Advantage Gerber
(VSP Preview - Kyalami 1st May)
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Heading into
round three of South Africa’s national sports car championship, the pressure is on Randburg dentist Francois Gerber. So far this season the Autohaus backed former champion has been a model of consistency. Quite a remarkable achievement when one considers that all drivers are strapped into identical chassis powered by Nissan’s much loved (and raced) 3.5 litre V6 motor. Even the fat Goodyear gumballs adorning each corner are regulated. This ensures equal equipment and puts the emphasis firmly on driver ability and the technical skills of his crew who set the car up. Another driver who has shown good form is Alan Eve in the Powerseal Gaskets car. Eve put in a strong performance in Cape Town and is only three points behind the leader. Neil Lobb’s prayer’s were answered at Killarney as the DK Woodcraft driver took two much needed wins following a disastrous season opener at AA Kyalami in February. The faultless double lifted him to third place, only three points behind Eve. The top trio have broken away from the rest and fourth placed ‘silver fox’ Dave Beattie is a further 11 points adrift, but tied on 55 points with Garth Waberski, who has spun the Dache Imports car more times than he cares to remember. Colin Frost (Strocam) has kept it on the island and steady performances have resulted in sixth place in the points log. Next up are Alan Green (DK Office Furniture) who has surprised many with his pace this year and young Ruan Pretorius who brought the Nusol/John Abbot Motorsport car home to an encouraging sixth place at Killarney despite overheating brakes. Terry Voller (DK Laminates) lies ninth and will be hoping for a good result. However, the man who is desperate for a change of fortune is Donovan Roscoe. He has proved blindingly fast in the Protea Playing Cards entry, but for some reason Lady Luck loathes him. He won the opening race of the year then retired from the lead of race two. In Cape Town he looked set to give Lobb a run for his money, but then a costly error saw him smote the wall heavily and as a result he missed the second heat. As a result he rounds off the top ten and has a lot of work to do. Sports car stalwart Richard Wood is next and will have to keep an eye on Gary Green in the striking Autozone version who is only four points behind. An interesting addition to the entry is that of Monte Carlo based businessman Jonathan Finch who will be out in the car previously raced by Marco da Cunha and in colours of S21. So far this year the Vodacom Sports Prototype series has been one of the highlights of the Vodacom Power Tour and there is nothing to suggest that today’s races will be any different. |