The Phakisa Freeway, outside Welkom, hosts the final round of the 2004 South African National Formula Vee Championship, on Saturday 6 November 2004. Racing is due to start at 9h45 and the program includes Regional Championship events, for the Lotus Challenge, Free State Saloons and Thunder Cars, a One Hour race, for the Historic Racing Car Register Classics and Club Championship events, for Silver Cup, Open Sports Cars and Volkswagen GTi’s.
With Symm Grobler (#2 Auto Mecca Rhema 2) having already secured both the SA National and the MSA Northern Regions Formula Vee Championships, the Phakisa race, will offer him the opportunity to go out and enjoy himself, without the pressure of the title battle on his mind. Further down the field, the Phakisa event will offer others, their last opportunity of improving their position, on the SA National Championship and MSA Northern Regions Championship logs, while those still eligible to score points, in the Formula Vee Association Competition, will be hoping to do the same.
In South African Formula Vee racing, there is no such thing as an easy race victory and as the new Champion, Grobler does not automatically start as favorite, to win the Phakisa races. There have been seven different race winners, this year and Alan Holm (#4 JBS Lasersprint Rhema 2), Jaco Schriks (#9 JBS Lasersprint Rhema 2), Lee Thompson (#11 08Xconnect Rhema), Peter Hills (#5 Vacuform Rhema) and local boy Dennis Johns (#3 Goldco Midas Rhema 2), will all be out to try and secure the victory, at Phakisa.
Not far behind and possibly mixing it with the lead bunch, on this tricky circuit, should be the likes of Anthony Taylor (#7 Rigidek Rhema 2) and the teenage ex Karter Jonathan Vilaca (#70 Vision). Keeping them honest should be Cape Town’s Doug MacDonald (#28 Rhema), Benny Phetla (#17 Vacuform Rhema), Jannie Geyser (#18 Vision), the Cartmell brothers, Claude (#15 Rand Brake Sting) and Kevin (#21 Rand Brake Sting), Tony Beecher (#27 Beecher), Bradley Martin (#22 Rhema 2) and the other teenage ex Karters, Trevor Bland (#63 Rhema) and Kyle Bennett (#100 Rhema). Phetla and Martin had a huge accident at the recent East London event but hopefully, both of them will have their cars repaired in time for the Phakisa race.
Formula Vee invariably produces good close racing all the way down the field and even the back markers can be counted on, to fight it out, all the way to the chequered flag.
National Championship Points:
1 Symm Grobler 224 2 Alan Holm 190 3 Jaco Schriks 135 4 Lee Thompson 133 5 Peter Hills 99 6 Jody Robertson 90 7 Dennis Johns 78 8 Benny Phetla 71 9 Jonathan Vilaca 55 10 Anthony Taylor 49