Rynfield rises to the sound of F1 Powerboats

The normal tranquil water of the Ebotse Dam in Rynfield, Benoni, erupted into life as the third round of the South African Formula 1 Powerboat Championship burst into action on Saturday. The large crowd that lined the banks of the immaculately kept East Rand Speedboat Club were treated to the thrills and guaranteed spills that powerboat racing presents.

Speed & Spray – Ronan Dixon powers his way to victory on Ebotse Dam
Photos: Dries Beetge

Michael Wessels (Boaters World), racing in a Cauldwell Marine hull, was the first victim to fall prey to the seemingly flat waters when, during time trials to determine the grid positions for the start of heat one, he blew the boat over backwards, performing a high-end back flip that damaged his boat and ruled him out of action for the rest of the day. SA Championship leader Ronan Dixon (Dixon Batteries) did not participate in the time trials after blowing his motor during the early morning practice session and his crew were working feverishly behind the scenes to get a replacement motor fitted. This meant that Dixon would start at the back of the field for race one. Dixon Batteries teammate Keegan Frankiewicz posted a time of 53.92 seconds around the long circuit to snatch pole position from John-Ross Duncan (JR Racing), with Morne’ Herholdt (Velddrift Marine) in third just ahead of Nico Wessels.

From the moment the flags dropped Ronan Dixon burst out of the dock from the back of the grid using the flat water on the outside to his advantage and get to the top turn-buoy in first place where he was stayed until the checkered flag came out ten laps later. Frankiewicz crossed the line in second making it a one-two finish for the Dixon Batteries Team with evergreen Morne’ Herholdt rounding out the podium.

In race two the finishing positions were exactly the same after another strong performance from Ronan Dixon who was hard pushed by Frankiewicz and Herholdt. Race three saw an improved performance from Morne’ Herholdt, after a calculated propeller change which gave him the edge over Frankiewicz and Duncan, that saw him coming home in second place behind the dominant Dixon.

In the popular Formula 30 class that continues to grow, Jordan Allen proved to be in a league of her own by winning all three of the heats despite being hard pushed in race number two by newcomer Omari Mchunu who crossed the line first, but was unfortunately disqualified for repeatedly missing a turn-buoy on the circuit. The GT15 class consisted of just three boats that nevertheless put on a great show for the spectators, with positions changing regularly, and it was Nico Potgieter who emerged triumphant by winning all three heats. Unfortunately, the GT10 Junior class was cut short after an incident in the first heat where young Ethan Parson hit into the back of another boat and rolled. The impact pushed him forward in the boat, and he was trapped upside down underwater for a couple of minutes. Great teamwork from the rescue and medical teams saw him being taken to hospital for overnight observation.

The top five overall positions in all of the classes after three action-packed heats were as follows –

Formula 1

1st Ronan Dixon

2nd Keegan Frankiewicz

3rd Morne Herholdt

4th John-Ross Duncan

5th Nico Wessels

Formula 30

1st Jordan Allen

2nd Tristan Barham

3rd James Sampson

4th Caroline Duncan

5th Gemma Allen

GT15

1st Nico Potgieter

2nd Tyler Ponmoon

3rd James Sampson

The next round of the SA F1 Powerboat Championship will take place on the Witbank Dam in Mpumalanga on the 25th May.


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