This race day was marked by two contradictory sets of emotions. There were those who were very enthusiastic and excited about their first official race meeting…and then there was this very sad atmosphere because of the tragic death of one of our beloved RC friends, club member Kevin Bann.

Henry paid a small tribute to Kevin. He mentioned the contributions that Kevin made to our club, like the erection of the shaded car ports. His dedication and general involvement with the club, his friendliness and helpful nature were reminisced upon. We had a minute of silence and during lunch time we drove 3 honorary rounds for Kevin. Henry led the drivers with a black flag fitted to his RC car, while we played Kevin’s favorite song – Imagine by John Lennon – over the speakers.

The Race:

Beginner class:

The biggest surprise for the day was the participation of Marchel van Rooyen and the huge accomplishment that he achieved. Marchel visited the track many years ago when he was still a toddler and his dad Leon was still racing in the off road discipline. A couple of months ago Marchel, his dad and his younger brother showed up a couple of times to play on the off road track. It is apparently here where Marchel watched some on road racing and became interested in joining us in club competitions.  According to this young boy, his dad got him to get some practice with VRC Pro,  the RC racing simulator computer program, the day before the race. He said he was feeling very nervous, but he did excellent!! He won both the qualifier rounds as well as the Final legs. His lap times equaled those of drivers with years of experience. Lap times of only 22.4 seconds is something one never, ever see in the Beginner class!! Watch out; here comes a SA champ!

Esmarie had herself a very good race day. She managed to complete laps of less than 25 second 10 times and is evidence of her improved racing skills. I am sure that she will move out of the Beginners class when the New Year starts.

Lauren Winiecki’s lap times are coming down steadily. Her best lap today - 28.49s

We also saw Juan Beukes , James Theron and Ernst Korff in their very first RC competitions.

James quickly jumped from laps of 36 seconds to laps of 24.3. That is also way better than the average beginner’s performance. Well done, James! Freddie het jou mooi geleer, nê?

Juan Beukes had multiple 33sec laps, which is quite acceptable for a novice. The day had been very busy and I did not have time to watch his driving closely. Maybe he was driving a car that needs a little fine tuning…after which he also can soon boasts lap times of less than 30 seconds.

Ernst Korff had variable measures of success during the day, but certainly did not do too bad at all. His best lap – 28.5seconds.

Richard Botes paid us a visit again. His best lap today – 27.16sec.

Overall :

1. Marchel van Rooyen
2. Esmarie Geyser
3. Juan Beukes

 

Electric Mini:

Only three participants.

( Jakkie and Jason Landsberg were absent again…due to work responsibilities.  And it seems like all the other regular Mini drivers had other stuff on too, this month.)

Of the three drivers that competed, it was Ewald who had been the most consistent driver.  He completed every race, doing 15 laps in each race. His best lap – 22.49s

Jannie had won the 1^st qualifier, with excellent lap times, but unfortunately he ran into car trouble in the last leg of the final. He retired from the race after only 4 laps. Jannie’s best lap – 22.61s

Janu DNS (did not start) start in the 1^st qualifier round, then things went well for him and his lat times looked really good. But in the last leg things went wrong again and he had to quit halfway through the race.  Janu’s fastest lap – 23.12s

Overall:

1. Ewald van der Neut
2. Janu Lombaard
3. Jannie Holtzhausen

 

TTO1 stock:

A nice group of 8 drivers. Rolan Ferreira dominated the race, as usual…

This month he was ruthlessly challenged by (aunty)Charmaine Wright and Louis Nortje.

Shaun Bezuidenhout, a guy that only started racing last month, was talked into competing in this class by Race Control (that’s me) even though he wasn’t confident that he was ready yet.

Although Shaun had completed all his races in this class, he apparently did not feel comfortable.     So we will allow him to compete in the Beginner class some more, should he really wish to do so…

Francois Geyser was performing steadily; He is getting faster lap times every month and will soon break through the 23 second barrier.

Henk Boree paid us a visit again. He is also getting better and faster every month.

Oops, our young driver, Nathan Steyn entered, but never showed up. Thus, it was 7 competitors…

Overall:

1. Rolan Ferrreira                  Best lap – 21.37s
2. Charmaine Wright             Best lap – 22.20s
3. Louis Nortje                      Best lap – 22.16s

 

540 super stock:

Like last month, these nine guys and girls were again a bunch of drivers with almost the same abilities.  

Charmaine had been out of the picture for a couple of (cold) months, but she is back with a bang now. In the 1^st qualifier she was still getting back into her groove, but from then on she ended 2^nd in every race.  Charmaine’s best lap today – 19.6s. Well done!!!

 Artur Winiecki won three out of the four 9 minute 540 super stock races. Best lap – 19.71s

Rolan Ferreira had some bad luck in the 2^nd qualifier; but apart from that he was his normal, very competent self.. His quickest lap – 20.02s  Good job!

Kevin Gates maybe would have been Artur’s fiercest competition, but he only drove 5 laps in the 1^st qualifier and then quit for the rest of the day.

Anzea carried out her usual ‘better- than- average’ kind of driving. Today het quickest lap was 20.24s.

Henry was seen somewhere in the middle, where he likes to hang around. He did manage to end 3^rd in the second qualifier though..  His best lap 21.25s. Not bad at all…

Louis Nortje experienced car problems from the start. He said that his speed controller caused the trouble…  And with him taking part in two classes, things were just too hectic for him, as a fairly novice, to have handled.

Francois Geyser also had a bad day at the track regarding his own participation. But with his wife Esmarie doing quite good and the both of them having a day out in the open, he thoroughly enjoyed his day! The only left way after sunset…haha. Ons het lekker gesêls, dankie julle!

Jannie Holtzhausen had on-and-off results. His best lap – 21.9s is not bad at all!

Overal results:

1. Artur Winiecki
2. Charmaine Wright
3. Rolan Ferreira

 

21.5 Touring:

Mmmm… nice competitive driving! Never sure who is going to end up in the 1^st place on the podium at the end of the day.

Freddie Kotze  and Kevin Gates both boast best laps of 18.68 seconds. Reallllllyyy close driving, isn’t it?

But they didn’t scare Rolan and Ewald off one bit; both of them took their turns in the first three positions during the day, boasting regular laps of 19 seconds. Keep it up!

Henry and Janu had each other to challenge.

Overall results:

1. Freddie Kotze
2. Ewald van der Neut
3. Kevin Gates

 

 

Best Presented RC car award went to:  Janu Lombaard