Andre Dannhauser and Brett Garland (Pro Auto Rubber Opel Corsa) teamed up and drove to a comfortable Car Care Clinic SuperHatch win in the annual Phakisa 200 held at the Free State circuit on Saturday, 13 August. They were followed over the line by Class B competitors Donovan le Roux and JP Nortje (Honda Civic) with Christiaan van Wyk and Adriaan Vermaak (NBR Karting Ford Figo) in third. Francis and George Aldrich were the fourth SuperHatch runners across the line in their Opel Corsa, taking Class C on the way.
Before the Phakisa 200, there was an eight-lap sprint race which determined the grid positions for the endurance race. In that race, Dannhauser and Lenard Archer (ACD Welkom) spent most of the heat fighting for the SuperHatch lead, with Archer eventually claiming the honours, although he was later penalised for being underweight at the post-race check, handing giving Dannhauser the win. Archer’s penalty promoted Mel Spurr (Car Care Clinic VW Polo) to second in SuperHatch overall, and she claimed the Class B win. Archer ended third ahead of le Roux, with Nic Martin (RDG Peugeot 207) just getting the better of van Wyk to take fourth place and second in Class B. Devon Piazza Musso (Hot 102.7 FM Racing VW Polo) led the way in Class C, finishing a couple of second ahead of the Aldrich Corsa with Freddy Watkins (4J’s Auto/Gear Down VW Polo) third in Class C just behind Class A competitor Andre de Lange (Roofsure Golf) who was another to incur a penalty for being underweight. Ishmael Baloyi and Dhiren Ganasen both had challenging races in their Honda Civics but did manage to claim points as classified finishers.
In the main event, Garland took the first stint in Dannhauser’s Corsa and soon opened up a comfortable gap at the head of the SuperHatch pack. Mechanical maladies negated Archer’s challenge, and it was Elna Croeser, at the wheel of Spurr’s Polo, who was closest to the leader. A blow-out just before their scheduled pit stop ended their quest for victory and although they were able to continue, they had to settle for eighth in SuperHatch and third in Class C at the end.
Behind Garland and Dannhauser, le Roux and Nortje made steady progress and claimed Class B from van Wyk and Vermaak. Francis and George Aldrich were next up, the pair taking Class C by 30 seconds from Piazza Musso with Watkins third in class. Class A competitors de Lange and Archer ended in sixth and seventh, both battling various issues to get their cars over the line. Martin, who had teamed up with Karel Stols for the endurance event, suffered gearbox problems early on in the race, while Baloyi and Ganasen, who were using Baloyi’s Civic, also suffered a mechanical failure shortly after the start.
In the Index of Performance standings, which measures consistency over the race distance, the Aldrich combination lead the way from Watkins, with Piazza Musso in third. Dannhauser and Garland ended fourth ahead of van Wyk and Vermaak. Le Roux and Nortje finished sixth. De Lange, Spurr and Croeser, and Archer all had problems that affected their lap times and had to settle for the minor index placings.
The SuperHatch competitors’ next outing is at Red Star Raceway, near Delmas, on 7 & 8 October 2022.