Who’ll be the next winner?
- 2 April 2003

Three races down, and there have been three different winners in this season’s VSP Sports Car Racing championship, which forms part of the popular Power Tour. 

After the single race at AA Kyalami in February was won by reigning champion, Bernard Tilanus (Micro Imaging),  the circus then moved to Cape Town’s Killarney circuit where the race format was changed to two races. George Ferreira (PAK 2000) won the first encounter with DK Woodcraft backed Neil Lobb scoring a popular maiden win later in the day. 

Lobb’s win moved him to the top of the points table with 54 points, but it’s close as Ferreira, a former champion, is only three-points adrift. Lying third is Tilanus with Randburg dentist, Francois Gerber five points behind. Richard Benningfield has been consistent and holds an encouraging sixth place.   

So far it has been a funny season, with a number of drivers much further down the championship order than they should be. Havoline backed Melvill Priest is capable of winning, but obviously broke off his relationship with Lady Luck over the Christmas season. Dave Beattie (Steiner Services) has been hampered by an obscure misfire in the previous races, but he’s confident that it has been cured.  They have everything to gain and not a lot to lose, which should add spice to both races.   

Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante circuit provides a unique challenge for drivers with its mixture of corners ranging from the ultra quick ‘take a deep breath’ Hangar Sweep and the eyeball pooping, hard on the brakes hairpin, which follows.  

The long start/finish straight really gets the 230 kW Nissan V6 engines screaming and allows drivers to plan their overtaking moves in the braking zone for the tight right-hander Luk/Repco bend. Out of LUK/Repco and the tricky right-left Continental Esses follow. The exit speed here is crucial as the climb up towards Hangar follows. Once the hairpin has been dealt with, cars plunge downhill through the tricky cambered Firehawk Sweep which takes drivers to the 180 degree Goodyear Corner where exit speed determines speed down the long straight. 

As the cars are all identical, even down to a fixed set of gear ratios, the VSP Sports Car Racing series guarantees close racing and plenty of action.