The battle for the 2003 South African National Formula Vee title, moves to the new Wesbank Raceway, on Saturday 6 September, after producing two race long multi car battles at the head of the field, at the recent Zwartkops event. In addition to the National Formula Vee race, Saturday’s Spring Championship Race meeting, includes Regional Championship races for Thundercars, Formula GTi and Formula Ford 1600, along with Club Championship events, for Silver Cup and Superhatch competitors. This will be the eighth round of the Formula Vee Championship, with the category due to return to the Wesbank Raceway, for the tenth and final round, on the 8th of November.
The Formula Vee Championship battle has intensified and Alan Holm (#2 Johannesburg Bright Steels Rhema), carved nine points out of log leader David Veringa’s lead, at the last event and the Sabat Rhema driver, cannot afford to allow that to happen again. Making things difficult for them, will be no less that four ex Champions, in the form of 1999 Champion Peter Hills (#8 Vacuform Rhema), 2000 Champion Dennis Johns (#12 Goldco Midas Rhema 2), 2001 Champion Lee Thompson (#34 Rhema) and 1997 and 1998 Champion Anthony Taylor (#77 Vacuform Rhema 2), along with Formula Vee veteran Symm Grobler (#4 Auto Mecca Rhema 2) and seventeen year old Young Gun Jody Robertson (#5 PS23 Lubrioil Rhema). With the long main straight, the Wesbank Raceway lends itself to close slipstreaming battles and should provide plenty of overtaking opportunities, as cars dive out of the slipstream into the braking area, at the end of the straight, where the circuit is so wide that they could be braking four or five abreast.
A number of the other drivers, will be out to pick up the minor placings, including the likes of Jaco Schriks (#6 Johannesburg Bright Steels Sting), Jannie Geyser (#11 Vision), Ben Pienaar (#17 BJ Pro Welding Rhema), development driver Benny Phetla (#19 Vacuform Rhema), Nico Blignaut (#27 ISP Auto Body Rhema), brothers Claude and Kevin Cartmell (#29 and #30 Rand Brake Stings), Cape Town’s Doug MacDonald (#37 Rhema) and Jaco Greyling (#54 Rhema).
The other development drivers, 2002 Vodacom Isondo Sports 2000 Champion Kearn Francis (#52 Rhema) and Dayview Mogane (#53 Alley), will be having their second outing in the category. Jacques Van Der Zee, who raced a Tasman Vee a few years ago, will be behind the wheel of the ex Etienne Van Der Linde, Toby Scheckter, Tomas Scheckter Vision, as a birthday treat and John Lerm makes his Formula Vee debut, in the ex Peter Hills Sting.
