Pre-Race Cape Town
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The
2002 season looks like shaping up as a titanic battle. The reason for this
is that the class has been thrown wide open by the introduction of the new
Nissan motors. The reining champion, George Ferriera in his beautiful must
start as favorite. However
there are a number of drivers who were showing good form in early testing,
and all have a burning desire to be the champion of the new formula. These
range from the ever wily, Bernard Tilanus ex SA Champion, now being
sponsored by Platinum Asset Management and as fast and cunning as ever, to
the young gun, fresh out of Jim Russel Racing school, Melvill Priest,
racing in the Macromed colors. Melvill
is only in his second year of racing and there are a lot of drivers who
want to hand this young upstart a lesson, the are Donovan Roscoe, Harry
Roscoe of off road fame’s’ son. He is more than fired up to wreck
revenge over his somewhat poor showings last year. He has returned leaner
and fitter than ever and also as a Jim Russell graduate he wants to thrash
Melvill, not least to impress his new sponsor. Also
hot in the running are the two “furniture kings” They are going to be
having a ding dong battle in order to decide who is the best
driver/manufacturer in the country. The one is the owner of DK Woodcraft,
Neil Lobb, and the other is Alan Eve managing director of Eve & Sons.
Ex VSP champion and dentist Dr Francios Gerber is going to roll out his
challenge to get to the pole position, and don’t become his patient if
you beat him, he knows how to inflict pain in more ways than
professionally! One
must never forget that should all else fail, in terms of action
attraction, there is a battle going on between the “green numbers” the
racers over 50. Here the action is no less hectic and certainly fought
with the same skill and aggression. They do however have the ability to
out fox a lot of the “younger guns,” who tend to overdo it in the heat
of the battle and end up in the weeds. Nevertheless, Daan Nortjie sporting
another new sponsor Caltex, will be the man to beat. His consistent
finishing stood him in good stead last year, but this year it seems that
he is going to be against the wall. There
are many “dark horses” such as Marco da Chuna, well known in many
categories of racing, new boy Allan Green, fresh from campaigning in the
Gold Cup series. |