Do
Or Die Racing For Final Round Of Vodacom Power Tour
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It will be a nail biting finish to
the 2002 Vodacom Power Tour season. No less than six of the seven
categories racing under the Vodacom Power Tour flag will have their
championships decided on Saturday the 23rd November race day at
AA Kyalami. The race day sponsored by Playstation
2 and GP Windscreens will see all seven national categories competing in
the season finale. In the WesBank SAMCAR V8 series the championship is
almost done and dusted with young Capetonian and championship leader Johan
Fourie in the Sasol Dual Fuel Supervan Racing Astra V8, only needing to
finish ninth in one of the two heats on the day to clinch the South
African Drivers Championship. But, as former Formula One commentator
Murray Walker used to say’ “Anything can happen in motor racing and it
probably will.” things aren’t settled yet and with second placed Ben
Morgenrood and third seeded Larry Wilford snapping at Fourie’s heels,
anything could happen. All the way down the field too, people
will be battling to settle their championship placing. Franco de Matteo
leads MD Transport, Sasol Dual Fuel Astra V8 driver Shaun Watson-Smith by
only two points for the fifth place in the championship. While a blanket
of fifteen points separates 8th, 9th and 10th
placed Mackie Adlem, Martin van Zummeren and Melvill Priest, the heat will
be on to see how those positions finally settle themselves. One of the highlights of the race will
be Sarel van der Merwe competing in the No.1 Sasol Dual Fuel Astra V8 in
his last ever race, as he is retiring this year to manage his Supervan
Racing Team next year. In the SA Production Car series things
are also at boiling point. While the respective championships in both
Class A and B have been settled with Castrol BMW works driver Shaun van
der Linde and Toyota Corolla RSi works driver clinching the respective
titles, these two are still going at it hammer and tongs for the overall
Production Car championship title. And, with van der Linde leading Wilken
by only nineteen points that old saying “anything could happen”
becomes all too familiar. The raging battle between Ian Long and Laurence
Boshoff for third place in the championship has now taken on a new
dimension, with LG Honda driver Martin Steyn having joined the fray. Only
four points separate the three Honda drivers and this battle will
certainly go down to the wire on the 23rd November. Further down the field, the Class D
championship will also be decided on Saturday. With a handy 12-point
advantage Sasol DualFuel Toyota Tazz Driver Philip Kekana is set to become
South Africa’s first black motor racing champion. On two wheels, things are equally as
exciting. The SA Superbike Championship looks set to be clinched by
Vodacom Nashua Yamaha rider Russell Wood. His 35 point lead could still be
beaten if he doesn’t finish the race, and feisty UUNET Ducati rider
Trevor Crookes would relish that opportunity. Fourth place in the
championship is also up for grabs, with Cell C Suzuki rider Arushen
Moodley only nine points off current fourth placed man Noel Haarhof on his
DeWalt Suzuki. In the VSP Sports Car series Barnard
Tilauns still leads the championship after doing so for most of the
season. But, Neil Lobb trails by 19 points after his points boost from the
brilliant win with Formula Ford driver Stephen Morris in the 100-minute
endurance race earlier in the month. These Le Mans Prototypes style cars
have provided some spectacular racing this year, and as the grand finale
to there season it sure to be a memorable showdown.
While the Formula Ford Championship is
somewhat wrapped up with Morne Jurgens now an enormous 55 points ahead of
second place man Brett Mayberry, there is still honour to be fought for
third, fourth and fifth place in the championship. That fight will take
place between Mayberry, Mark du Toit and Briton Stephen Morris. All three
are separated by a mere nine points and will certainly engage in a titanic
battle on the 23rd for those prestigious places. In the Engen VW Cup series there is a
strong possibility that Terry Moss Racing’s star driver Tschops Sipuka
could become South Africa’s first ever championship-winning black racing
driver. Not only is he in a race with title rival Silvio Scribante to win
the VW Cup championship, but there is also a battle between him and
Production Car driver Philip Kekana as to who will become SA’s first
black motorsport champion. As if all of this wasn’t exciting
enough, the seventh and final category to take part in the hugely exciting
racing on Saturday will be the Vodacom Isondo Sports 2000’s, South
Africa’s official development category. And exciting doesn’t even
begin to describe the point’s situation in this formula. Leading the
championship is Kearn Francis, brother of Ford Formula Ford works driver
Chad, who has 49 points. But second placed Morne Edas and third placed
Devan Moonsamy are on 46 and 45 points respectively. This means that the
first three places of this category will be decided on Satuday, and with
only four points separating the top three contenders the stage is set for
some serious fireworks on the day. The race action starts at 09h30 on
Saturday the 23rd November, and continues throughout the day;
with some serious off-track entertainment to ensure the day becomes one
designed for the whole family. Don’t forget that on both Thursday
afternoon and Friday before the race day there will practise and
qualifying, which provides race fans with the opportunity to see some
great action totally free of charge and get really up close and personal
with both the cars, bike and the riders and drivers. Should spectators not be able to attend the race meeting, but want to be kept updated or want to get results while sitting in the stands, they can call the Vodacom Power Tour/Wise Race and Rally Hotline on 08 22 33 4321. The line is updated throughout the day and is a great facility to keep fans updated on the race development throughout the weekend. By calling there is also the opportunity to enter the online competition in which you could win a spin around Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit with racing legend Sarel van der Merwe in his Sasol DualFuel Astra V8 WesBank car, on Monday the 25th November. |