Local racers perform in Pretoria
All cylinders were firing this past weekend when no less than four of local Rock Raceway drivers joined an extremely competitive field at Mahem Raceway in Pretoria, battling it out for national championship status.
While controversial decisions and rulings after the first leg of the nationals in Klerksdorp earlier in the season probably contributed to a disappointing number of only 12 entrants in this class for the second and final leg, it was nevertheless fiercely contested.
When local driver Jannie van Rensburg broke through the 15-second barrier in qualifying a huge roar from the crowd, only to be bettered by a mere 0.05 seconds a few minutes later by Kosie Weyers from Cape Town.
The qualifying lap times again proved that the 1660 modified class is not for the faint-hearted and requires skill and craftsmanship.
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None of the two-litre entrants at nationals were able to break through the 15-second lap time, and on average, the 1660s outshone the field.
The Rock drivers each had their own race battle to fight on the track.
Van Rensburg (#6) ensured Weyers was not going to be handed a win on a plate and led the challenge out front, eventually having to settle for a second place in the national championship results.
Weyers (in a new Rothman rental) had his work cut out to fend off van Rensburg and Marnus du Plessis who both ran the same vehicles from the first leg of nationals.
Official results after full technical inspection for the 1660 class were: 1 Kosie Weyers, 2 Jannie van Rensburg, 3 Marnus du Plessis.
Pieter Ferreira (#260), Gustav Botha (#121) and Johan du Plessis (#204) made up the rest of the 1660 team, all being on the receiving end of some shunting for track position at some time during the races.
Mechanical failure, unfortunately, caused du Plessis to watch the final heat from the sideline.
Ferreira and Botha both managed to nurse home their race cars and secured deserved finishes in the final.
The evening’s event also had some local drivers competing in the two-litre and Ninja midget classes with mixed results.
A full field of V8 Sprints complimented the evening’s races with top-class drivers in well-prepared sprints burning rubber around Mahem.
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