There were thrills and spills and action aplenty at round three of the DO4SA Regional Dirt Oval Championships at a packed Victory Raceway this past Saturday that also saw some of the top 2.1 Modified drivers from around the country taking part in the much anticipated 2.1 Challenge that formed part of the night’s action. The large crowd were treated to some spectacular racing particularly in the 2.1 Modified class and in the 1660 Modified class that had to be split into two separate groups due to the large number of entries.

Picture credit: Peter Henning
Burger van der Westhuizen from Oudtshoorn Motor Club put in a calculated and patient performance through the three heats to ensure that he lined up on the front row of the grid alongside West Coast Oval visitor Mario Verwey who had secured pole position in the final. Van der Westhuizen got the jump on Verwey in the first corner and opened up a substantial lead as defending champion Christopher Burisch from George unfortunately retired from the race in the early stages with mechanical failure. Van der Westhuizen ensured that the podium was filled with out of town drivers as he cruised home to overall victory followed by pole-sitter Verwey and Jackson Paul in third. Damon Miles was the first of the local drivers taking fourth place followed in fifth by Malcolm Els and Rimon Landman in sixth.
Marthinus Muller proved once again why he has the SA1 number on his car as he dominated the very competitive 1660 Modified Saloon class with a clean sweep of victories in the heats and finals that earned him the sought after “Driver-of-the-Day” award at the end of the evening. The battle for positions two to six had the crowd on their feet as Ruhan Terblanche, Jason Drake, Jason Brink, Pieter le Roux and Izaan Keller put on a masterful performance swapping positions, often going through the corners four-adrift at times. Terblanche managed to hang onto second place after a great showing of defensive driving for the last couple of laps of the race with Pieter le Roux snatching third place from Jason Drake. The racing was so close that a mere six seconds separated the remaining fourteen cars that managed to complete the race.
The next event on the dirt oval calendar is scheduled for the 25th May at PE Oval Track Raceway along Mission Road.
The results in all of the classes were as follows –
1600 Saloons
-1st E78 Keegan Ellard
-2nd E47 Daniel Renison
-3rd EC98 Francois Engelbrecht
Heavy Metals
-1st G198 Marco Barnard
-2nd SA2 Pierre van der Berg
-3rd EC157 Jaco Pitout
V8 American Saloons
-1st E99 Pieta Victor
-2nd E60 Rohan Van Vuuren
-3rd E93 Vincent Venter
Hot Rods
-1st B430 Carlo van Zyl
-2nd E621 Bianca Westraadt
-3rd E611 Tiaan Oliphant
2.1 Modifieds
-1st D51 Burger van der Westhuizen
-2nd WO18 Mario Verwey
-3rd #40 Jackson Paul
Rookies
-1st E175 Tyde Geddes
-2nd E185 Quade de Lange
-3rd C724 Azriel Aroonslam
1660’s
-1st SA1 Marthinus Muller
-2nd E279 Ruhan Terblanche
-3rd EC777 Pieter le Roux
Driver of the day
SA1 Marthinus Muller.