Killarney International Raceway – Full day’s racing keeps Cape fans thrilled

Killarney’s fourth round Wingfield motors Power Series kept Cape Town race fans on the edges of their seats throughout the day and into the night as excellent local racing followed by a home victory in the South African Endurance Championship Campos 600 delivered racing of the highest order throughout.

The Cape’s Bold Marine GTi Challenge delivered an unbelievable result, the V8 Masters and Makita Supercars entertained and the Mikes Place Clubmans delivered close racing; the Classics and Shatterfix Fine Cars added nostalgia and Formula Libre was quick as always, but the intriguing cat and mouse endurance battle into the night between a pair of Ligiers and two Ferraris made the long day worth every minute of the wait.

Local team Rico Barlow Racing’s Nick Adcock and Danish driver Michael Jensen Class S AidCall247 Ligier JS53-Honda overcame a race-long duel with a pair of Ferrari 458 GT3s to win the Campos 600 as the Ligier fought out a tactical battle to beat another local crew, father and son Marcel and Dayne Angel’s Ferrari 458 GT3 to second by a lap in the end. Gauteng team, Charl Arangies and Kishoor Pitamber’s similar Stradale Motorsport Ferrari 458 GT3 ended a further three laps adrift after each team had a chance in the lead through the gruelling four hour race.

Fritz Kleynhans and James Forbes’ orange Comenius Racing Class S Ligier JS53-Honda drove home fourth, 11 laps adrift and four laps clear of Craig Jarvis and Stephen Young’s Maui/Fantastic Racing Dallara-Renault. Sixth were tin-top winners Bradley Scorer and Theo van Vuuren, who delivered yet another giant-killing display en route to also winning Class B and Index of Performance in the Arnold Chatz Cars Racing Giulietta, just 21 laps off the winners’ prototype machine after four hours of racing. Sandro Biccari (Juno-Mazda) won the separate ISC 1 hour run over the first quarter of the main race.

The races of the day were however the two wild Bold Marine GTi Challenge affairs. There was drama at the start of race 1 before Johan Pretorius’ Polo chased down Chris Roberts Jetta to take the win with Jano van der Westhuizen coming from behind to steal third after that first turn fracas. But Roberts was handed a 30 second jump start penalty to allow Jano up to second. Eden Thompson took Class B from Gideon Serfontein and Divan Lazarus, while young Dario Busi kept out of trouble to take class C from Bryan Morgan, Alfie van Zyl and Christopher Swart after championship contenders Jacques Geldenhuys rolled out, Marco Busi dropped down the field; Brett Roach was excluded and Shane Williams and Giordano Lupini ran into technical issues.

The GTi races were supposed to start in separate classes, but an MSA edict saw the regular mass start delivered pandemonium when Colin Meder spun his Polo in turn 1 of race 2 to set off a chain reaction that saw another major pile-up in the mid pack, several cars badly damaged and the red flag flying again, all of which would likely have been avoided by a class-staggered start. With van der Westhuizen a victim of the first corner carnage and Pretorius stopping. Roberts romped off to win, only to be slapped with another jump start penalty to hand Colin Meder his maiden class A win from Francois van Tonder and Paulus Franken.

Eden Thompson took Class B from Mario Roux, Grant Cloete, Divan Lazarus, while Marco Busi bounced back to take Class C from Brett Roach, Dario Busi, Alfie van Zyl, Ian Kapp, and Gert du Plessis. Once the dust and pandemonium had settled, it was Class B winner Eden Thompson who took the day overall from Paulus Franken — the only Class A driver to finish both races without sanction, Class C winner Dario Busi, Class B lad Divan Lazarus and Chris Roberts fifth in spite of that minute’s wroth of penalties, with Class C driver Alfie van Zyl sixth!

The Mike’s Place Clubmans also delivered its fair share of thills with far fewer spills as Shane du Toit lead a VW Golf rout up front after Danie van Niekerk and his BMW took an early shower. Green held off the similar machines of Brennon Green and Michael le Sueur. Paul Munnik took Class B, Johan Pretorius’ Polo Class C and Damien Lopez’ Polo Classic Class D, Anton Jacobs (Sentra) Class E and Willie Gouws (Polo) Class F, while Cody Alberts took his mom’s BMW recently converted to a race car to Class X honours. Du Toit made it two in a row in race 2 from Green and le Sueur, while Munnik and Pretorius Jacobs took classes B, C and E, while Clifford Bacon (BMW) took Class D, Gilberto Nobrega (Ikon) Class F and John du Toit (Golf) won Class X.

Dawie Joubert Stormed to an emphatic opening Pirelli Sports and GT race win in his rapid Lotus Honda ahead of Andre Bezuidenhout’s Juno Honda. Colin Plit (Juno Honda) took Class B, while Durban visitor Sun Moodley (Porsche) took Class C, Gavin Gorman drove his Nardini VW to Class D honours and Cyril Ginsburg claimed Class E in his Porsche. Joubert did not race the second heat, leaving Bezuidenhout to win, while Plit took Class C again. Andre Brink drove his Porsche to the Class C win, another KZN visitor Mike MacLaghlan took Class D in his Backdraft Cobra-Lexus, and Steve McCarthy (Nissan 350Z) took Class E.

Fabio Tafani romped the first V8 Masters win from Stephen Young, with Marcel Angel third from Richard Schreuder, Brian Evans and Mark Ridgway, as Peet van der Walt took the Silver class from Tim Reddell. Neither Tafani nor Young however started the second race, leaving Angel to take the win — and the day from Schreuder, Moore, Evans and Ridgway, while van der Walt again beat Reddell to Silver honours. Ryan McCarthy took the first Makita Supercars race from Glen Phillips and Jarryd Evans, while Shane Smith took Silver and Nashrene Schloss Bronze honours, before McCarthy made it a double in race 2 ahead of Evans and Jaco Lambert as Smith and Schloss took the classes again.

Robin Forbes won the first of two entertaining Cape Classic Car races in his Corvette Stringray as he held off Class S winner Richard Quixley’s stunning Datsun 240Z, Franco Donadio’s indecent Escort RS, Sandro Biccari’s Jetta and Trevor Momberg’s Capri V6. Dave Alhadeff took Class C in his Alfa Romeo GTA, Piet Matthee took Class D in his Porsche 944 and Durban visitor Steve Truter (Escort) took Class X honours. Donadio bounced back to take race 2 from Quixley, Forbes, Momberg and Alhadefff, while Luane Hutchungs’ Golf claimed class D and Truter Class X.

Deon Conradie took the opening Shatterfix Fine Cars race in his Corolla Twin Cam from Elton Hurst (Skyline) and Arnold Lambert (Jetta), while Tony Lindeque won the invitational class in his Jetta. Hurst took race 2 from Lambert and Robert Toscano’s Mazda RX7, while Lindeque took a second invitational win.

Dee-Jay Booysen took Formula Libre honours in his Dico-Toyota ahead of Claudio Piazza Musso’s Formula Ford and Sean le Riche in a Formula Renault. Byron Mitchel came out best of the Formula Vees ahead of Thomas van der Merwe and Cyril Somerville.

The next round of the Wingfield Motors Killarney Power Series sees a return to a full car and bike raceday after a short break on Saturday 9 June, the same day that the Mopar SA Endurance Series has its third round up at Zwartkops in Pretoria.