On the limit
The second round of the 2009 Pro Tour Series saw the Goldwagen Challenge brigade
assemble en mass at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday 18 April with a full field of
fifty three entries. A number of new car and driver combinations made their first
appearance of the year after missing the first event in Cape Town.
Class A
Lee Thompson (Interfile Golf I) once again secured pole position ahead of George
Economides (Wealth Avenue Golf I). Wayne Masters (Jonnesway Golf 4) was next
up with Quentin Thompson (Thompson’s Volkswagen Golf I) alongside him. Quentin
would unfortunately not make the start after his engine blew in qualifying.
Race 1
Economides had a great start but it was Lee who led the field when they appeared
through turn three. Masters was up to second with Economides and Ray Wilford
(Fuchs Golf II) ahead of the rest of the field. Waldie Meintjes (Albatros Motors Polo)
and Eddie Rodrigues (SEW Eurodrive Polo) were involved in a scrap of their own
with the pair fighting it out for fifth position.
Lee set about increasing his lead over the chasing pack with Masters trying hard to
catch him. Meintjes secured the fifth place position at the half way mark when
Rodrigues experienced clutch failure forcing him to retire to the pits.
Lee went on to take a comfortable win ahead of Masters with Economides holding
Wilford at bay to take third.
Race 2
The second race got off to a cracking start with Masters and Lee running alongside
each other for most of the opening lap. Economides lay in wait behind the leading pair
and dived up the inside of Lee coming onto the main straight at the end of the first lap
to snatch second place and relegate Lee to third.
The battle for the lead on the first lap…
Picture: Sena
Meintjes chances went out the window when the gear linkage on his Polo broke on
the third lap ending his race on the infield. Lee recovered second place with a well
timed move through turn four on the fourth lap and set about catching Masters.
Lee took the lead with a brave move through turn one on the fifth lap. He went on to
take another comfortable win ahead of Masters with Economides only just holding a
hard charging Wilford at bay to take third.
Class P
Ryan Tholet (Prend Properties Polo) was still on a high after his first win of the
season in Cape Town a few weeks back and planted himself on pole position ahead of
defending champion Jakes Jacobs (Brooklyn Automotive Polo Classic). They were
followed by Clayton Le Roux (Martin Le Roux Motors Polo Classic) and Andre ten
Napel (SS Telecoms Polo Classic).
Race 1
Tholet fluffed the start with to much wheel spin. Peet Visagie (Time Mining Polo)
had a cracking start and was up to second place behind Jacobs at the end of the first
lap. They were followed by ten Napel and Wouter Roos (Performance Laboratories
Polo Classic) with Tholet languishing in fifth place.
Tholet was quick to pick them off however and was up to third place by the second
lap. With Jacobs charging off into the distance, the battle for second place was hotting
up with Visagie and Tholet engaged in a titanic battle.
Tholet had to wait until lap seven before he got his opportunity. Some late braking
into the turn two hairpin saw him snatch second place from Visagie. Jacobs went on
to take a comfortable win ahead of Tholet with Visagie having to be content with
third.
Race 2
Jacobs got off to a flying start with Tholet losing a few positions with excessive wheel
spin again. He fought back quickly and was soon up to second place by the end of the
first lap with Le Roux hot on his heels.
Jacobs on the way to Victory…
Picture: Sean Sheppard
Visagie was a man on a mission and slotted into third place on the second lap. Shaun
Dodd’s (Kopanong Hotel / Millennium Meat Polo) race came to an end on the sixth
lap when a broken wheel hub forced him into retirement. Tholet was trying hard to
catch Jacobs but time wasn’t in his favour.
Jacobs held on to take the win by a narrow 0.137 seconds ahead of Tholet with
Visagie holding on for another third.
Class B
Kieran Quarmby’s (Interfile Golf I) return to Goldwagen Challenge racing saw him
claim pole position ahead of Dean Lester (Lester Properties Golf 1). They were
followed by Peter Thompson (Thompson’s Motors Golf II) and Eben Rothman
(Freddie’s Auto Spares Golf I).
