A very cold start to a very busy day at the track. But with 55 entries, there was no time to feel sorry for ourselves about the cold. We at race control realized that we had to cut down on the qualifier heats, in order to finish the race early enough in the afternoon to have time left for the 6-month prize giving. So instead of the normal 3 qualies , we had 2 qualifiers and the normal two final legs.

This month we had a Three Generation race: Oupa Henk Grootherder, Mommy Marika and grandson Johnrique Claes, all three raced on the same day. Nice!

A couple of guys that we haven’t seen at the track for a long time surprised us by entering for this month’s race meeting. Welcome back Derek Sardini, Shawn Morisset and Graig Joubert.   It was also very nice to see Daniël du Plessis ( a married man now) and his dad Danie back with us. At one stage they were some of our most faithful club members. Daniël’s wife, Rozanne came to support and watch. Then we also had Colin Maritz with us again. Colin was one of the first guys ever to come and race at Meyerton Raceway after it’s opening in December 2008. He however never joined as a club member. And this month, with his sudden re appearance, he sommer paid his membership fees! You are so welcome, Colin! But you will still be warned against reckless driving, as you were before..haha. And Henry says that you admitted to being more careful since you learnt about our newly implemented and very strict rules against bumping other drivers!

We even had Dries Louw and his wife Magda back, although this time only as spectators. Itching now, huh? Haha.                                       

Okay, let’s get to the race now:

Because the 21.5 class was big, we split them into 2 groups. This month we had three drivers only in the beginner class and 5 drivers in the 13.5 touring class. TTO1 also had 5 drivers. 17.5 class was biggish with 9 entries and the 540 Touring class had 8 participants. The Electric Mini class was the largest group: 11 drivers.

Electric beginners:

Here we had Colleen Vorster, Johnrique Cleas and Jonrique’s granddad Henk. Colleen won the first round while Henk was still getting the feel of it, competing in his first race ever. The both of them achieved 12 laps. Johnrique got 10 laps. Henk started with lap times of 30+ seconds in the first round and ended the day with a lap time of only 23.4 seconds! Well done. Nou is jou kop deur vir enige ander klas! Maar as jy wil, mag jy maar nog ‘n maand of twee daar bly.

 

TTO1 class:

Local drivers Anette(that’s me) Marika and Schalk had to face Derek Sardini and Shawn Morisset, two guys that are in this game for years and tears on end! But we didn’t do bad at all. They did beat us, but at least they didn’t drive circles around us. Thanks for being nice to us, guys! Haha. Shawn did not compete in the 1^st leg of the finals and that had a devastating effect on his overall position. He apparently broke a hub during the warm up laps. It left a gap open for both Anette and Marika to move up and get to the podium at the end of the day.

 

Electric Mini:

If this race was in summer and we didn’t have to push for daylight to have our prize giving before dusk, this group of 11 would have been split. The abilities of these drivers vary too much for one class .. e.g. : Average lap of no 1 is 22.9 sec an average lap of no 11 is 43 seconds. Best lap varies from 21 sec to 36 seconds. But we, I mean they survived!   Jason Landsberg, Paul Langenhoven and Daniël du Plessis mainly dominated all 4 races. But then Piet du Toit and Jakkie Landsberg didn’t do anything to make it easy for them! Ewald vd Neut and Danie du Plessi s Sr. was also ready to take the lead away from the top guys at the slightest mistake or bad luck on their part! Talking of bad luck: Colleen and Schalk Vorster had bad luck from the start, but Schalk managed to recover just in time for the last leg of the finals and had at least one good Mini race. Ronel Bann and Jannie Holzhausen both had average races. Best lap of the day in this class: Jason – 20.8 sec.

 

Electric 540 :

A nice class to compete in; not as slow as the previous classes, but still not so fast that it scares us lady drivers! Johnny Claes started by winning the first round, ending 2^nd in the second round, only to be last in the 1^st leg of the Final. And I don’t even have a clue what went wrong, because I was also on the driver stand. The downside of me trying to take part in races. Anyway, Johnny recovered and went back for a 3^rd place in the last leg. Jannie Holtzhause and Jakkie Landsberg did not start in the 1^st round, but from then on they had no trouble at all and were doing quite fine! Colin Maritz was showing off…doing laps of 2 and 3 seconds better than any of us. Way to go, Colin! Charmaine and Johan vd Merwe both performed average, although I do see a lap of less than 20 seconds for Charmaine in the 1^st leg of the Final, which is pretty good for this class. Paul Langenhoven was doing his thing and apart from a few minor setbacks in the 1^st round, he had a good day, ending his day with a 1^st place in the last race of the day. And all this paid off with him taking 1^st place on the podium. Well done! Anette and Marika is coming along, watch this space next month!

