Spectacular fourth spot for Polokwane racers
Wessel and Kerry Smit competed against 55 other drivers in a 4.1km long race which had 12 turns with three back straights.
POLOKWANE – Wessel and Kerry Smit from Unique Raceway Polokwane were among the top car racers in the country who participated in the Ilumuna 9-hour endurance race at the Redstar Raceway in Delmas on March 25.
The duo competed against 55 other drivers in a 4.1km long race which had 12 turns with three back straights.
Wessel said their team was competing for the second year, with four drivers.
“It was a very competitive race and it was not easy to go there and win. We had a good day and we enjoyed it. We were driving a VW Golf MK1 2.0 litre fuel injection. Last year we ended fourth out of 50 cars, with all drivers in our team being from oval racing. This year we decided to make this a couples’ race which means that we drove with our spouses. Local oval racing drivers and promoters of Unique RW Wessel and Kerry-Ann Smit and Walter and Madelein Menin were in our team. To drive for nine hours, we needed a pit crew consisting of four mechanics to refuel and maintain the vehicle.”
He said they started in 10th position and gained up until eighth spot, when they experienced engine trouble.
“We decided to change the entire engine, which delayed us by 55 laps, or one-and-a-half-hour. We finally finished 44th out of 55 but we had a wonderful experience,” explained Smit.
He added that they used the event as a promotional tool for the Unique Raceway track in Polokwane.
“We want to show that we are family-orientated and that couples can complete such a gruelling race. We also want to bring racing back to Polokwane and bring some real life enjoyment to our citizens.”
The Ilumuna 9hours Endurace Race is a low budget race and is handicapped – the teams that exceed a R50 000 budget will get penalised with laps deducted and the cars under budget (R50 000) have laps added.
Every team is limited to maximum lap time to even out odds with faster cars.
