The South African National Formula Vee Championship moves to the 1.6km SCC Lichtenburg Raceway, in the North West Province, for the third round of the 2005 Championship season. The Yvonne Rowden Memorial Race meeting, to be run on the 9th April, includes Regional Championship races for Formula Ford Kent and Volkspares Historic Touring Cars, along with Club Championship races for Volkspares Fine Cars, Silvercup and Superhatch. Racing gets underway at 11h00, with the two twenty lap National Championship Formula Vee races, scheduled for 12h45 and 15h50. During the day, tribute will also be paid to the late Yvonne Rowden, mother of Lichtenburg race Promoter, Organiser and Clerk of Course Glen Rowden. Yvonne joined the Sports Car Club in 1955, competing in Club and National Rallies and raced a Saab at Grand Central and Kyalami, before retiring from active competition. She remained active, as an Administrator and before she passed away, late last year, was the oldest active Clerk of the Course in South Africa.
Heading the Formula Vee field, at Lichtenburg, will be current National Champion Symm Grobler (No1 Auto Mecca Rhema 2). Grobler has had a dream start to his title defense and while his strongest challengers have fallen foul, of a number of maladies, Grobler has opened a commanding lead at the head of the Championship log. There is however, still a long way to go and the likes of Alan Holm (No2 JBS Lasersprint Rhema 2), Jaco Schriks (No4 JBS Lasersprint Rhema 2), Peter Hills (No5 Vacuform Rhema), Dennis Johns (No7 Goldco Midas Rhema 2) and Anthony Taylor (No77 Rigidek Rhema 2), will all be keen to start reducing the deficit as soon as possible. All of them are capable of taking victory, at Lichtenburg, as is sixteen year old Karter Andre Van Der Merwe (No72 ACC Airconditioning Rhema 2). Van Der Merwe currently holds second place, on the Championship log and has already established himself as a serious Championship contender, since making his Formula Vee National Championship debut, just over a month ago.
Keen to get in on the act as well, will be the other teenage Karters, Trevor Bland (No14 AC DC Dynamics Rhema), Kyle Bennett (No16 Rhema) and Laurent Calkoen (No66 Vision), along with the likes of Jannie Geyser (No20 Vision), Kevin Cartmell (No17 Rand Brake Sting), development driver Benny Phetla (No9 Vacuform Rhema), Bobby Nel (No25 Lantis) and Cape Town’s Chris Danks (No23 Stalcor Rhema 2). A good scrap could also develop, between the likes of Gareth Jackson (No21 JBS Lasersprint Sting), Claude Cartmell (No19 Rand Brake Sting), development driver Kearn Francis (No30 Lotto Rhema), Jaco Greyling (No54 Rhema) and John Lerm (No55 Sting). Joining Francis, in the Protosport Team, should be yet another development driver Devan Moonsamy (Lotto Vision).
With the Formula Vees, running the Dunlop Formula R Semi Slick at Lichtenburg, for the first time, the race will almost certainly see a new lap record, for the category and should produce two twenty lap heats, of close, wheel to wheel, non stop racing action.
National Championship Points:
1 Symm Grobler 54 2 Andre Van Der Merwe 35 3 Peter Hills 31 4 Alan Holm 29 5 Anthony Taylor 26 6 Jannie Geyser 22 7 Kyle Bennett 17 8 Dennis Johns 16 9 Kevin Cartmell 13 10 Trevor Bland 13
