It is almost certain that Hepburn, at the age of 65, is the oldest driver to have won a national championship circuit race. Just to add to the fairytale Hepburn is to retire at the end of the year and said goodbye to the East London circuit 33 years after his first appearance here.
Hepburn (Project Orange Chev Corvette) took advantage of the WesBank series policy of reversing the start grid for the second race. The veteran came from fifth on the grid and was on his way to making history when he eased past Jaco Correia, in a Liqui Moly Chev Corvette, to take the lead three laps from the finish.
Another veteran in Deon Auby, who was racing against two of his sons, struck another blow for the older brigade when he also got past Correia who ended up third. Local youngster Wade van Zummeren (Border Towing Ford Mustang) and another veteran, Larry Wilford (Fuch Ford Mustang) were fourth and fifth.
The opening race was won by Robert Briggs, in a Timken Jaguar, ahead of Mark Auby (Jonnesway Jaguar) and reigning champion Hennie Groenewald (Timken Chev Lumina) who started from the back of the grid. Groenewald did not have a happy day finishing well down the list in race two, but still has a healthy championship lead.
There were one or two other highly significant performances and milestones during a thoroughly entertaining day. In the last race of the day, with conditions almost ideal, Gavin Cronje set the fastest lap ever around a circuit which dates back to the early 30s.
Cronje, in the Jonah Capital car, went around the 3,9 kilometre track in a time of one minute 17,630 seconds in race two of the fledgling Formula VW singleseater series which this year has national challenge status. Cronje leads the championship but had to take a backseat to Cristiano Morgado (Morgado Plant FVW) who took a double win.
Race one saw Cronje go out on lap one after he and Wesley Orr (SAM Racing Tubular FVW) touched wheels and the Cronje car picked up a puncture. Orr ended the day with a second and a third with he, Cronje and Morgado all former Rotax Max kart world champions.
The other major highlight of the day saw former South African champion Sheridan Morais, on the Emtek Racing Kawasaki, beaten for the first time in eight races this season in the CitiBike SA Superbike championship. Morais won the first heat after a tremendous battle with the Nashua Mobile/Daikin pair Shaun Whyte and Clinton Seller.
Whyte, also a former SA champion, ended the Morais string of seven wins on the trot in another superb race in heat two. In classic cat and mouse style Whyte, a Zimbabwean, shadowed Morais for seven laps and made his move on the final lap.
Reigning champion Arushen Moodley, on the Dymamic Express Suzuki, scored his best result of the season with a fighting third. Seller was an early casualty and fourth and fifth went to rising star Chris Leeson (Emtek Kawasaki) and veteran Trevor Crookes on the Mitsubishi Electric Suzuki.
Dane Hellyer, runaway leader of the CitiBike Supersport series, blotted his copybook when he fell in race one. At the time the youngster, on the Kyocera Kawasaki, had an eight second lead and suffered from a case of “brain fade.”
James Egan (Timefreight Yamaha) picked up the win ahead of Jaques Peskens (Algoa Structures Honda) and 15-year-old Steven Odendaal (Mitsubishi Electric Suzuki) who continues to improve with every outing. Fourth and fifth went to youngsters Dylan White (White Aluminium Yamaha) and Graeme Green on the Leatt Yamaha.
Hellyer redeemed himself somewhat with a calculated race two win. He was comfortably ahead of old hands Lance Isaacs (Pretoria North Toyota Suzuki), a race one casualty, and Graeme van Breda on the Springs Suzuki.
Two hugely entertaining Bridgestone Production Car events produced a goodly share of action and a few upsets. Overall honours went to Michael Stephen, in the Engen Xtreme Team Saudi A4, who made it three wins in a row by taking both heats – the second after a dramatic battle with saloon car rookie Darryn Lobb in the SAM Racing Tubular Nissan 350Z.
Stephen took race one ahead of Johan Fourie (Indy Oil Audi A4) who was involved in an early incident with pole man Tschops Sipuka in the Sasol Nissan 350Z. Melvill Priest (MiKar/Lenovo Audi A4) picked up his best result of the season with third, and Etienne van der Linde (Afrox BMW 330i) and Marco da Cunha (SAM Racing Tubular Nissan 350Z) completed the top five.
