by
Roger McCleery

The WesBank V8 Racing brigade are going to continue their ultra close high speed motor racing at Kyalami on Saturday (27^th June) when a big field of these 300 kmh cars take to the Grand Prix circuit as part of the WesBank Super Series. 

With a hat-trick of WesBank V8 Supercar South African Championships to his name, South Africa’s fastest saloon car racer, Hennie Groenewald (Team Timken Holden) has started his charge up the points table to make it a possible four in a row.   It is a big ask as the series has now passed the half-way mark of the season.   Groenewald started the last run in East London in 9^th spot on the points table after a disastrous start to the season.   After two wins there he has moved up to 3^rd behind the two Auby brothers. 

That is where the problem for Groenewald continues.   He is 15 points behind the 17-year-old driving sensation, Brandon Auby (ELT International Jaguar) who stands back for no driver and who is 2^nd in the championship.   Further 25 points ahead of Brandon is the leader of the championship and his brother, Marc Auby in an identical Jaguar with ELT International backing.  That makes it a total of 40 points that Groenewald must make up before the end of the season. 

Marc Auby has finished every single one of the eight races held so far this year in PE, Kyalami, Killarney in Cape Town and East London.   He is a flyer on all circuits and has posted three wins, two second places, three thirds and a fourth spot in front of a very competitive field.   So his team is hot. 

Marc Auby’s younger brother, Brandon, has also won and got seconds as has their father Deon, who won at Kyalami at the last meeting there, after collecting a hard-fought second spot in Cape Town.   So the Auby’s are a formidable trio and are a unique family in South African Championship Racing. 

So Groenewald has a big job on Saturday with not one, but three members of a successful team to contend with. 

Whilst these four drivers are intent on improving their championship standing by the end of the Kyalami meeting, there is another family that has come on strong this season.   They are the Correia brothers from Welkom, who race two ultra-rapid LiquiMoly Corvettes.   They have also been getting onto the podium and want to beat all-comers.   First and second finishes at Kyalami in March by the brothers showed that they can do it. 

Just to complicate their lives, veteran Franco di Matteo (Varta Batteries Jaguar) is also onto their case and could surprise the Free State brothers as he goes well at Kyalami. 

Good to see Richard Pinard (Team Timken Jaguar) in the line-up after he had a huge crash in East London which flattened the front of his car.  He is always in the picture, particularly when the reverse grid is used for the longer second race for WesBank V8’s Racing. 

Another man who missed racing on his home track is Wade van Zummeren (Border Towing Mustang) has now recovered from the quad accident and will be back in the driving seat at Kyalami.   His father, Martin, after a long lay-off, stood in for him in East London and did a great job leading for the first six of the fifteen lap second race. 

One of the quickest drivers in the field, Mackie Adlem is hoping to continue his come-back, providing sponsors can be found to fund his car.   His first race in Cape Town saw him feeling his way with a ninth position.   He then followed this up with two close seconds at Killarney and East London, where he holds the lap record. 

A successful team that is steeped in high speed V8 racing are the father and son Wilford family.   Larry is the Chairman of WesBank V8 Association and has many wins to his credit, whilst Terry won the GT2 Championship a few years ago in front of a very competitive field.   If things are working together the Wilford family racers are right up there with the fastest. 

Claire Vale (Gatorback/RAM Mustang) the First Lady of WesBank V8 Racing has led off pole position and has collected twelve points along the way. 

Romano Satori in the ex-Gordon Connelly Jaguar in his first year has also found his feet and started to score points on the fastest circuit in the country in East London. 

Making his debut in WesBank V8 Racing is Carel Pienaar.  He has engineered three South Africa titles for Hennie Groenewald and probably knows more about these V8 racing cars than anybody else because he builds them.   He has raced very successfully in Historic V8 Racing. 

WesBank V8 Saloon Cars are fast and they are spectacular when racing in close company.   It will be the same on Saturday at the home of South African Motorsport, Kyalami.