Vodacom Sports Prototype Championship
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After a dramatic third round of this popular sports car
series at AA Kyalami, the championship race heads to Port Elizabeth’s short, but fast Aldo Scribante track, a venue which, in the past has produced brilliant racing. Throughout this year, the VSP races have been one of the highlights of the Vodacom Power Tour. What makes the series such a spectacle is that all the cars are powered by Nissan’s screaming 3.5-litre V6 motor and all drivers are on controlled Goodyear racing slicks. With the championship battle fast approaching the halfway mark, four drivers have emerged as title contenders. Firstly we have Francois Gerber in the Autohaus Paint and Panel car. He has been a model of consistency and it is easy to see why he is a former champion. He is also not afraid of a good fight. Next there is the current champion DK Woodcraft’s Neil Lobb, who did his racing apprenticeship on two wheels. His wheel-to-wheel battles with Garth Waberski at Kyalami were a talking point for many weeks afterwards. Another driver who has shown a good combination of brawn and brains is Alan Eve (Powerseal Gaskets/Odes Autobody). The former single seater champion has finished every race in the top six and has shown a good turn of speed – a win can’t be far off. Waberski, backed by Dache Imports has a wealth of experience behind him, including two seasons in the British Formula Three series. A few spins in early season races cost him valuable points, but he bagged a hard fought win at Kyalami to move into contention for the title. Heading into the fourth round, the points race is incredibly close with Gerber leading on 104 points, but only one point clear of Lobb. Eve holds third and is ten points behind Lobb with Waberski only a point behind Eve. With 20 points available for a win, the order could be very different afterwards. Dave Beattie (the silver fox) holds fifth with 78 points. Sponsorship problems have meant that he will miss the PE round so there is a good chance he will lose his position to Alan Green (Boltt/DK Office Furniture) who currently lies sixth after surprising many with his pace. In his first season of VSP Racing, Pretoria student Ruan Pretorius holds a very creditable seventh and the Nusol/John Abbot Motorsport driver could spring a surprise. Donovan Roscoe (Protea Playing Cards) will be hell bent on winning. After starting the season with a faultless win, a mechanical failure and two big accidents have dropped him out of contention, but he is more than capable of winning and is determined to get back at the log leaders. “It’s win or nothing from now on,” he said. Then there are the likes of Colin Frost (Strocam) and Terry Voller (Boltt/DK Laminates). Both are capable of running in the top six and both had disastrous outings at Kyalami. The former’s car suffered big damage in a four-car pile-up while Voller suffered a gearbox problem. Although all eyes will be on the battle at the front, the likes of Gary Green (Autozone), Trevor Frost (Strocam Mining), Richard Wood, Harry Roscoe (Protea Playing Cards), Ben Havenga (Panelrite) and Franz Pretorius (Nusol) usually produce a good spectacle further down the field as they fight hard for a top ten finish. All in all, it would be safe to say that the two heats of racing will be closely fought. |