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A full field of 19 of the fastest cars in the
country have entered for the two Wesbank V8 Supercar Races at the Aldo
Scribante circuit in Port Elizabeth this Saturday (23rd
September) on a track where the layout ensures close racing and lots
of passing. This is the only visit these cars will make to Port
Elizabeth this year.
The well prepared 2-car Caltex Havoline Jaguar team
with Championship leader, Hennie Groenewald and ex-Karting Champion,
Veron Pappas, now riding shotgun for him, have scored 9 wins from 14
races. Their main opposition, Grant van Schalkwyk (Hi-Q Jaguar),
the ex P.E. driver and reigning Wesbank V8 Champ, who started his
Wesbank winning career in Port Elizabeth, has never finished lower
than 2nd here against top opposition. An on-form van
Schalkwyk took the last race at Zwartkops with sheer aggression. He
means to employ the same tactics at this track, which he knows well.
He also needs his team-mate, Zane Pearce, in a similar car, to stay
close to him and split the experienced Groenewald/Pappas combo.
Pappas, a South African 250 Karting Champion, after
placing second overall at Zwartkops in his first outing in the Caltex
Havoline Team car, could win his first V8 Supercar race in P.E. on
sheer talent.
Others to upset the applecart are super fast Mackie
Adlem (Fuchs Titan Mustang), who has won races this year at Kyalami
and Phakisa, and the two Auby brothers, Jimmy and Marc in their Bosal
Jaguars, who are always amongst the front runners. A win can’t be
far off for these two brothers. Father Deon, who heads up this
talented family, is also a noted pedaller in his Jonnesway Tools Chev
Lumina SS. He pushes his 450 kW 5.7 litre V8 Chev engined car to its
limit.
Jaco Correia, in his big American Corvette muscle
car, with Omega Spares backing, is also going well as some quick laps
at Zwartkops proved.
Other dark horses in the GT1 class for 450 kW cars
are Roelf du Plessis (Venter Motors Chev Lumina SS) who has been
battling to get his car to handle as he likes it, and Steve Smith
(Cool Cat Carriers Jaguar), making a return to racing after blowing up
his engine in a big way. Johnny Eekhout (Johnspeed Cobra Opel Astra),
is also back in competition after a year’s break. All three of these
drivers could supply big surprises if their plans work out.
The GT2 class features cars with engines producing
412 kW. Here Terry Wilford (Fuchs Titan Mustang), with lots of help
from his father, Larry – a long time Wesbank racing man – is not only
3rd overall in the Wesbank V8 Supercar Series, but leads
the GT2 class by a considerable margin. He started the season well
with 5 wins in a row, but then hit a bad patch due to a down-on-power
engine. His competition cashed in when he hit these problems, with
all-rounder on two and four wheels, Jade Gutzeit (Dezzi/Cowan Signs
Ford Mustang), Ford GT1 Champion Gordon Connelly (Dezzi/Cowan Signs
Jaguar), and Franco di Matteo (Deltec Batteries Jaguar), all getting
their first wins. This brought them closer to Wilford and into a
major battle for second place in the GT2 Championship.
Evergreen Willie Hepburn (Wynns Ford Mustang), a V8
man to his very roots, also claimed some of the action with a win.
Another victory could see him leapfrog some of these determined
youngsters into second spot.
A 19-year-old who handles V8 power like a champ is
East London’s Wade van Zummeren (Border Towing Chev Camaro), who goes
well at the coast. Newcomer, Danie Correia (Omega Spares Chev
Corvette), the brother of Jaco, was only a second off the pace at
Zwartkops in just his 7th V8 race, and is learning fast to
handle these big cars.
Explosive action is guaranteed at Aldo Scribante
when these mighty machines take to the track and growl around for
their massed rolling start. |
