Sarel van der Merwe will return to the Passion for Speed event at Zwartkops next January, driving a Ford Galaxie in the races for SKF Pre-1966 Legend saloon Cars. Picture: Paul Blackburn.
The effects of Covid-19 will not interfere with next year’s Passion for Speed motorsport extravaganza at the Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria. The meeting, traditionally South Africa’s season-opening circuit racing event, will be held on the 29th, 30th and 31st of January 2021.
It will cater for both historic and temporary racing categories, with the organisers expecting a total of more than 300 entries. Whether their numbers will include overseas visitors is impossible to predict at this stage, with international Covic-19 travel restrictions changing almost every day.
Heading up the weekend’s modern side will be races for G&H Transport Extreme Supercars, with a wide array of exotic and fast vehicles on the entry list. Picture: Dave Ledbitter.
The event traditionally revolves around historic car competition and that will again be the case, with the official premier race a 45-minute Tourist Trophy race for Pre-1968 Le Mans Sports and GT cars. Competing cars should include Ford GT40s, Lola T70s, Chevrons, Shelby Daytonas, Lotus 23s and AC Cobras.
The greatest attention-grabber of the weekend should be two sprint races for SKF Pre-1966 Legend Saloon Cars, with V8-engined production cars like Ford Galaxies, Mustangs, Chevrolet Novas, Ford Fairlanes and a Mercury Comet on the grid. As is tradition, maestro Sarel van der Merwe will join the fray in a Ford Galaxie.
Officially the Passion for Speed’s top-billed event will be the 45-minute Tourist Trophy for Pre-1968 Le Mans Sports and GT cars. Picture: Paul Blackburn.
Other historic car categories on the bill will include races for Pre-1966 Under Two-litre and Little Giant cars, Pre-1974 International Sports Racing Prototypes, Pre-1980 Historic Saloon Cars, Midvaal Historic Saloon Cars and Historic single-seaters. Topping the modern side of the programme will be two races for G&H Transport Extreme Super Cars, Mobil 1 V8 Supercars, BMW Car Club, Lotus Challenge and the Charlies Super Spar Pursuit Series.
“It is far too early to predict that. Obviously we would love to have spectators who share our passion for speed at the circuit’s biggest event of the year, but the decision is ultimately not ours,” he added,” says Zwartkops circuit owner Peter du Toit. The event will be live-streamed on every day and will, for now, not be open to spectators
For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
