An action-packed night of Oval Track action awaits on Saturday evening (12 November) when the region’s top drivers will battle it out for Championship titles across the various classes in both the EP Regional Championship as well as in the DO4SA Club Championship at Victory Raceway.
In the V8 American Saloon Class, all eyes will be on the battle between the consistent Vincent Venter as he fends off the onslaught from the legendary Piet Victor, who has been on the comeback trail after a disastrous start to the season. Venter enjoys a 46-point lead in the title chase over Victor and will need to just keep it neat and tidy to capture his maiden championship crown. Currently sitting in 3rd place in the championship is Juan Roesstorff. He has shown flashes of brilliance during the previous seven rounds of the championship season. At the time of going to press, there were already 10 entries in this star-studded, high-powered class, including the Eksteen trio of father Theuns and sons Lodewyk & HJ from Uniondale in the Langkloof.
One of the closest battles on the night will be in 2.1 Modified Saloon Class, where Malcolm Els holds a slender 30-point lead over Micaela Kotze, with Gerrit Olivier in 3rd place and Claud Skorbinski in 4th. Kelly Dowling has enjoyed a welcome return to form of late, and she, along with out-of-town visitors Werner van Rooyen and Marius Britz, will be hoping for close, hard-fought racing.
In the Heavy Metal Class, Neville Ellard, in his front-wheel drive Golf VR6 has an unassailable lead in the title race. The real fight will be for 2nd place in the championship, which is between Zana Jansen, Pierre van der Berg & Henry Muller, with only a couple of points separating them. Although out of the championship hunt, Nico de Bruin, Freddy Smith and JP Coetzee will all bring their A-game along.
The 1660 class is probably the most competitive class around the country, with spectators sitting on the edge of their seats watching the high-speed antics that happen out on track. Francois Engelbrecht has had a great run of late with some very consistent performances & he holds a 41-point lead over Pieter Le Roux, with Wesley Slabbert a mere 5 points behind in third. The likes of Percy Noah and Johan Schoeman will ensure that the crowd is entertained.
Jaco Aylward has dominated the Hot Rod Class in his very well-prepared car & should have the Regional title in the bag with the huge lead he has over Shaun Gough and 3rd placed man from East London, Andy Wiggill. Kean Barnard, although not in the Championship race due to missing most of the season, should be a force to be reckoned with as he irons out the teething issues in his very quick home-built Hot Rod.
In the Pink Rods Club Championship for lady drivers, Bianca Westraadt enjoys a healthy lead over Simone Claasen and Annuschke Landman, who are separated by only 1 point. Nadia Rautenbach has shown glimpses of her full potential during the season and is also in with a realistic chance of a podium finish in the championship.
With Zanco Els having moved up from the Junior Hot Rod class, it will be an interesting battle amongst the rising stars in the sport. Quade De Lange will be hoping to carry his recent form from the cricket field onto the Oval Track & will take on Keegan Ellard, among others.
Victory Raceway is situated along Victoria Drive in Walmer and entrance to the event is R50 for adults & R20 for children under 12 years old. Track-side parking is also available at R50 per vehicle. The gates open at 13:00, with the first race scheduled to start at 18:00. For more information Maggie Victor can be contacted at 082 656 8830.
