It was quite a risk to arrange a formal club race over the Easter weekend, but by now we know how addicted this RC thing is. And over and above that; the racing calendar hardly had an empty space to have moved it to, so we just HAD to run this race over a long weekend.

 

Heat 1 Round 1 Electric Beginner Class:

Johan van der Merwe was hanging around the track for a couple of months now and he kept on saying that we would soon join us in a club race. On this day he did just that and declared himself a novice, entering into the race - beginner class-  with a wrong motor. But boy, this guy is by no means just a beginner; he drove circles around the real novices. His rounds were more than 12 seconds faster than his opponents and he completed 5 more laps than Colleen, his closest rival. Susan de Beer was still a bit frail in this 1^st round and completed 9 laps only. Johan’s best lap was 21.74 seconds.

Heat 1 Round 2 Electric Beginner Class:

Johan, Colleen and Susan all managed one more lap than in round 1. Johan drove even faster this time around with a best lap of 21.22 sec. Colleen also succeeded to improve on her fastest lap, but Susan unfortunately couldn’t do so too....

Heat 1 Round 3 Electric Beginner Class:

Only Colleen managed to improve a tiny bit on her fastest lap.

Leg 1 of Final Electric Beginner Class:

Johan couldn’t improve on his qualifiers, but the two ladies did. Colleen eventually broke that evasive 30 seconds barrier and Susan was still aiming at it.

Leg 2 of Final Electric Beginner Class:

This time Johan indeed improve on his fastest lap for the day: 21.37 seconds. He also agreed to enter in the correct class next on road race meeting. Colleen completed 3 laps of less than 30 seconds and was pleased with her progress. Susan repeated her 10 laps again and was the perfect example of what is important, is to stay on the track.

Heat 2 Round 1 -   Electric mini:

Jason Landsberg and his dad Jakkie were back at the track after their absence last month. Jason kicked off with a win and a best lap of 22.23 seconds. Jakkie ended in 2^nd place with .06 sec slower and Johan Barnard ended 3^rd. Jannie (4^th) and Kevin (5^th) did fairly well, both doing laps in the average of 27 seconds. Ronel averaged 33 sec. Colleen (7 laps) and Henry (4 lap) had car trouble.

Heat 2 Round 2 -   Electric mini:

Jason won again and even improved to a fastest lap of 20.87. Piet du Toit, back in racing after a period of about three years, arrived late and was only now joining the race. He still managed to end 2^nd, although he claimed that he never touched his car since then?? Well done! Jakkie ended 3^rd. The rest did about the same as before. Kevin now also had car trouble and joined Colleen and Henry.

Heat 2 Round 3 -   Electric mini :

First 3 places remained the same. Jannie Holzhausen again ended in 4^th place and with a slight improvement on his best lap. Kevin now came in under 24 seconds, ending in 5^th place. Ronel improved from her earlier 33 sec average to 26.91 sec. Henry did not start.

Leg I of Final Electric Mini :

Jason won this leg yet again, with Piet behind him. Kevin moved into 3^rd place while Jakkie retired from the race with a broken front upright after only 2 laps. Kevin almost broke the 23 seconds barrier. Henry never started. The rest were somewhere in between.

Leg 2 of Final Electric Mini :

Jason continued on his winning path, doing even faster laps. Best lap- 20.69 sec. To my best knowledge, this is very fast for a Mini! Congrats! Piet also racing his fastest lap for the day – 21.87 sec. Welcome back, Piet! Kevin again in 3^rd position. Jannie and Jakkie equaled Kevin’s 13 laps

Overall Mini Results:

1. Jason Landsberg
2. Piet du Toit
3. Kevin Bann

 

Heat 3 Round 1 – 540 Touring:

Jannie Holzhausen boasts the fastest lap in this round, but after being out of the race for 2 minutes, Johnny Claes ended in 1^st place. Johnny’s wife Marika ended 3^rd with Anette 4^th and Tobie de Beer 5^th and Jakkie (with flat batteries) in 6^th place. Best lap: Johnny – 21.81 sec.

Heat 3 Round 2 – 540 Touring:

Jannie now took the 1^st place and Jakkie, back to his own self, ended 2^nd. Anette and Marika swapped positions and she now ended 3^rd with Marika 4^th. Johnny had serious car problems and he retired after 4 laps, which left Tobie to end in 5^th place. Best lap: Jakkie – 21.94 sec.

