Reigning Wesbank V8 Super Car champion Hennie Groenewald, driving the Timken Jaguar, took charge of both the day’s 2 heats at a packed Killarney Raceway on Saturday, in round 2 of the Wesbank Super Series.

Team mate Robert Briggs was in the Timken Chev Lumina this time, and from pole position led heat 1, until spinning at the ultra fast Shell corner early on in the first race. Groenewald, miraculously avoided him, and went on to win. Behind him, Willie Hepburn (MLS/Project Orange Jaguar) showed he has lost none of his fighting spirit in his last year of competitive racing by running second ahead of the rest for much of the way.

Briggs who had dropped to tenth place after his spin eventually caught Hepburn, to make it a Timken 1-2 at the finish.  Hepburn finished third, Marc Auby in the Jonnesway Chev Lumina was fourth with Franco di Mateo in the Optima Batteries Jaguar fifth. In a dramatic end to their race, Terry Wilford in the Fuchs Titan Jaguar and Danie Correia in the Liqui Moly Corvette tangled over the finish line after Wilford’s car had caught fire. In a matter of minutes the Titan Jaguar was a smouldering wreck, with the driver thankfully out of harms way.

The customary reversed grid for heat 2 put both the Timken entries in 13^th and 14^th place on the grid.  At the start it was Jade Gutzeit (Dezi Mustang) who led away from the lights, with team mate Gordon Connelly in the Dezi Jaguar in second with the pack breathing down his neck. Gutzeit retired after three laps with his car stuck in gear, and Connelly then led.  Briggs had beached his car in a dangerous place after only one lap, to reduce the race distance to 8 laps.  Hennie Groenewald, predictably enough, muscled his way through the field from the back of the grid and took control with two laps to go.  Behind him Marc Auby brought the Jonnesway Chev Lumina home in second, veteran Larry Wilford (Fuchs Titan Mustang) was third ahead of the evergreen Hepburn. Going for a win Gordon Connelly dropped to tenth at the finish after tangling with Richard Pinard in the third Timken entry with one lap to go.

Heat 1

1 Hennie Groenewald  

2.Robert Briggs            

3.Willie Hepburn          

4.Mark Auby                

5.Franco di Mateo         

6:Richard Pinnard        

Heat 2

1.Hennie Groenewald  

2. Mark Auby               

3.Larry Wilford            

4:Willie Hepburn         

5.Richard Pinard          

6.Deon Auby                

Points Position

1. H Groenewald - 57

2. R Briggs – 39

3. W Hepburn – 36