Wouter Roos (Strata Drilling VW Golf) has an easy win in the opening class A race when the Car Care Clinic 111 Sports & Saloons competitors visited Phakisa Freeway for the second round of their 2018 championship on Saturday, 14 April but was made to work much harder to take the second race. In class B, Veritie-Anne Joubert (Honda Spares Ballade) took the opening heat but suffered a mechanical failure in the second, allowing Paul Saayman (Intercity Auto Movers VW Caddy) to take the win. Danie Deysel (Solly’s Tyres and Mags Honda Civic) took both class C victories with Almero van Eck (Taurus VW Polo) doing the same in class D. Mark Gregory (Creative Patterns VW Golf) and Marius Lotz (LJ’s Auto / Team Gregory VW Golf) shared the class E wins with Giles Darroch (GRD Motorsport VW Golf) taking two comfortable victories in class X.
Qualifying
Roos showed his intentions early on in the morning qualifying session, setting a time that was good enough for pole position in class A on his first flying lap. George Bezuidenhout (Accolade / CES Forklifts Nissan Primera) was next quickest with Louis Cloete’s SV Tech Beetle suffering terminal problems before he could set a lap time.
Saayman was quickest of the class B brigade, half a second quicker than Joubert while JP van der Walt (Platinum Wheels VW Polo) took class C from Louis Scholtz (Car Care Clinic Honda Civic) and Deysel.
Van Eck was comfortably the quickest of the class D runners, just over a second quicker than Reno van Heerden (Remington VW Polo) with Chris Smit (Captive Porsche 924) another half second further back in third. Lotz got the better of Gregory in the class E VW Golf battle, claiming pole by a tenth.
Darroch took class X from Mel Spurr (G&H Transport / Wealth Avenue VW Polo) and Mario Hatting (VW Golf).
Race 1
In the opening race Roos grabbed the lead from the start and steadily opened up a gap on the chasing pack, taking a commanding class A win from Bezuidenhout. Saayman was the early class B leader with Joubert finding a way through shortly before half-distance. Once in the lead, she was able to control things from the front and took the win by just over seven seconds. Saayman slowly dropped back and, on the final lap, was passed by van der Walt, who broke out of the class C lap time.
Scholtz looked like he had things sewn up in class C but Deysel slowly closed the gap, eventually finding a way through and into the lead on the final lap. Mark Ellis (Porsche 924) slowly worked his way up from the back of the class C field to take the final podium position.
In class D van Eck and Smit were involved in the battle for the lead until the sixth lap when Smit’s Porsche cried enough. This allowed van Eck to take a comfortable win from Craig Botha (Moto West VW Golf) and van Heerden.
Gregory and Lotz spent the race trading fastest lap time in class E, the pair never separated by much more than half a second. Gregory managed to stay in front, taking the win by three-tenths of a second. Darroch had a comfortable win in class X with Spurr and Hattingh filling the minor placings.
Race 2
In the second race, Roos and Bezuidenhout traded positions almost every lap until the safety car came out to allow the marshals to remove Phillip Meyer’s stranded LSC Group Porsche 924 from the exit of turn 9. Bezuidenhout led the way at the restart but Roos was able to find a way through on the last lap to complete the class A double.
Saayman took the early lead in class B followed by Joubert and van der Walt. Joubert couldn’t run with Saayman this time around and her Honda eventually cried enough just before the safety car was deployed. When the race was restarted, Saayman was able to pull away from van der Walt to take the win.
Scholtz was again the early leader in class C but, as in the opening heat, Deysel was able to find a way through and hang on until the flag. Behind the leading pair Johan van der Vyver (Devlaw Subaru WRX), Meyer, Ellis and Mark Harvey (Adapt Design and Sign Porsche 924) were involved in a four-way battle for the final podium spot until contact between Harvey and Meyer the latter stranded in the kitty litter. Ellis managed to avoid the chaos and went on to claim another third place.
Smit couldn’t get his Porsche onto the grid for the second class D race which left van Eck to run largely untroubled at the head of the field on his way to his second victory of the day. As in the first race, Botha and van Heerden joined him on the podium.
Gregory and Lotz resumed their class E battle but this time it was Lotz in front when it counted. Class X again went to Darroch with Spurr and Hattingh in second and third respectively.
Overall Result
Two class A wins gave Roos the overall victory from Bezuidenhout. Saayman emerged at the top of the class B pack, ahead of van der Walt and Joubert. Deysel took class C from Scholtz and Ellis with van Eck claiming class D from Botha and van Heerden. Lotz got the better of his day-long fight with Gregory in class E with class X going to Darroch from Spurr and Hattingh.
The Car Care Clinic 111 Ports and Saloons return to the track for the third round of their championship on Saturday, 12 May at Zwartkops Raceway.