The SCC Easter Challenge race meeting, to be held at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on 3 April, offers Kyalami race fans a variation on the regular Power Tour mix and hosts the third round of the 2004 SA National Formula Vee Championship, along with Regional Championship races for Thunder Cars, Lotus Challenge, 250cc Super Karts and Formula M, as well as Club Championship races for the Silvercup Challenge and the new Open Sports Car series. Racing is scheduled to get underway, at 10h15 and the full program of sixteen races, should have something to suit all tastes.
Symm Grobler (#2 Auto Mecca Rhema 2) has made the early running, for the 2004 Formula Vee National Title but after a costly mistake at Zwartkops and an unfortunate mechanical failure in the rain, at the Wesbank Raceway, Dennis Johns (#3 Goldco Midas Rhema 2) will be keen to make up lost ground and start putting the pressure on Grobler. Other front-runners, who can be counted on to give Grobler and Johns stiff competition, include Alan Holm and Jaco Schriks, in their new Johannesburg Bright Steels Rhema 2s. The new cars should be fully sorted by now and Schriks in particular, has looked a lot more competitive in the new car. Ex Champion Peter Hills (#5 Vacuform Rhema), along with double Champion Anthony Taylor (#7 Vacuform Rhema 2) and eighteen year old Jody Robertson (#6 Rhema) can also be counted on, to make their presence felt and the event could see the return of the veteran triple Champion Gawie Gouws as well.
In Thunder Cars, the current man to beat, is veteran V8 racer Willie Hepburn, making a return to Kyalami in his V8 Chev powered Opel Record. Up against him, will be Anton Britz in his Mazda MX6, Shaun O’Conner, Escort Rotary, Dawie Olivier’s Turbocharged Toyota Panel Van, Wimpie Van Zyl in the New Call Camero and the Du Toit’s Chevs. Heading up Class A, will be Colin Clay in the Golf Spaceframe and Stewart McLarty Telscrew Fox, while in Class B, George Bezuidenhout in his McCarthy Nissan, Procar Nissan Primera, will be up against the Francois Pretorius Nissan Sentra and the Herbie Denton Opel Astra, with Ray Wilford, George Economides and Jannie Van Rooyen heading the Golf battle, in Class C. The quickest car in Class D, should be the Sean Laverick Nissan Exa.
The Lotus Challenge races, will see Josh Dovey out to record more victories but a whole host of drivers will be keen to unseat him and exert their authority on this category, consisting primarily of immaculately turned out Lotus 7 replicas.
The 250cc Super Karts are frighteningly quick and a lot better supported than they were in the past. Victory in this race should come from the likes of Fabio Tafani, Garry Gibbon, Chris O’Niell, Duane Scully, Vernon Pappas and Greg and Tony Farah.
The field for the Open Sports Car race, should consist of a mixture of Cobra Replicas, MGs, Darts, Truimphs, Morgans, Mazda MX5s etc, of various vintages, while Formula M is a motorcycle engined single seater category, which includes a 125cc Class, for the very young competitors. The Silver Cup Challenge rounds off, the event and consists primarily of anything goes production based cars, running on road tyres.