Heat 3 Round 3 – 540 Touring:

Jakkie won the race with a fastest lap of 21.69 sec. Johnny ended 2^nd with a best lap of 22.4 seconds. Anette ended 3^rd again. Jannie, after being out of the race for almost 3 minutes (half of the race) ended 4^th , although he still can be proud of his best lap of 21.82 seconds.

Leg 1 of Final – 540 Touring:

Johnny won the race with not the best lap time, but with the best average, which is what matters. Well done! Jakkie, this time with radio problems, came 2^nd with a best lap of 21.31 seconds and Jannie ended 3^rd with a fastest lap of 21.84 sec.

Leg 2 of Final – 540 Touring:

Jakkie, after fixing his malfunctioning radio, won the race with a best lap of 20.94 seconds. Well done!! Johnny ended 2^nd and Jannie 3^rd. Anette (that’s me) totally lost control of her car when she stared in wonderment when Jannie’s blue bakkie passed her by with lightning speed. Haha. Jannie certainly was very fast, but for some reason his car spun out numerous times throughout the day. Marika ended 4^th, Anette 5^th and Tobie 6^th.

Overall Results : 540 Touring:

1. Johnny Claes
2. Jakkie Landsberg
3. Jannie Holtzhausen

 

Heat 4 Round 1 – Electric 21.5 Touring:

Nice group of 10 drivers, including first time visitor Frans Fourie. The race was won by Marius Burger, Harry Wilesmith in 2^nd and Gert Swart in 3^rd place. Fastest lap belonged to Harry: 18.69 seconds.

Heat 4 Round 2 – Electric 21.5 Touring:

A whole new scenario: Harry won the race, Kevin Bann ended 2^nd and Marius came 3^rd. Fastest lap: Marius – 18.58 seconds.

Heat 4 Round 3 – Electric 21.5 Touring:

Again a totally new winning order. Gert 1^st, Harry 2^nd and Marius 3^rd. Fastest lap; Harry – 18.48 sec.

Kevin Bann(4^th) and Kevin Gates(5^th) both raced their fastest laps so far and I am sure they both were satisfied with their performances against the top 3 guys …guys that are racing for years already!

Leg 1 of Final 21.5 Touring:

Gert won the race, Kevin Bann (still improving on his own best lap time) behind him and Marius Burger in 3^rd. The fastest lap belonged to Harry ( 18.43 sec) who ended 6^th.

Leg 2 of Final 21.5 Touring:

This leg was won by Harry, with Kevin Bann again in 2^nd and Marius Burger in 3^rd. Best lap in this round : Harry – 18.34 sec. Visitor Frans Fourie had his best race of the day. He ended 4^th and improved on his own best lap time – 20.03 sec. Please do come and visit again?

Overall Results :

1. Kevin Bann (he was utterly surprised)
   
2. Marius Burger
3. Harry Wilesmith

 

Heat 5 Round 1 – 17.5 Touring:

7 of them competitors from the 21.5 class plus André Steenekamp and Jason Landsberg.

Harry, Marius, Gert, in that order. Marius with the fastest lap of 17.06 seconds.

Heat 5 Round 2 – 17.5 Touring:

Harry 1^st, Gert 2^nd and Jason in 3^rd. Fastest lap in this round: Harry – 17.00 seconds.

Heat 5 Round 3 – 17.5 Touring:

Jason won this race. Harry ended 2^nd and Ronel Bann 3^rd. Wow! Well done, Girl! Her husband Kevin retired after 13 laps (can’t remember what caused him to leave..) Fastest lap in this round: Harry – 17.07 sec.

Leg 1 of Final 17.5 Touring:

Ahhh Harry…! A brilliant race.. winning it with a best lap of 16.71 seconds! Great job! Jason also raced with all his heart and ended 2^nd with a fastest lap of 17.08 seconds. Marius ended 3^rd – his 15^th lap being 17.02 seconds.

Leg 2 of Final 17.5 Touring:

Harry in the lead once more. Jason 2^nd, now also broken the 17 sec barrier. His best lap was 16.77 sec. Gert 3^rd with a best lap of 16.96 seconds. You guys rock!

Overall Reslults :

1. Harry Wilesmith
2. Jason Landsberg
3. Gert Swart

A really pleasant day outdoors with good weather to put the cherry on the cake.

Hope to see you all back next month! Keep well until then.

A beautiful day for outdoor activities like RC racing.  43 entries, divided into electric Mini’s, 540 touring, 17.5 touring and 2 heats of 21.5 touring clas