A proper winter morning in Gauteng… damn cold. But when the wind started blowing later on, it was unpleasant…. like in UNPLEASANT!  To have had 43 entries, regardless of the miserable weather, now THAT was hart warming!

              

The recent increase in new interest shown in the RC hobby apparently wasn’t our imagination and a total of 9 novices entered into the Beginner Class. I am very sure that we have never had such a big group of learner drivers. The other classes were also well represented. Most classes had 9 entries.

Best Presented RC body award went to Louis Nortje:

Congratulations!

The Race:

Heat 1 Round 1 – Electric Mini:

Jason Landsbergs took an early lead and stayed there for the rest of the day! He was actually meddling with his dad’s usual position, but let me not interfere in their family affairs..haha.  If I remember correctly, Jakkie said he was still working on his car when the race started. Jason drove 6 laps of less than 23 seconds, of which the quickest one was 22.43s.

Paul Langenhoven also had a flawless race and he ended in 2^nd place.

Ewald van der Neut had a hiccup of some sorts that resulted in a 28 sec lap and he ended in 3^rd.

Justin and Quintin Robertson didn’t do too badly at all.

Fancois Bam encountered serious trouble and had to quit after only 3 laps.

Heat 1 Round 2 – Electric Mini:

Jason, still in 1^st place, improved on his best lap time, now doing a 21.72 sec.

Francois Bam took the 2^nd place away from Paul, whom claims that he did not hear the announcements, due to a speaker that was malfunctioning.

Looking at his lap times, in comparison with what I know he is capable of, Jakkie was still having trouble with his Mini. He still managed to end in 3^rd place.

Paul, encouraged by his frustration – or anger - of having a late start, improved on his lap time with .7 of a second.

Quintin and Justin had car trouble and Ewald did not start.

Final Electric Mini – Leg 1:

We saw Jason in 1^st, Paul in 2^nd and Justin in 3^rd. 

Paul improved some more and so did Justin.

Jakkie was back in the picture, after a late start.

Quintin seemed to have sorted his car’s problems and completed 15 laps.

Final Electric Mini – Leg 2:

At this stage the wind was affecting the driving in a bad way and the drivers could hardly stay on the track, let alone improving on their lap time.

Jason nevertheless still in the lead, Paul in 2^nd, Ewald 3^rd . They all completed 16 laps.

Jakkie was back in the race with 15 laps behind his name and the same for Quintin.

Justin was still battling with his car.

Overall:

1. Jason Landsberg
2. Paul Langenhoven
3. Francois Bam

 

Heat 2 – Beginners:

These nine drivers all have very little experience in the RC field, but some drivers just have a congenital feeling for wheels and these drivers usually outshine their rivals without much effort.

Four of the nine competitors are ladies…just saying…  haha

Louis Nortje was the undisputable top racer for the day in this class.

He started the race with laps of around 29 seconds and ended with a best lap of 23 seconds. His average came down to 26s. Well done!

Victor Fourie and Tyronne Visser were his closest opponents. They took turns to earn the 2^nd position. In the end it was Victor that took the 2^nd place overall with Tyronne in 3^rd.

Esmarie Geyser, an adult woman, competed in her 1^st RC race ever. She succeeded in doing a couple of laps in less than 30 seconds, which to me is a sign that she will soon reach the goal of ‘proper racing’ lap times of 25 seconds.

Chae-mari Smit has driven in her 3^rd competition and she has already shown huge improvement.

Riando Beukes has taken part in his 2^nd race ever and he will undoubtedly move out of the beginner class before the end of the year. With a well set up car, he may even do so within one or two months.

Theresa Poalses is already driving in competitions since last year, on and off, but she will be the first one to admit that she only competes for fun and does not have any higher aspirations.

Lauren Winiecki is driving since the beginning of this year and is coming on just fine. She has broken through the 30 seconds barrier multiple times already and is now working on the ever evading 25 seconds hurdle.

Bhernard Montgomery is a true novice and it also seems that he and his car are not yet in sync… Hope things will improve for him soon, because he is quite keen to master this RC thing…

Overall:

1. Louis Nortje
2. Victor Fourie
3. Tyronne Visser

 

540 Super stock:

Since my 1^st race report was written for this website, the 540 class was called 540 stock touring. This month however, it was changed to 540 super stock. The change was discussed with the relevant drivers during the previous couple of months, at race meetings as well as on the club’s Facebook page.

Artur Winiecki from Yeah Racing decided to boost this class, but he also aims to eliminate those drivers - or at least try and stop them - who tamper with their motors that resulted in an unfair advantage against the REAL stock motor drivers.

Artur also committed himself to donate a 540 super stock motor each month to the winner of the 540 race. (June and July it was Artur who won; so the person in 2^nd place received the motors) Thank you; I am sure it is highly appreciated.

Anette(that’s me)decided to not take part in the next 6 month series, due to too many admin responsibilities during race days. We expect the electric on road to grow even more as the summer approach and things are just getting too hectic around the track.

BUT: Henry took up where I have left off and he will from now on race in this class.

Heat 3 Round 1 – 540 Super stock:

A nice full group of 10 drivers in this class.

Jakkie  Landsberg as well as Artur Winiecki DNS.

 Henry won this round with Anzea in 2^nd place and André de Beer in 3^rd.

I am not used to Piet du Toit in this class, but it is always nice to see a class develop.

