In what was described as “one of the most exciting SA Production Cars races seen for a season or two”, the Phakisa Freeway hosted a thrilling battle between Anthony Taylor, Etienne van der Linde, Johan Fourie and Leeroy Poulter on Saturday.
In what was described as “one of the most exciting SA Production Cars races seen for a season or two”, the Phakisa Freeway hosted a thrilling battle between Anthony Taylor, Etienne van der Linde, Johan Fourie and Leeroy Poulter on Saturday.
“It is a long time since one has seen race officials, managers and the hangers on in the control tower break into spontaneous applause as the chequered flag came out,” a correspondent said of the second heat, which had a near-capacity crowd on its feet.
The first heat saw a routine win for defending champion Anthony Taylor (Castrol BMW 330i), ahead of Leeroy Poulter (Sasol AE Nissan 350Z), who won both heats at the recent Killarney meeting, former WesBank champion Johan Fourie (MD Transport Audi A4) and Etienne van der Linde in the second Castrol BMW.
In a superb second race, the quartet went at it hammer and tongs for the entire nine-lap race distance and Van der Linde had to use all his experience to hold off Fourie, Poulter and Taylor.
On the Class T front there was a pair of wins for Clint Weston, in the Castrol Mini Cooper, ahead of team-mate Garth Waberski with Eckart Schoenknecht in the Caltex Volkswagen Golf GTi a disappointing third on both occasions.
Reigning Class B champion Dave Compton (Sasol Toyota RunX) completed his now customary double victory in Class B, while Trevor Tuck (Motorsport Infinity Fiat Palio) and Wayne Masters (Venditor Minolta VW Polo Tdi) shared the Class C spoils.
There was also drama in the WesBank V8 Supercar event. After dominating the opening race Hennie Groenewald, in the Caltex Havoline Jaguar, looked to be set for a double for the day when he streaked into an early lead in heat two.
Late in the race, however, the Jaguar started to slow and was overtaken by Mackie Adlem’s Fuchs Titan Ford Mustang, which made a great comeback after a huge accident at Killarney last time out. It was a good day for Adlem who finished second in the opening heat and Steve Smith who picked up a third and a second.
For reigning champion Grant van Schalkwyk, in the Hi-Q Jaguar, it was not a happy weekend. Van Schalkwyk struggled throughout and he had to be content with a fifth and a third.
On the GT2 front, the unbeaten run of overall championship leader Terry Wilford (Fuchs Titan Mustang) was snapped… After winning the opening heat Wilford had to take a back seat to veteran Willy Hepburn, in another Ford Mustang, in the second race.
