blackburn.

Topping events in terms of sheer spectacle should be races for Pre-1966 Legend of the 9-Hour cars, with some 10 V8-engined vehicles to be campaigned by a number of the country’s very best tin-top drivers. As has become tradition, maestro Sarel van der Merwe will come out of retirement to pedal the Pablo Clark Racing Ford Galaxie.

He will face off against people like Peter Lindenberg (Shelby Mustang), Jonathan du Toit (Chevrolet Nova), Hennie Groenewald (Mercury Comet), Mark du Toit (Ford Fairlane), Lee Thompson (For Galaxie) and Paige Lindenberg (Ford Fairlane).

Officially, the event’s top billing will belong to the Saturday’s Passion for Speed TT, with a  varied entry of Le Mans Sports and GT, International Sports Prototypes and Pre-1974 Trans-Am cars to tackle the 45 minute event.

Front runners in the Legend Saloon Car races will include Jonathan du Toit (Chevrolet Nova) and Peter Lindenberg (Shelby Mustang Shelby). Picture: Dave Ledbitter.

Other historic racing on the Saturday will include events for Pre-1980 Saloons, Pre-1990 Sports and GT cars, Midvaal Historic cars, Historic Pursuit cars and Historic Single seaters.

The Sports and GT cars will include veteran Willie Hepburn’s venerable Sabat Opel Rekord V8, the Little Chevrolet CanAm V8 of Rudi de Vos, and the late Peter Gough’s WesBank Opel Astra V8 to be driven by Lee Thompson.

There will also be BMW Batmobiles, a variety of old Stannic Group N cars like the Opel Kadett Superboss and BMW 325iS, plus Datsun 240Zs.

The G&H Transport Extreme SuperCar races will involve cars like Dayne Angel’s Porsche 911 GT2 RS. Picture: Dave Ledbitter.

On a more modern note, the G&H Transport Extreme SuperCar races will involve Porsche 977s, Lamborghini Huracans, Ferrari F430s, a Lexus V8 some wild turbocharged BMW M3s and an Audi R8 LMS. Other exotica will see the Pablo Clark Racing contingent doing display runs with some 20 Ferraris of varied ages.

The Passion for Speed Winter Edition will celebrate a quarter of a century birthday for the Zwartkops Raceway, that was officially opened back in 1986.