OPENWHEEL: SA FV two-hour endurance race report

For a number of years, the South African Formula Vee Association, have
closed their racing season with an endurance event. This year, the event
was run at the Zwartkops Raceway outside Pretoria, for the first time and
attracted a field of twenty five cars and forty nine drivers, including Alf
Peelen from Norway, making his eleventh consecutive appearance, in the
event. Also out from Norway, was Irishman Tommy Mullin, who lives, works
and races in Norway and was making his second appearance in the event,
while his boss and sponsor Jonney Hansen, joined him for the trip and was
able to arrange a drive as well. The event is also designed to cater for
novice drivers but attracts most of the top Vee drivers in the country and
this year's field, included no less than seven South African Formula Vee
Champions, with a combined total, of no less than ten Championships between
them.

Unfortunately, two cars picked up mechanical problems, on race morning,  one
being the Mantis of triple South African Formula Vee Champion  Gawie  Gouws,
which he was due to share, with Mullin. Both of them, were however  able  to
arrange alternative drives, Gouws with newcomer Bobby Nel, in the DK  Office
Furniture Lantis and Mullin, in the Vacuform  Rhema  of  development  driver
Benny Phetla.

The race produced early drama, when Mike  Knight,  in  the  BJ  Pro  Welding
Vision, spun at the high speed Turn Four and was T-boned  by  Ben  Pienaar's
BJ Pro Welding Rhema, which  was  about  to  lap  the  Vision.  Pienaar  had
nowhere to go and slammed into  his  other  car.  Both  cars  were  severely
damaged and the Safety Car was deployed, while marshals  cleared  the  scene
of the accident and Pienaar  was  transported  to  the  track  hospital,  by
ambulance. X-rays later in the day, revealed that he had broken the heel  of
his right foot, which will be in a cast for the next six weeks.

Once the Safety Car had been withdrawn, racing resumed and by the half  hour
mark, the pits were a hive of activity, with the first  scheduled  refueling
stops and driver changes taking place. JP Nortje  had  already  retired  his
Sting, with an overheating problem and a bit later, the Performers  Business
Forms Indigo, of Rory and Garth Wilson,  succumbed  to  a  similar  problem.
Then Jannie Wiid spun Jaco Greyling's Rhema and was not able to get the  car
restarted, forcing them out of the race and just before the one  hour  mark,
the Eddie Piner, Andre Van Tonder, Tasman retired, with a split oil  cooler.

There were further retirements, late in the race, when a trailing arm  broke
on the Jannie Geyser Senior, Jannie  Geyser  Junior  Vision,  with  just  on
sixteen minutes to go and a few minutes later,  the  Anthony  Taylor,  Craig
Taylor Vacuform Rhema 2, was out as well. Anthony had run  off  the  circuit
at Turn One and a hump in the outfield,  launched  the  car  into  the  air.
Landing heavily tail first, the rear suspension was too  badly  damaged  and
they were out of the race as well, with only nine minutes to go.

The Deon Brummer, Alf Peelen Speedway Models Sting, had been  giving  plenty
of problems and had lost a lot of time in the pits,  during  the  course  of
the race. The crew were however able to get the car  out  again  and  enable
Peelen to take the chequered flag, at  the  end  of  the  race.  The  Dennis
Johns, Jon Whitfield, Jorg Pinto Goldco Midas  Rhema  2,  had  also  lost  a
number of laps in the pits, after the gear linkage had broken and had to  be
removed, repaired and reassembled, before the car was able to  rejoin.  They
did however have the consolation, of setting the fastest lap of the race.

After two grueling hours of racing, victory went  to  the  Lafarge  Readymix
Rhema 2, of Wayne Bennett and Francois Herbst, with 89 laps completed.  They
were followed home, by the Jaco  Schriks,  Alan  Holm,  Johannesburg  Bright
Steels Sting, Jody Robertson and Gordon Connelly, PS23 Lubrioil Rhema,  Alan
and Peter Kernick, Tasman, Peter Hills and Mick Ooshuisen,  Vacuform  Rhema,
Lee Thompson, Geoff Tugwell and Mark  Du  Toit,  Rhema,  David  Veringa  and
Jonney Hansen, Vision, Bobby  Nel  and  Gawie  Gouws,  DK  Office  Furniture
Lantis, Kevin and Claude Cartmell, Rand Brake Sting, James Leach and  Ulrich
Fischer, Rand Brake Sting and the John Lerm and Rion Lerm, Peter Hills  Auto
Clinic Sting. Not running but with 77 laps completed,  the  Anthony  Taylor,
Craig Taylor Vacuform Rhema 2, took twelfth  place,  ahead  of  the  Dayview
Mogane, Hugo Wallendorf Alley,  the  Benny  Phetla,  Tommy  Mullin  Vacuform
Rhema, the Jannie Geyser Snr,  Jannie  Geyser  Jnr  Vision  and  the  Dennis
Johns, Jon Whitfield, Jorg Pinto Goldco Midas Rhema 2.

-safv-


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