Vodacom Sports Prototypes even more exciting in
2001
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Vodacom Sports Prototype, or VSP, starts its third season
at Phakisa Freeway this weekend. Like last year it again enjoys national
status. However, a lot has changed for the 2001 season.
There is Sunday racing which allows for co-eventing and an attraction for family entertainment. The co-eventing partner at this weekend's meeting is the Cobra Club with their mighty machinery. It is fitting for VSP to co-host a race meeting with Cobra since both have the same origins! The original AC Cobra was a converted AC Bristol fitted with 427 cubic inches (7 litres) of Ford V8 power. This conversion was done by Carrol Shelby, who also won the Le Mans as an Aston Martin driver and then saw his Coupe win the world championships for sports cars in the sixties, beating the likes of Ferrari. All the current VSPs were designed and built by Carrol Shelby with only the body being completely redesigned by us. Of course our VSP cars are not powered by 7 litres of anything, but by a more conservative 3,3-litre V6 Dodge motor. However, this is set to change during the next few months with the acquisition of an all new 3,5-litre V6 Nissan motor. This 4-cam unit is more than 100kg lighter than the Dodge plant. Another innovation for VSP at Phakisa Freeway this weekend is the length of the race. It is a two-hour race requiring at least one pit stop for fuel and, in most instances, a driver change. We welcome two fast and famous South African sports car drivers in the form of Grant Orbell and Gary Formato. Other famous drivers (riders) include Dave Peterson, George Ferreira and Rob Mills of karting fame. VSP also welcomes some new competitors, namely Messrs Woller, Priest and Fitzpatric. This year's favourites must be Bernard Tilanus, Alan Eve and Donavan Roscoe. Neil Lobb, the Kennerleys, and the Frosts should not be far behind, however. The four 2-hour races we will have in the course of the year could really upset this prediction, though, as a bit of reliability will be as important as speed. The 082 team is pleased to host "Your Telephone Company" (YTC) from Bloemfontein and we will be going flat out to give Piet Fourie and his team something to cheer for. Once again Smartcall will sponsor the "Dash for Cash" competition and a lucky Cobra driver (as well as a VSP driver) will win R10 000. Finally a new motorsport magazine is being launched which is dedicated to motor racing. It includes F1 through to karting and will be on the bookshelves in March - get it for the latest news concerning motorsport. Regards Neville Jordan |