Local Stars shine in motorsport thriller

Motorsport enthusiasts came out in their numbers to support the exciting racing lineup at Aldo Scribante Raceway on Saturday, as the Southern African Endurance Series came to town. Leading the charge were Michael Stephen and Aldo Scribante, who shared the Scuderia Scribante Lamborghini Huracán GT3, with Scribante racing in the sprint races and Stephen in the 1-hour dash. Scribante put in a polished performance under immense pressure from Damian Hammond in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo to win both the first and third races, while Hammond claimed the second.

**Pictured:** Polished performance – The Rico Barlow Nova Proto NP02, driven by Charl Visser, Barend Pretorius and Waylin Volschenk, was the winner of the 5-Hours of Aldo Scribante Raceway.
**Picture credit:** Jeff Laytham Photography

Michael Stephen then showed his pure class to win the 1-hour dash by 21 seconds from Hammond, proving why he is the most decorated racing driver in South Africa.

The VW Rookie Cup provided plenty of drama, as fourteen-year-old Jack Moore qualified on pole position and led for the first lap, only to be outmuscled by championship leader Luke Hill at the end of the main straight. Moore proved he had the nerve to go around the outside of Turn 1, holding his line alongside Hill, and went for the gap as they entered the esses. Unfortunately, there was contact between them, resulting in Moore rolling multiple times. He emerged from the car slightly shaken but visibly upset.

The VW Motorsport team did an amazing job repairing the badly damaged VW Polo to have it ready for Race 2, where Moore had to start from the back of the grid. He put in a storming drive to finish third overall, much to the delight of his home crowd.

On two wheels, in the Motorcycle Racing Series South Africa Championship, Ruan van Zyl after having set a new personal best time of 1:03.8 in qualifying finished second overall in the 600cc SuperSport class, while Craig Benn crossed the line in fifth place. Dylan Grobler was unfortunately a non-starter in the 600cc class due to a mechanical failure in qualifying, but returned on a borrowed 400cc machine to win the Sub-500 class.

Class results are as follows:

5-Hours of Aldo Scribante

1st Rico Barlow Racing, Nova Proto NP02 (Charl Visser, Barend Pretorius & Waylin Volschenk)
2nd Stradale Motorsport, Porsche GT3R (Charl Arangies, Bradley Liebenberg & Arnold Neveling)
3rd G & H Racing, Audi R8 GT3 (Gianni Giannoccaro & Ricardo Giannoccaro)

Sports & GT