The Car Care Clinic SuperHatch competitors paid another visit to Zwartkops Raceway for the fourth round of their 2022 championship on Saturday, 13 August. Jonathan du Toit (Motul/Torch/Centparts Honda Civic) and Andre Dannhauser (Pro Auto Rubber Opel Corsa) shared the Class A wins, while Nic Martin (RDG Peugeot 207) and Devon Piazza Musso (Hot 102.7 FM Racing VW Polo) had relatively untroubled runs to their respective Class B and C double victories.
Qualifying took place on a chilly circuit early on Saturday morning, but that did not worry du Toit. He set the quickest time with Lenard Archer about a third of a second slower than the Honda. Next up was Louis Scholtz (Car Care Clinic Honda Civic), who was 0.3 seconds quicker than Karel Stols (PTA Noord Toyota Etios). Francois Henning, Stephan Fouche and Dannhauser filled the next three spots, the trio separated by less than a tenth of a second.
Martin Led the way in Class B from Christiaan van Wyk and Mel Spur (Car Care Clinic VW Polo). Ishmael Baloyi was next up, followed by Raynere Joubert, with George Aldrich rounding out the top six in Class B. Piazza-Musso got the better of Francis Aldrich to claim Class C honours with Kenneth Ella just getting the better of Freddy Watkins to claim third.
In the opening race, Henning was the early leader from Archer, with Scholtz in third, but it wasn’t long before du Toit started working his way to the front of the field. By the end of the second lap, Archer had taken the lead with du Toit up to third behind Henning. A lap later, du Toit was up to second with Archer in his sights. Shortly after half-distance, he made his move and took the lead. Although Archer chased him all the way to the flag, du Toit was able to hang on and take the win. Archer had to settle for second, with Scholtz in a slightly lonely third. Dannhauser made his way up to fourth ahead of Stols, with Henning and Fouche completing Class A.
Van Wyk grabbed the Class B lead from the start and was soaking up the pressure from Martin behind him until a missed gear derailed his hopes. The small mistake allowed Martin and Spurr past, and he could not get back to the front of the field. Martin opened up a big enough margin to allow him to control things from the front and take the win, with Spurr and van Wyk a distant second and third. Joubert was next up with Baloyi, who had to nurse his ailing Honda to the flag, in fifth.
Class C was all about Piazza-Musso at the front. He was never seriously challenged on his way to another comfortable victory ahead of Francis Aldrich with Watkins in third. George Aldrich, who moved to Class C after qualifying, ended in fourth.
Dannhauser grabbed the lead from Stols at the front of the second heat, with Scholtz and du Toit also getting past the Etios on the opening lap. Dannhauser was able to open a substantial gap while the two Hondas squabbled over second place. Once du Toit got past Scholtz, he set off after Dannhauser and although he caught him, he could not find a way through and had to settle for second, less than a quarter of a second behind. Stols hung on to take fourth behind Scholtz with Archer in fifth. Henning and Fouche rounded out the Class A finishers.
In Class B, van Wyk was again the early leader, but Martin only took a couple of laps to work his way to the head of the class. This left van Wyk and Spurr to fight it out for the runners-up spot, which went the way of Spurr by a couple of car lengths, with Baloyi bringing his Honda home in fourth. Piazza-Musso again dominated Class C, taking the win from Francis Aldrich with Watkins and George Aldrich in third and fourth, respectively.
In the day’s overall standings, du Toit took the Class A win from Dannhauser, who just got the better of Scholtz. Martin took Class B with Spurr and van Wyk joining him on the podium, while Piazza-Musso comfortably topped Class C from Aldrich and Watkins.
The SuperHatch competitors now head to Phakisa Freeway, between Welkom and Odendaalsrus in the Free State, for the annual Phakisa 200 on 9 and 10 September 2022.