Round 4 of the autObarn SuperHatch championship returned to Zwartkops as part of the Youth Day Race weekend programme. With things heating up in the championship standings, drivers were determined to give it all they had and provide an exciting spectacle to the crowd.
There was also the combination of the 111 Sports & Saloons class E joining SuperHatch, which created great racing and a huge field of cars
Qualifying
The day started off with qualifying, with Class A’s Brett Garland topping the timesheets in his autObarn/Jonnesway Honda Civic Vtec with a time of 1:14.282. Zane van Zyl in his Credit Guarantee Golf mk2 put in a blistering time of 1:15.752 to top class B, and Robyn Kruger in her Kalex/Ukubila Ford Ka, set the pace in class C with a 1:17.554.
Race1
With the grid reversed for the top 5 per class from the last meeting at Phakisa, the grid for Class A saw Alex Marques (Ace Auto VW Polo) sitting on pole with Chris Davison (Opel SuperBoss) in second. Class B had Andre Dannhauser (Pro Auto Rubber Opel Corsa) on pole, with Trevor Stringer (Citrine Designs/TMF Peugeot 206) next to him. Class C saw Robyn Kruger on pole, and Vernon Stoltz Lopec (Jestik/Lopec Opel Kadett) in second position.
When the lights went out Chris Davison got a lightning start and took the lead. He managed to hold the lead until turn 4 where Jono du Toit (TAR Honda Civic) came past, with Brett Garland then filling his mirrors. Garland proceeded to outbrake Davison into turn 8 and started chasing du Toit down. Du Toit however held his nerve and took the win. Garland crossed the line in a close second, and Davison taking the third spot.
In class B Dannhauser managed to get away from the pack in his Corsa, with the field soon starting to chase him down. After 5 laps Zane van Zyl managed to take the lead from Dannhauser, with Nic Martin in his (RDG Opel Kadett) now in third position closing in on Dannhauser with Ismael Baloyi (TAR Honda Civic) in tow. With a back marker getting into the mix, both Martin and Baloyi managed to slip past Dannhauser, and when the chequered flag dropped it was van Zyl taking the win, with Martin second and Baloyi third. Van Zyl also managed to set a new lap record for class B in the process, posting a lap time of 1:15.924.
Robyn Kruger was in a league of her own in class C, even beating out 4 class B cars with her formidable little Ford Ka. Vernon Stoltz was kept busy by the 111 class E field, but kept his nose clean and managed a solid second in his Kadett, with Craig Priestley (Tactical Fluid Ford Laser) in third.
Race 2
With the reverse grid, the Volkswagen Motorsport/G & H/Rowlin VW Polo of Mel Spurr was in pole position with Alex Marques next to her in second. In class B Louis Scholtz (Car Care Clinic Honda Civic) was to be on pole with Dannhauser second, but technical issues prevented him from making the start. Class C saw rookie Barry Viljoen on pole with his SWJ Panelbeaters/BB Diagnostics & Services Kadett, and the Ford Laser of Priestley in second.
Everybody had a clean start, but as the group came up to turn 2 Tyler Scott spun around and was left facing the oncoming field. The field managed to get around the stricken car safely, and this saw Davison again leading the field with du Toit right on his tail. Du Toit took the lead from Davison, and Garland passed Davison shortly afterward. This was again looking to be an epic battle between the Civics, but oil in turn 1 saw du Toit going off track, missing the barriers by the smallest of margins. The chase was now on for du Toit, who managed to regain second from Davison. Garland managed to hold off the chasing du Toit to secure the win, and gain valuable points in the championship race. A time penalty for a technical infringement was however imposed on du Toit, which then handed the second place to Davison.
In class B Dannhauser again managed to get away from the chasing pack, with Baloyi in close pursuit. At the end of lap 1 Dannhauser got it all sideways through turn 8, and this gave Baloyi the lead. By lap 3 Baloyi started losing power in his Civic, and Dannhauser again took the lead with van Zyl and Martin in hot pursuit. Soon enough Van Zyl overtook Dannhauser for the lead, with Martin now also putting pressure on Dannhauser. Turn 8 again caught Dannhauser out as he lost the rear and narrowly missed the pit wall, handing second to Martin. Van Zyl made no mistakes from there, taking the win with second going to Martin and third to Dannhauser.
The class C race again saw Robyn Kruger leaving all in her tracks to take the win by a big margin, finishing a very impressive 7th overall from 25 starters. Priestley this time got the better of Vernon Stoltz and took the flag in second position, followed by Stoltz in third.
The overall results for the day were as follows:
Class A: 1st – Brett Garland, 2nd – Chris Davison, 3rd – Jono du Toit
Class B: 1st – Zane van Zyl, 2nd – Nic Martin, 3rd – Andre Dannhauser
Class C: 1st – Robyn Kruger, 2nd – Craig Priestley, 3rd – Vernon Stoltz
The next round of the championship will be at Phakisa where SuperHatch will race in the 200km endurance race on the 22nd of July.
Race report by: Andre Dannhauser