After an unexpected break, due to the
postponement of this year's WesBank Super Series at Phakisa, the
Goodyear shod, Sasol fuelled WesBank V8's will head to the Aldo
Scribante circuit outside Port Elizabeth on Saturday, 1st May.
The circuit is also Goodyear’s home track and a party atmosphere
will no doubt prevail for what is sure to be an entertaining
day's racing. Fans can expect skidding tyres, roaring engines,
high-speed thrills and loads of fun when a field of eighteen
WesBank V8 Supercars line up for Round 4 of the 2010 WesBank
Super Series South African Championship.
Brandon Auby (ELT International Jaguar) heads the points
standings in the Super GT Class for 450kw engines, with 25
points, after his commanding back to back wins at Killarney. Hot
on his heels is Welkom's Jaco Correia (LiquiMoly Corvette) on 19
points. Jaco also scored back to back wins at the season opener
at Kyalami in February, but did not fare as well at Killarney.
Brandon's father Deon Auby (ELT International Jaguar) is third
on 15 points, an indication of his consistency and his efforts
towards helping Brandon win the championship, as he said after
finishing runner up both times in Cape Town. V8 stalwart Franco
di Matteo (Varta Batteries Jaguar) is next up in fourth place
with 14 points and he too likes to mix it with the best and
enjoys Scribante. East London's Wade von Zummeren (Border Towing
Mustang) is fifth in the standings with 11 points, and should
also be at the sharp end of the field for Round 4, close to any
home fans who decide to make the 300km trip down the coast to
the Friendly City.
Behind the leading 5, Ben Morgenrood (Ben Morgenrood Auto
Jaguar) is another veteran of V8 and South African racing, who
can still take the fight to the young chargers in the field, and
he will relish another opportunity to do that in Port Elizabeth.
Not to be outdone by all the guys, Clare Vale (Gatorback/RAM
Mustang) continues to fly the flag for the fairer sex with great
aplomb, and should be quick at Scribante in her immaculately
prepared entry. Terry Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants Jaguar) has been
quick all season, although reliability issues have robbed him of
good placings, while dad Larry Wilford showed at Killarney that
he has lost none of his fighting spirit with a blistering drive
in Heat 2 with the somewhat dated Opel Astra, which he raced
after crashing his GT Class Mustang in practice. Larry will be
back in action in the GT Class Opel Astra at Scribante. Younger
brother Danie Correia (LiquiMoly Corvette) and Harry Mayer
(Cherry Active Lumina) complete the Super GT field and will be
fighting for points and good placings should the more fancied
runners not finish. Danie in particular, will not forget leading
the inverted field in Heat 2 at Killarney in some style, and may
just do so again.
In the GT Class, for 420kw V8 engines, which are restricted to
6800rpm, a slew of wily old veterans has been burning up the tar
around the country and that was certainly the case at Killarney.
Randfontein's ever popular Roelf du Plessis (RJ Panelbeaters
Mustang) shares the championship lead with another old hand, Des
Gutzeit (Dezzi Heavy Equipment Mustang), both on 23 points.
Behind the pair, two more drivers are a point apart in third and
fourth place. Queenstown's Patrick Seddon (Contact Refrigeration
Opel Omega) has 15 points, in his first year back after a long
absence, while another East Londoner Darron Gudmanz (Indigo
Boats Corvette) is on 14 points. Ray Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants
Corvette) won the Driver of the Day award at Killarney for his
efforts in preparing his car, which he drove to third place
overall in class and his first points of the season . That
should inspire him to an even better result at Scribante. Romano
Sartori has been competitive in the beautiful AMC Jaguar, and
will be keep a close watch on the rest of the GT field.
A long straight, a tight and twisty infield section and a
partially inverted grid for Heat 2 in both classes, are all the
ingredients needed for two exciting and competitive V8 Supercars
races at Aldo Scribante on 1st of May, and the SAMCAR contingent
should deliver just that!