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A commanding performance at Phakisa
where he took a pair of runaway wins, have put defending champion
Hennie Groenewald (Caltex Havoline Jaguar) in charge of the
WesBank V8 Supercar championship. |
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The two wins were a timely wedding
present for the newly married Groenewald, and lifted him 25 points
clear of former champion Grant van Schalkwyk, in the Hi-Q Jaguar,
who had a disappointing outing in the Free State. A third and a
non finish have left van Schalkwyk with some leeway to make up,
and the WesBank Raceway outing offers him an early opportunity to
strike back at Groenewald. |
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Life at the top of the WesBank
leaderboard is not, however, getting any easier. Young drivers
like Jimmy Auby (Tyco Racing Jaguar), brother Mark (Masana
Petroleum Solutions Jaguar), Gordon Connelly (Dezzi/Cowan Signs
Jaguar) and Jade Gutzeit (Dezzi/Trysome Ford Mustang) and newcomer
Robert Briggs (Timken Jaguar) are making life a little difficult
for the more established drivers. |
One has also not seen the best of
Mackie Adlem (Titan Ford Mustang), Zane Pearce (Hi-Q Mustang),
Jaco Correia (Omega Spares Chev Corvette), Larry Wilford (Fuchs
Titan Ford Mustang) and Franco di Matteo in the Deltec Jaguar.
Steve Smith, in the Cool Cat Carriers Jaguar, is also due to run
into some form while veteran Willie Hepburn, in the lurid orange
Motorsport Logistics Corvette has taken on a new lease of life.
The habit of running inverted grids for race two has also injected
added interest into the WesBank series. The system has not found
favour with all the drivers, and van Schalkwyk is a prime example,
but it has led to some intriguing racing with the likes of
Groenewald being made to work hard for race wins.
Groenewald will carry most of the smart money at WesBank Raceway.
One should not be too surprised, however, if there are one or two
upsets. |
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