Legends series comes alive

The racing class brought 13 cars to the Zwartkops Raceway’s Extreme Festival two weekends ago, and produced some extremely close racing. The cars were surprisingly quick with overall winner Devin Robertson lapping Zwartkops in a time of 1 minute 13,3 seconds.

That is one of the three things that defines a successful club racing formula – the cars have to be quick enough to be scary. They also need to be reliable and cost-effective – with the Legends scoring full marks on both counts.

Current drivers include Bridgestone Production Car series driver Robertson, V8 GT ace Franco di Matteo, Willem Erasmus, Shaun Nel, Morne Stoltz, Fabienne Lanz and Carl Nel.

The Inex Legends cars are powered by 1 300cc four-cylinder Yamaha engines producing around 100 kW and they weigh in at under 500 kilograms. The cars have six-speed sequential gearboxes, rear-wheel drive, solid rear axles, double A-frame front suspension, disc brakes all round and a single full bucket racing seat.

The body shells, available in three types, are constructed of sturdy glass fibre. The wheelbase is 1,855 metres, the total width 1,525 metres, overall length 3,23 metres and overall height 1,168 metres.

All the Legends cars are built in the same American factory to ensure technical parity, and no owner is allowed to modify any part of his or her car. Most impressively brand new Inex Legends cars cost R135 700 excluding vat, and race regulations are focused on keeping running costs low.

RACING: There are currently 13 Legend Cars in regular use, and the action is fiercely competitive.

This year competitors are only allowed to purchase three sets of racing tyres for the season, while races take place in and around Gauteng to keep travelling costs to a minimum.

“We are trying to establish a ladder of opportunity for talented youngsters who come out of karting,” said Kevin Hepburn, the boss of Legends Cars South Africa.

“That apart, other established racers who want something else to keep them sharp between national championship race meetings can now race Legends Cars much cheaper than karts.”

The next meeting on the Inex Legends calendar will be at the Red Star Raceway on September 1.

To find out more about the formula contact Kim Carmichael at 011 0260 996 or on 082 575 8486.