Production Car racing is not for the faint-hearted. Newcomer to the fold Charl Smalberger was finding his feet, having stepped up from the VW Polo Cup ranks, at the opening round of SA’s premier tin-top formula this last weekend when the heavens opened over the Zwartkops raceway. You can read a full race report here.
The wet track made fast lapping hazardous and Smalberger found this out the hard way. Watch as the rookie gets into a tank-slapper in the tricky T1 and then smack the tyre barrier, which causes his Golf GTI to roll over.
Thankfully Charl walked away unscathed. In an exclusive with CAR this morning, Smalberger commented: “The worst part of the accident was at the very end when petrol fumes started to enter the cabin and I started to feel very woozy. I managed to get out with the help of the paramedics and felt disorientated for a while. But about 30 minutes later I was fine again.”
The teenage university student confirms that he will be back in the car as soon as possible, but will probably not be using the roof any more as he’s tried but it isn’t faster.
Good luck Charl.
Production Car racing is not for the faint-hearted. Newcomer to the fold Charl Smalberger was finding his feet, having stepped up from the VW Polo Cup ranks, at the opening round of SA’s premier tin-top formula this last weekend when the heavens opened over the Zwartkops raceway. You can read a full race report here.
The wet track made fast lapping hazardous and Smalberger found this out the hard way. Watch as the rookie gets into a tank-slapper in the tricky T1 and then smack the tyre barrier, which causes his Golf GTI to roll over.
Thankfully Charl walked away unscathed. In an exclusive with CAR this morning, Smalberger commented: “The worst part of the accident was at the very end when petrol fumes started to enter the cabin and I started to feel very woozy. I managed to get out with the help of the paramedics and felt disorientated for a while. But about 30 minutes later I was fine again.”
The teenage university student confirms that he will be back in the car as soon as possible, but will probably not be using the roof any more as he’s tried but it isn’t faster.
Good luck Charl.