National drag racing comes to West Rand’s Tarlton Raceway

Heading the show will be races in the Top Eliminator category, with national champion Deon Swanepoel in his A-Dragster facing Top Alcohol Funny Car drivers Nico van Rensburg and Dalmain Hattingh.

Top speeds of over 300km/h and times of under seven seconds for the standing start 400m should be the order of the day.

The Senior Eliminator category will host competitors such as Gavin Wilkins (Speed and Sound Mustang), Nico van Rensburg (Ford Thunderbird) and Marius Oosthuizen (Budler BMW).

The Competition Eliminator and Street Car categories will feature some of the meanest production-based vehicles ever to straddle tarmac in this country, with a large entry to ensure a full day of noisy, tyre-shredding spectacle.

For many spectators, the day’s highlight will be a demonstration run by the Westinghouse Jet Car of Van Rensburg. The jet is getting old and these days hardly exceeds top speeds of 300km/h, but it still renders a great fire-breathing show on the startline.

Other demonstration runs will come from Marius Coetzee in the 12-litre, twin-turbo Leyland Matador Drag Truck, plus Deon Swanepoel in his twin-turbo Ford Cargo V8.

The Tarlton Raceway gates will open at 7am and tickets will be available at the venue. Admission for adults will cost R110 per person and R50 for children between the ages of six and 12.

Tarlton offers take-away food and refreshments from their restaurants and bars and lots of free parking.

To find out more, call Nico van Heerden at 011 766 5431.

v On Saturday, round two of this year’s Cambees Midas SA Drift Challenge will take place at the Rock raceway in Brakpan.

Competitors are expected from all over South Africa and Mozambique, with practice sessions to run from 10am until 2pm, when solo run competition will kick off.

Tandem runs will commence at 4pm. Admission will cost R65 per adult and R30 for children between the ages of six and 12.