Rolling Thunder 

The 23 year history of the SAMCAR, and WesBank motor racing series, has always produced speed, power excitement and spectacular racing and probably the best entertainment on 4 wheels. 

Initially in 1983 WesBank and SAMCAR signed a partnership going into the future, and the racing consisted of modified saloon cars and were competed in four classes, such as the  class A and with 5.8 litre engines, class C 2.5 litre and class D 1400 cc. 

This format of racing soon took over as the popular choice and was competed on the national racing circuits, attracting more and more support from the motor sport enthusiasts. 

Viana BMW and Hepburn's Record lead the charge at Goldfiels (early 80's)

During the first ten years there was participation from the manufacturers  in South Africa in the form of  the Rothmans Turbo Audi’s, driven by Terry Moss and Chris Aberdein, Sasol Fords driven by Sarel van der Merwe and Graham Duxbury. 

There is no doubt that our series of racing has attracted  some great names of motor sport, and who have gone onto be household names, and when moving  onto  management of race teams and or champions in other formulas of racing……….. Namely 

Sarel van der Merwe, Ben Morgenrood, the late Tony Vianna, (who raced the only BMW 745 in the world), Robbie ‘Smurf’ Smith, Hennie van der Linde, Paddy Driver, Eddie Keizan, Mike o Sullivan, Graham Duxbury, Willie Hepburn, Johan Coetzee, Geoff Mortimer, Hannes Grobler, Denis Olthoff, Gary Dunkerly, Peter Gough, George Bezuidenhout, Dave Repsold, Colin Clay, Deon Joubert and more recently Gary Formatto, Johan Fourie, Anthony Taylor, Gugu Zulu.

In 1993 the SAMCAR committee took a brave decision and introduced the WesBank V8 racing, with 500 hp which was to sport a brand new look, technical changes and the view was to put a fresh and exciting series together. 

The engine packages would come from both Ford and Chevrolet and would be producing 550 hp, and split into two classes, a GT1 class with fuel injection and GT2 with carburetors.

The cars would have the Mustang, Jaguar, and Corvette and Camaro, style and look and would be taken up by the various teams. 

Currently this is the biggest field of American V8 engined cars to race outside of the USA. With some of the most exciting young guns driving these WesBank V8 Supercars.

Peter Lanz's rapid VW Golf GTi

Hennie van der Linde's Nissan 300Z

The stalwarts of our series are Brian Cook, the current chairman and the driving force of the SAMCAR association from inception.

Larry Wilford who is a past chairman of SAMCAR, and is now the manager of the Fuchs Titan racing team, where his son Terry is a competitor and is currently the champion of GT2.

Willie Hepburn at the young age of 64, famous for his Ford V8 and popularly known as the ‘animal’, is still a steady competitor and has competed very favourably against the young brigade.

GoodYear, under the management of JC Erasmus, race manager,  and Barry Fenn the tyre tech fundi have been the official supplier of controlled tyres to our series throughout the V8 era, and have also been a contingency sponsor of the TV package, and have always been under the watchful eye of Toni MacIntosh, the PR and sponsorship manager.  

23 years later the WesBank V8 supercars, together with WesBank and GoodYear, continue to excite all those enthusiasts at the national race circuits, and remain the ‘premier formula’                      everything else is only a game