 

21.5 Touring:

Heat 8 of 21.5 electric touring:

Ewald vd Neut, despite serious health constraints, won the first round. Mooi man! Charmaine was the only driver in this round that managed a best lap of less than 20 seconds. Johan Barnard turned the pages and took the lead in the second round. Ewald had to move one position down and Charmaine was forced into 3^rd. Johan did not improve on Charmaine’s fastest lap, but he did manage a 20.00 lap. Close enough, don’t you think? We will see them again in the final, after we discussed the other 21.5 heat.

Heat 9 of 21.5 electric touring:

In this group, Harry Wilesmith, Kevin Bann and Jakkie Landsberg were racing each other to be the TQ man! Ronel probably raced for pure pleasure and maybe to get a lap of less than 20 seconds. Colin Maritz and Kevin gates were having more than a fair share of car trouble.

Finals of 21.5:

A Final : Harry got the TQ position, with Kevin Bann in 2^nd and Ewald in 3^rd. That was their starting positions for the Final legs.

The 1^st leg was won again by Harry with Jakkie behind him and Charmaine Wright in 3^rd. In the 2^nd leg of the Final Kevin Bann moved into the 2^nd place behind Harry and Jakkie Landsberg had to settle for 3^rd. Of these top drivers it is only Harry that achieved laps of less than 19 seconds. Charmaine, Jakkie, Kevin, Ewald, Johan and Danie du Plessis (all in A final) all were doing their laps in about 19-20 seconds.

Their overall results were: Harry 1^st, Jakkie 2^nd and Kevin Bann 3^rd. Harry’ best lap – 18.23 sec

B Final: Kevin Gates won the 1^st leg of the B Final, Ronel Bann was 2^nd and Colin Maritz 3^rd. Although Colin had the fastest laps, in actual fact; 7 laps of 18 sec , his average lap time wasn’t good enough for a win, after he suffered quite a few oopsies along the way. In the second leg Colin got his average lap times closer together and he won the race. Kevin Gates ended 2^nd and Tiny 3^rd.

The overall results for this class were: Kevin gates 1^st, Colin Maritz 2^nd and Ronel Bann 3^rd. Colin’s best lap – 18.53 sec.

17.5 Electric touring: Round 1:

Jason Landsberg TQ’ed, but Harry won the 1^st Final leg. At his heels were Jason, André and Daniël, in that order, all with laps of 16.something. Our visitors Shawn Morisset and Derek Sardini did not start and Marius had major car trouble. Kevin and his wife Ronel, as well as Colin Maritz, completed this 1^st leg without problems.

The second leg was won by Marius Burger, who has now shed his car trouble. Almost all of his laps were 16 seconds. That is really skilled driving! Perhaps Harry was caught unguarded when Jason as well as Daniël beat him to the wining line in this round. Harry was followed by Kevin and Ronel respectively. Andre didn’t complete the race and neither did Derek. Colin and Shawn did not start.

Final leg 1:

Harry took back the 1^st place. Jason ended 2nd and Daniël 3^rd.

Final leg 2:

We saw Harry in the lead again with Daniël now 2^nd and Jason in 3^rd. The fastest lap for the day in this class belongs to Harry – 16.02. Ronel can be more than satisfied with her personal best (I am sure) of 17.99 seconds. Well done, Girl!

OVERALL  17.5   : 

 

13.5 electric Touring:

Harry dominated this class as well. He won both the qualifier heats and the Final legs! Wow!

These guys, namely Harry, Franco Gresele, Marius Burger, Craig Joubert and Kevin Bann with their fast cars always are a pleasure to watch. Franco boasts the fastest lap in this class – 16.02 sec. Franco and Marius took turns to en in 2^nd position. Craig kept a steady pace, except for the last leg, when he was forced to quit after only 3 laps. He can still be proud of his best lap of 16.05. And so can Marius be with his fastest lap of 16.02. Kevin didn’t reach a 16 sec lap, but with every round he was doing better and better, ending his last race with a best lap of 17.29. Almost there, Kevin. But I know that you are happy as long as you are still improving on your own, personal best performance.

Franco left before the picure was taken... Franco actually ended 2nd. 

 

Best presenter RC body of the Day: Ronel Bann. Congrats! 

 

Then it was time for Prize Giving. And of course the inevitable taking of podium pictures...!

...And greeting and telling each other what a nice day we all have had....