Race two, with an inverted grid, saw Lobb start in pole position and he spent the whole race fighting off challenges from first Anthony Taylor (Afrox BMW 330i) and Stephen. A determined Stephen finally muscled his way past Lobb on a dramatic last lap while Taylor fell into the clutches of first Watson-Smyth and then Priest.
The Class T wins were shared by championship leader Graeme Nathan (Seat/Kaye Eddie Cupra) and reigning champion Iain Pepper in the PG Glass VW Golf GTi. Nathan looked to be heading for a double when an altercation with Chris Silverwood (Afrox Mini Cooper) dropped him down the pecking order.
Ben Morgenrood, another veteran campaigner, took both Class B wins in the Mazda Motorsport RX8 on his birthday. In both races he was made to work by Danie van Niekerk, in the Stanger Auto Ford Fiesta.
Two entertaining Engen VW Cup races saw Bryan Morgan (Team Timken VW Polo) and Miguel Pasqualli, in the Xtreme Team VW Polo, shared the victories. Pasqualli dropped out of race one and championship leader Gennaro Bonafede (Ferodo Champion VW Polo) put paid to his chances with an early spin.
Pasqualli and Morgan, two of the older hands in the series, romped away with heat two. Brennon Green (Vaalmac VW Polo) produced a consistent drive to take third with Divan Wentzel (Barnett’s VW Polo) and Bonafede making up the top five.
Results:
Formula VW: Race 1: 1 C Morgado (Formula VW); 2 W Orr (Formula VW); 3 S Moss (Formula VW); 4 M Stephen (Formula VW); 5 J Kruger (Formula VW). Race 2: 1 C Morgado (Formula VW); 2 G Cronje (Formula VW); 3 W Orr (Formula VW); 4 M Stephen (Formula VW); 5 G Connelly (Formula VW).
Engen VW Cup: Race 1: 1 B Morgan (VW Polo); 2 D Wentzel (VW Polo); 3 B Green (VW Polo); 4 G Gatland (VW Polo); 5 R Johnson (VW Polo). Race 2: 1 M Pasqualli (VW Polo); 2 B Morgan (VW Polo); 3 B Green (VW Polo); 4 D Wentzel (VW Polo); 5 G Bonafede (VW Polo).
Bridgestone Production Cars: Race 1: 1 M Stephen (Audi A4); 2 J Fourie (Audi A4); 3 M Priest (Audi A4); 4 E van der Linde (BMW 330i); 5 M da Cunha (Nissan 350Z). Class A – M Stephen (Audi A4); Class T – G Nathan (Seat); Class B – B Morgenrood (Mazda RX8). Race 2: 1 M Stephen (Audi A4); 2 D Lobb (Nissan 350Z); 3 S Watson-Smith (Audi A4); 4 M Priest (Audi A4); 5 A Taylor (BMW 330i). Class A – M Stephen (Audi A4); Class T – I Pepper (VW Golf GTi); Class B – B Morgenrood (Mazda RX8).
WesBank V8 Supercars: Race 1: 1 M Briggs (Jaguar); 2 M Auby (Jaguar); 3 H Groenewald (Chev Lumina); 4 W van Zummeren (Ford Mustang); 5 D Auby (Jaguar). Race 2: 1 W Hepburn (Chev Corvette); 2 A Auby (Jaguar); 3 J Correia (Chev Corvette); 4 W Van Zummeren (Ford Mustang); 5 L Wilford (Ford Mustang).
CitiBike 600 SA Supersport: Race 1: 1 J Egan (Yamaha); 2 J Peskens (Honda); 3 S Odendaal (Suzuki); 4 D White (Yamaha); 5 G Green Yamaha). Race 2: 1 D Hellyer (Kawasaki); 2 L Isaacs (Suzuki); 3 G van Breda (Suzuki); 4 S Odendaal (Suzuki); 5 D White (Yamaha).
CitiBike SA Superbikes: Race 1: 1 S Morais (Kawasaki); 2 S Whyte (Yamaha); 3 C Seller (Yamaha); 4 C Leeson (Kawasaki); 5 A Moodley (Suzuki). Race 2: 1 S Whyte (Yamaha); 2 S Morais (Kawasaki); 3 A Moodley (Suzuki); 4 C Leeson (Kawasaki); 5 T Crookes (Suzuki).
