Mmmmhhh, quite an uncommon racing day. Henry, the Big Boss, wasn’t here himself. He had to work. And although André, who everyone knows so well, is currently taking a break from RC racing, he did not hesitate to come and help me out at the track. A big THANK YOU, André.

 

And as usual, a whole bunch of the regulars were missing, due to a variety of reasons, which is totally reasonable. But we were also lucky enough to have had the pleasure of welcoming two novices at our race meeting this month. The Pretoria clan brought along Bruce Gravett and Piet du Toit persuaded Ruan Visagie to take part in official racing. Both men were entered into the Beginner class. We sincerely hope that you have enjoyed your first RC race.

The Best Presented RC car award went to Richard Botes this month. Congratulations!

 

Beginner Class:

Jason Strauss dominated this class. I did not really think that he would join the Beginners again after his performance last time. He is indeed a beginner, but so skilled after only one or two competitions, that he really need to apply his skills on a much more competitive level from now on. With almost all his laps in low twenties and a quickest lap of 21.07s, he is a driver to take note of.

Richard Botes kicked off well, with two 2^nd places. Unfortunately his absence in 1^st leg of the Finals handicapped him. He recovered in time for the last leg, but although he ended 2^nd again, he could not reach the podium this month. His multiple 21 and 22 second laps, especially in the last leg of the Finals, however is proof enough of this boy’s ability. Well done, Richard.

Ruan Visagie confessed to being nervous before the race started, but as he boasts a 2^nd place on the podium, he obviously overcame that quickly. Now he has to aim for that 25 second average that all Beginners want to see. Go for it, Ruan!

Little Ruan Brauer that I had to disqualify last month (because of his corner cutting) behaved much better this time around. Good for you, Ruan.

Manie du Plessis from Pretoria that has paid us a visit (maybe twice?) in the past, just competed and was having fun while doing so. Best lap – 27.9s.

Flip Strauss competed in his 2^nd official race ever. His lap times have improved a lot since the 1^st time. Lekker man!

Now for the last competitor in this class: Bruce Gravett claims that he never raced RC before, but his 28 sec lap times are not too shabby at all. Bruce ended 3^rd overall. What an achievement! Congratulations!

Overall:

1. Jason Strauss
2. Ruan Visagie
3. Bruce Gravett

 

Electric Mini:

I just notice now, while typing this report, that Gert Fourie entered for this class, but he never competed. Oops.

Mike Miscia only drove in the qualifiers. Those 21 sec laps were quite impressive…!

Francois Geyser performed more than adequate, all day long. It seems like he is in full control of his little Mini. Most of his laps are around 24 seconds. Best lap – 23.8s.

Jacques Brits is actually an off road man, or at least a nitro man, but it was really nice to have had him with us on an electric race meeting. He kept a 2^nd position throughout the qualifiers as well as the final legs. Good job!

Paul Langenhoven was unbeatable in this class today. A win for him in every race! Best lap 20.67s. Whoop whoop!

PS : It very seldom happens that the drivers stayed in the same positions throughout the day, like it happened on this day in the Mini class.

Overall:

1. Paul Langenhoven
2. Jacques Brits
3. Francois Geyser

 

 

540 Touring:

The drivers in this class swapped positions in every possible way, in every race that they were in.

Not even one race’s result resembles another; not even remotely.

In the qualifiers Piet, Francois and Artur took turns with being out of the race due to car trouble. Only Charmaine remained on the driver stand at all times.

Came the final legs, none of them had car trouble, but maybe two of them ran out of battery power, eacause they each got one lap less than before.

Overall:

1. Piet du Toit
2. Charmaine Wright
3. Francois Geyser

 

 

 

TTO1:

Charmaine Wright, Janu Lombaard and Nathan Steyn competed against each other, like they pretty much do every month. ..only without the 4 other regular TTO1 drivers that were absent this month.

Out of the three of them, Janu won 3 races. It was Nathan however that boasts the fastest lap times. He had several 21 second laps and one amazing 20.95 s one! Congratulations, Nathan!

Overall:

1. Janu Lombaard
2. Nathan Steyn
3. Charmaine Wright

 

21.5 Touring:

11 drivers in this group. A nice, big one!

All four races in this class were won by Willtin Brauer. There were rumors that his car wasn’t up to specs, but André was summoned to check his car, and he could not find fault with it, so I abide by his opinion.

Paul Langenhoven and Kevin Gates were his fiercest rivals, but at one stage even Esmarie made an appearance in the top 3! You go, Girl!

Best lap achieved by drivers:

Willtin - 18.18s

Paul     - 19.28s

Kevin     - 18.86s

Mike -   19.30s

Derek - 19.59s

Piet - 20.13s

Janu - 19.20s

Esmarie - 20.16s

Gert - 20.67s

Tiny     - 20.67s

Francois Geyser - Paid, but DNS ??

Overall:

1. Willtin Brauer
2. Kevin Gates
3. Mike Miscia

 

13.5 Touring:

Kevin Gates had been the uncontested champ in this class. He won all the qualies and the heats. His fastest lap – 16.45s Eish… That’s pretty fast driving…

Paul Langenhoven ended 2nd three out of four times.

Gert Fourie stood his ground and drove mainly 18 to 20 second laps.

Willtin picked up car trouble in the 1^st leg of the qualifier and quit racing.

Overall:

1. Kevin Gates
2. Paul Langenhoven
3. Gert Fourie