Race 1
Quarmby got off to a great start and slotted into the lead ahead of Rothman, Lester
and the rest of the chasing pack. Lester dropped down to seventh however after
running wide through turn five. Derek Minnie (Demac Auto Golf II) slotted into third
place with Quinton Needham (Ultravision / Thrashcorp Golf I) in tow.
Rothman charging hard in second place…
Picture: Sean Sheppard
Needham wanted more and soon slotted into third place on lap three. Minnie was to
retire to the pits on the sixth lap with broken wheel studs. Lester was on a comeback
and had worked his way up to fourth place by lap seven.
The race was far from over for the minor placings as Lester and then Thompson got
past Needham to demote him to fifth place on the penultimate lap. Quarmby took a
comfortable win ahead of Rothman with Lester recovering to a well deserved third.
Race 2
Quarmby got off to another great start and led the field through the opening corners.
Rothman slotted into second place behind him with Lester and Gosman hot on their
heels.
Gosman was inspired and took third place from Lester with a well timed move
through turn four on the third lap. Rothman was charging hard at the front, trying to
catch Quarmby. He made his move on lap five when he dived up the inside of
Quarmby through turn four to take the lead, only to lose it on the next corner.
Needham’s efforts came to nothing on the penultimate lap with a bent valve putting
paid to his chances. Quarmby held on to the win with a hard charging Rothman
having to settle for second place. The battle for third was just as close with Gosman
holding Lester at bay to take third.
Class C
The Class C brigade came to Zwartkops with a rejuvenated outlook for the 2009
season. With six cars on the grid and promises of more to come, the breeding ground
of Goldwagen Challenge racing is looking very bright.
Defending champion Elna Croeser (VW Techniques Golf 1) was unable to qualify
after she experienced problems with the shocks on her car. Deon van der Watt
(Infraset / Truss Golf I) took pole position ahead of young Giles Darroch (Golf I) in
his new “Silver Dream Racer”. Newcomers Elvene Coetzee (Acollade / Venditor /
MFC Golf I) and schoolboy Charl Smalberger (Golf I) would fill the second row with
a repaired Croeser and Dean Gregory (Creative Patterns Golf I) lining up behind
them.
Race 1
Van der Watt took the lead at the start with Croeser slotting into second place by the
end of the first lap. Gregory was working his way through the field as well and was up
to fourth place by lap three only to retire with engine problems a lap later.
The newcomers were holding their own with each of them setting personal best times
with each lap that they completed. More impressive was the fact that young
Smalberger had only learned to drive a gearshift saloon car the week before the race!
Absolutely nothing separated the top three competitors in the closing stages of the
race. Van der Watt was hard pressed but held on to take the win ahead of Croeser with
Darroch taking a well deserved third.
Race 2
Darroch’s bad luck returned to haunt him when a control arm broke on his car on the
warm-up lap. That didn’t worry van der Watt as he took the lead at the start with
Croeser slotting in behind him. Coetzee moved up to third with Smalberger right
behind her.
Tragedy struck for Coetzee when the clutch cable on her car snapped on the second
lap. The car was stuck in third gear but she soldiered on even though she was losing
time to the rest of the pack. A surprised Smalberger found himself in third place in his
first big track race meeting ever!
Croeser taking it to van der Watt…
Picture: Sean Sheppard
The battle at the front was fierce with van der Watt holding Croeser at bay through
every corner. The “Iron Maiden” wasn’t about to give up and made her move on the
eighth lap with a well timed move coming onto the main straight. She held van der
Watt at bay for the next three laps to take a well deserved win. Smalberger had a
dream debut to secure third position ahead of an unlucky Coetzee.
The next round will take place at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on 30 May.
Report by Greg Reilly: [email protected]
Website: www.vwchallenge.co.za