Jason was driving super fast in the 10 laps that he completed, but it is obvious that the motor let him down. Best lap – 18.25s. Wow!!!!!!

Kevin Gates retired after 9 laps

Michael Glaus and Francois Keyser each got 2 laps before quitting.

Heat 3 Round 2 – 540 Super stock:

Two of our top performance in this class, Jakkie and Jason Landsberg did not start.

Kevin Gates made full use of this opportunity and moved into the 1^st position.18 laps

Artur ended 2^nd  with 16 laps and Henry was forced down to 3^rd.

Henry, Anzea and André both completed 15 laps.

Piet achieved 14 laps, after having a few hiccups along the way.

Michael had major car trouble and so did Francois.

Final  – 540 Super stock Leg 1:   (9 minute race)

Jakkie lost a speed control and was not competing in the Final.

Neither did Michael and Jason race in the Final legs.

Kevin won the race yet again, with Anzea in 2^nd and Artur in 3^rd place.

Henry experienced a little trouble and Piet was able to beat him to the finishing line.

Francois had better luck this time and managed to complete 15 laps.

Final  – 540 Super stock Leg :

Artur got his car problems sorted and boasted a victory with 26 laps behind his name.

Piet surprised everyone by ending in 2^nd place.

Anzea was doing really well! She boasts 12 laps of less than 23 seconds. Best lap – 21.35s

Henry lost a cv joint and had to quit a minute too early.

Francois equaled his previous 15 laps.

Overall:

1. Artur Winiecki
2. Anzea Pretorius
3. Kevin Gates

 

Heat 4 Round 1 – 21. Stock Touring:

All 9 drivers are of almost the same caliber. Let me take the drivers one by one:

Rolan Ferreira: Rolan got two 1^st places, one 2^nd place and in one race he obviously was hampered by a breakage on his car, because he retired after 8 laps. His best lap for the day – 19.58 sec.

Paul Langenhoven: Paul achieved one victory, two 2^nd places and one 4^th place. His quickest lap today – 19.75 sec.

Ewald van der Neut : Ewald got two 3^rd places, one 5^th place, but in the last leg of the final he was held back by very inconsistent  lap times. It varied from 36.69 to 19.10s Very confusing..!

Piet du Toit : Apart from the second qualifier round that he did not race, all his other races were of a high standard. His fastest lap for the day – 19.67s.

Henry Ogden: Henry’s qualifier rounds in the morning went better than the final legs in the afternoon. I heard him complaining about the strong wind that was blowing then. Best lap – 20.54s.

Kevin Bann returned to RC after an absence of 18 months. Hey, good to have you back!

Kevin went from the 6^th place to 4^th . And then from another 4^th place to a win in the last leg. Well done! Best lap – 19.96s.

Andre de Beer had a satisfying racing day. Or at least; that is the idea that I get. Looking at his results, I cannot detect any major problems. He completed all his races and his lap times are all better than average. His quickest lap – 20.6s. Happy for you! (At the beginning of this year he (Andre) said that he wants to compete for fun only; he doesn’t want to get serious and all worked up)

Justin Robertson:  is an almost stranger to us, but as they say; a stranger is just a friend you do not know!. So, you are more than welcome with us, Justin.

In the first round Justin picked up some trouble, but from then on it was plain sailing. He finished all his races with 17 laps. Best lap – 19.79s. Good job! See you again next month!?

Kevin Gates: Kevin is a very skilled driver and we know him very well for many years now. He complained that someone collided with his car, while that person was going the wrong way on the track. We do apologize on behalf of that person, Kevin. After that disastrous start to the day, things picked up for him and he found himself in 2^nd place once and in 3^rd place in the last race of the day. He even achieved a 3^rd place overall! Kevin’s fastest lap – 20.37s.

See what I was talking about? Every driver boasts laps of either 19 or 20 seconds!

Overall:

1. Paul Langenhoven
2. Kevin Bann
3. Kevin Gates

 

Heat 5 – TTO1 stock:

Rolan Ferreira dominated this class..as usual. He won all 4 races. His best lap of the day – 20.63s

Francois Bam ended 2^nd three times, but the forth race he DNS.

Bianka de Beer used to race RC when she was much younger and is now trying to restore her driving skills as a university student. It is going well and we are happy to have her with us a club member this year. Her laps are all in the region of 25 seconds, but she had quite a couple of 23 and 24 second on het tally. Her best lap for the day in this class – 23.20s.

Nathan Steyn had himself a good racing day. As the day progressed, his driving improved and his lap time improved considerably. Good for you!

 

Heat 6  -  17.5 Touring:

Jason Landsberg was the uncontested champion of this class. He won all the races. His best lap – 16.45sec.

Great job!

Kevin Gates drove very consistently. He secured himself four uninterrupted 2^nd places. Impressive! Kevin’s quickest lap today – 17.34s.

Quintin Robertson: Quintin ended 3^rd three times in a row, but DNS in the last leg of the final. Fastest lap – 17.27sec. Well done!

André Steenekamp started the day with a 4^th place, followed by a DNS, another 4^th place (after his car broke down) and ended the day with a 3^rd place. His best lap for the day – 19.17 sec.

Jakkie Landsberg did not have a good racing day…period!! Sorry…..hope you and your cars will have better luck next month, Jakkie! 

Hoping to see you all...and more...back next month!