Two months after their last outing at Midvaal Raceway the autObarn SuperHatch competitors make their way down to Dezzi Raceway on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast for the fifth round of their 2018 championship on Saturday, 2 June. With half of the season’s events completed Zane van Zyl (Credit Guarantee/Rim Africa VW Golf) leads the overall championship by just two points from Louis Scholtz (Car Care Clinic Honda Civic) with Almero van Eck (Nosler VW Polo) a further four points adrift. Tony Hyams (Building Code Consultants Ford Fiesta) has been steadily moving up the log and is now in fourth place just ahead of Reno van Heerden (KWC VW Polo) who has Robert Stoltz (Jetstik / Episerve / Lopec Opel Kadett) hot on his heels.
Class A championship leader Brett Garland (autObarn/Total Honda Civic) left Midvaal with just a couple of points on the board after his gearbox let go while he was leading the opening race. He will be looking to get back to winning ways at Dezzi but will have a number of drivers out to stop him. Andre Dannhauser had some success using his old 1800cc motor in his Pro Auto Rubber/Jetstik Opel Corsa at Midvaal and should be even more competitive on the tight coastal layout. Chris Davison (HIMOINSA southern Africa Opel Superboss) and Nic Martin (Rex Diff & Gearbox Opel Kadett) should also be up at the front, while Karel Stols (Toyota Etios) and Tyler Scott (Jestik / Episerve / Lopec / CBC Opel Kadett) are both making their first competitive appearance of the season and could upset the established running order.
Scholtz has been on a charge in class B, winning three of the last four races to close to within two points of championship leader van Zyl. He will be out to continue that run of good form at Dezzi but will certainly not have things all his own way. Mel Spurr (G& H Transport/Castrol VW Polo) has had a steady run of podium finishes and lies third on the log, just ahead of Trevor Stringer (PTM Excellence/Glass National/TMF Peugeot 206) and Sandro Godinho (Bidvest Panalpina Logistics VW Golf) who claimed his first podium finish of the season last time out. Despite a disappointing outing at Midvaal, Shane Forget (4Js Auto Opel Cub) has also shown that he can run close to the front of the field and will be out to repeat that at the coast. Despite having to drive using only hand controls, Matt Cohen (BHIT / VW Motorsport Polo) has shown he has the pace to be a serious contender. Others to watch in class B include Alex Marques (Polo) and VW Driver Search winner Raais Asmal who will be making his second SuperHatch appearance in the VW Motorsport Polo. John Lange is an unknown quantity and it will be interesting to see how he performs in his Spilastar SES Ford Fiesta ST.
Almero van Eck (Nosler VW Golf), Tony Hyams (Building Code Consultants Ford Fiesta) and Reno van Heerden (KWC Polo) have won all of the class C races between them this season and are likely to be the front-runners at Dezzi, although Stoltz has claimed a couple of podium positions this season and could shake up the established order. Freddy Watkins (Top Lock / Pro Lock VW Polo Playa), Craig Priestley (Tactical Fluid Ford Laser) and Nicholas Cleary (Opel Corsa) have all scored valuable points this season and will be out to add to their tally.
Friday’s practice sessions will be more important than usual as the drivers get to grips with a circuit that many of them haven’t experienced, with the possibility of rain making things even more difficult. The two 10-lap races are scheduled for 10h25 and 14h10 on Saturday.