A win in the opening heat followed by second place in the next gave Wouter Roos (Car Care Clinic VW Supa Polo) overall victory in the third round of the 2020 Car Care Clinic GT Sports & Saloons championship at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday, 12 September. Piet Potgieter (Nathan’s Motorsport VW Golf) emerged as the overall winner in the Car Care Clinic 111 Sports and Saloons series.
Bob Neill (Delmon Mining Ford Focus) continued where he left off after the last round, claiming pole position from Graeme Nathan (Nathan’s Motorsport VW Supa Polo) in Saturday morning’s qualifying session. Louis Scholtz (Car Care Clinic VW Golf) headed the second row of the GT grid alongside Ian Ehlers (FEC Auto & Race VW Polo) with Lenard Archer (ACD Welkom Hyundai i20), Roos and JP Nortje (N4 Autocraft Nissan Skyline) filling the remainder of the top seven spots.
George Economides (Wealth Avenue BMW 328i) was the quickest of the 111 drivers, taking pole position by just 0.046” from Lucas Bezuidenhout (Pretoria Noord Toyota Lexus). Waldo Swiegers (Waldo Swiegers Photography Honda Ballade) and Potgieter shared the second row with Floris Stopforth (VW Polo) and Phillip Meyer (PPLE Group Porsche 924 GTR) rounding out the top six in Class A. In Class X, for newcomers to the series, Marius Jackson (Megafibre Audi TT) led the way from Roan Ehlers (FEC Auto & Race VW Golf). Paul Saayman (Feight X VW Caddy) was the quickest of the Class B brigade, leading Adrian Dalton (Xtra Clothing & Shoes VW Golf) and Wayne Lebotschy (Shield VW Golf). Class C went the way of Roland Hopkins (Elegant Fuel VW Polo) from Johan van Heerden (JVH Performance/Bon Appetit VW Polo), Gerhard Potgieter (Signaram Northern Pretoria VW Golf) and Joshua Weyers (Rohlig Grindrod Opel Corsa). Reno van Heerden (VW Polo) got the better of Pieter Kirkhoff (Lombard Tyres/Roofsure VW Golf) and Yorick Smith (Phoenix Auto Spares Mazda MX5) in Class D while Mark Gregory (Creative Patterns VW Golf) took Class E from Mark Kingsmill (Team Gregory/Creative Patterns VW Golf) and Brian White (TAE Auto Toyota).
Nathan, Neill, Scholtz and Roos had a great battle at the front of the GT category in the opening race. Nathan led the way with Neill leading the rest in the early stages. Scholtz then took over chase duties before Neill reclaimed second with just a couple of laps to go. A lap later, Neil was in front but some robust racing on the final lap dropped both him and Nathan down the field. This allowed Roos to take the win from Scholtz with Nathan crossing the line in third. Nathan, however, was penalized for breaking out of the category lap time and dropped to fifth in the final results. This promoted Ian Ehlers to third with Neill in fourth. Nortje came home in sixth.
In the 111 category, Economides grabbed the lead from pole position with Potgieter tucking in behind him. They were never separated by more than a couple of car lengths, but Economides managed to stay in front, taking the Class A win by just less than half a second. Swiegers was third just ahead of Jackson, who was the leading Class X car. Bezuidenhout, Stopforth and Ismail Peck (National Motorsport Mzanzi Honda) rounded out the top six in Class A. Saayman had things his own way in Class B while Hopkins got the better of Potgieter and Johan van Heerden in Class C. Reno Van Heerden was a comfortable winner in Class D, leading Kirkhoff to the flag with Gregory taking Class E from White and Kingsmill.
Contact between Ian Ehlers and Neill in the opening stages of the second race left Ehlers stranded on the side of the circuit, resulting in the safety car being deployed for a couple of laps. Once racing resumed, it was Roos, Scholtz and Nathan who led the way at the front. The trio traded positions regularly, but in the end, it was Nathan who was in front when it counted. He took the win from Roos with Scholtz not far behind. Nortje just held off Johan van der Vyver (Devlaw Subaru WRX STI) to take fourth.
Potgieter claimed an easy Class A win in the 111 category. He finished over six seconds ahead of Meyer with Dalton, promoted a class after bettering the Class B 1’13” lap time limit, in third. Mark Harvey (Adapt Design & Sign Porsche 924) just managed to hold off Economides to take fifth with Swiegers in sixth. Class B again went to Saayman with Lebotschy in second. Hopkins took his second Class C win of the day, again followed over the line by Potgieter and Johan van Heerden. Reno van Heerden claimed Class D with Gregory making it two out of two in Class E.
In the day’s overall standings, Roos took the GT Sports and Saloons honours from Scholtz and Nathan. Class A in 111s went to Potgieter with Economides and Meyer joining him on the podium. Saayman emerged victorious in Class B with Lebotschy in second. Hopkins had a comfortable win in Class C, Potgieter and Johan van Heerden filling the minor placings. Class D went to Reno van Heerden from Kirkhoff and Smith while Gregory took Class E ahead of Kingsmill and White.
The Car Care Clinic GT Sports and Saloons and 111 Sports and Saloons make their way to the Free State for their next outing which takes place at Phakisa Freeway on 2 & 3 October.