Ben Morgenrood and Larry Wilford showed the young guns how it's done
on Saturday, with three wins between the pair in Round 4 of the
WesBank V8 Supercars at the Phakisa race circuit in Welkom.
Morgenrood (BM Auto Ford Falcon) won the opening heat in the Super
GT Class ahead of Brandon Auby (Q8 Oils/SKF Ford Falcon) and Franco
di Matteo (Varta Batteries Jaguar). Fourth, after a no holds barred
scrap with di Matteo throughout the 8 laps, was Jade Gutzeit making
a return to V8 Supercars after a few years' absence - the off road
biking champion showing he has lost none of his ability on four
wheels too! Deon Auby (Q8 Oils/SKF Chev Lumina) took fifth place as
always driving with an eye on Heat 2. In the GT Class, another
veteran in the ranks, Larry Wilford (Fuchs Titan Mustang), was
unchallenged winning from his nephew Ray Wilford ( Fuchs Titan
Corvette) who was also making a return after a lengthy absence. Des
Gutzeit was next up in his new look Dezzie/Cummins Ford Falcon, with
Romano Sartori (A.M.C. Jaguar) completing the top five postions.
In Heat 2, the reverse grid as always threw the cat amongst the
pigeons. Terry Wilford (Fuchs Titan Ford Falcon) led the pack into
turn one, but a bit of pushing and shoving in midfield had a ripple
effect on the running order. Wilford was punted into the gravel
trap, but rejoined at the back. Franco di Matteo emerged with damage
to his Jaguar which hampered his progress further, while Morgenrood
and Steve Herbst also got caught up in the confusion and slid down
the order. Deon Auby escaped unscathed, and duly led the race
thereafter, benefiting from his Race 1 strategy. His sons Jimmy and
Brandon shadowed him closely, but at the finish Jimmy passed his
father and took a much needed win, after falling out of the
morning's race with a flat tyre. Behind the Auby Boyz, Larry Wilford
again won GT Class, finishing ahead of Heat 1's Super GT winner
Morgenrood. Ray Wilford was next up, to finish second in class yet
again, with Des Gutzeit in third. Terry Wilford and Romano Sartori
made contact late in the race, which unfortunately resulted in
retirement for both.
The next round of WesBank V8 Supercars takes place at Aldo Scribante
on August 6th. |
|