With a total of 67 cars entered for the 2-hour, 25 of which were SuperHatch cars, things were always going to be hectic out on the track. Friday practice saw most the drivers take to the track many of whom had never been to the very fast and challenging circuit before, but everyone seemed to be right on the money and the times were looking good.
Friday night saw us hosting our usual BIG braai where we invite all the other categories on the day to join us. We also ran the Zippy Nippy race (even against our will). But fun was had by all and there was no harm done as no one was hurt so everyone could take to the track Saturday morning for qualifying.
In class A, Chris Davison had again imported a co-driver to set the pace and his was the only car that got under the 2 minute barrier (officially, not counting the times from Thursday and Friday practice). So with Stuart Mack (Chris Davison Opel Superboss) setting the pace in 15th overall, 2nd in class and 20th overall was occupied by Hilton van Nieuwenhuizen (ASAP Peugeot) and rounding up the top 3 was Andre De Lange (ADL Roofing VW Golf) in 27th place overall.
Top of class B was the TAR Honda Civic of husband and wife team of Tarryn & Jono du Toit who were a very well placed 23rd on the grid, followed by Jaco Kriel and Werner Pieterse (Opel Zone Opel SuperBoss) 2nd in class and 37th overall and in 3rd was Raynere Joubert (ASAP Peugeot) in 39th spot.
Class C’s quickest qualifier was in 42nd spot, James Menin and Jeff Langeveldt (West Cars Opel Kadett) ahead of Keith Moore & Walter Menin (VW Golf Mk1) in 51st spot and Mark Gregory 3rd in class and 52nd overall in his Golf Mk 1.
In an endurance race it’s all about pacing oneself and ensuring you get to the finish line, the SuperHatch cars showed their superior reliability by having 20 of the 25 starters classified as finishing the race. The pit stops do put the cars out of position relative to each other so although the SuperHatch cars were not always racing together out on the track when you see someone in your sights you do tend to push a little harder for that lap, but all the time you try to preserve your tyres and brakes. You also get tired, but it is such a fun race as a whole.
In the results SuperHatch did exceptionally well again and if we take the 37 cars that finished the 2 hour race, then this is how SuperHatch faired in the top 20 overall:
5th Mark du Toit & Brett Garland
6th Andre De Lange
7th Tarryn & Jono du Toit
8th Hilton van Nieuwenhuizen
14th Nic Martin & Louis Scholtz
16th Melanie Spurr & Gerhard Lottering
17th Raynere Joubert
20th Lourens Taljaard
On Index of performance:
4th Mark du Toit & Brett Garland
6th Andre De Lange
8th Nic Martin & Louis Scholtz
10th Tarryn & Jono du Toit
In the SuperHatch results:
Class A:
1st Mark du Toit & Brett Garland (Honda Civic)
2nd Andre De Lange (VW Golf Mk1)
3rd Hilton van Nieuwenhuizen (Peugeot 206)
Class B:
1st Tarryn & Jono du Toit (Honda Civic)
2nd Nic Martin & Louis Scholtz (Opel Kadett)
3rd Raynere Joubert (Peugeot 207)
Class C:
1st Lourens Taljaard (Renault Megane)
2nd Vernon Stoltz (Opel Kadett)
3rd Willem Kruger (Peugeot 207)
Finally, sorry for the late report but the timing had a ‘few’ glitches – again, which we had to sort out before we could send you the results.
Next round is at Midvaal on the 15th of September 2012.