Round 9 – Phakisa – 29
October
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By the end of this Saturday’s penultimate round of the
Vodacom Power Tour, South Africa’s national sports car championship should be decided. Former champion Neil Lobb is virtually assured of the title, but in motorsport, anything can happen and often does, especially in a series where everything from chassis to Goodyear slicks and Nissan engines are identical for everyone. Lobb, in the black Caltex Havoline entry has been remarkably consistent. With nine wins from 16 starts he heads to the Free State with a 60-point advantage and there are a total of 84 points on offer for the rest of the season. For him not to win, Donovan Roscoe (Stanley Tools) needs to win the remaining four heats and take pole position or a fastest lap and hope that Lobb has bad outings at Phakisa and Kyalami. Roscoe won the Sports Racing Association endurance race two weeks ago and is determined to take the fight to the final chequered flag. The battle for second place is much closer and just 19-points behind Roscoe is Pretoria student Ruan Pretorius (Biogen) who has not won a race so far this season, but it can’t be far away and that would be bad news for Roscoe. Is blood thicker than water? Adding spice to the scenario is the fact that Darryn Lobb (DK Woodcraft/S21) currently lies fourth, which could become second if everything goes his way. “My father might be leading the championship, but that doesn’t mean to say I’m not going for the win,” he explained when asked about ‘team orders’. The man with a sunglasses fetish, Rui Campos is another driver who could upset the plans. He gave the Boltt/Carrera team a win Cape Town earlier in the season and would love repeat the experience. Multiple 250 Superkart champion Veron Pappas won both races at the previous Phakisa round, but since then the Glen Grundy Bearing Man backed driver has had all sorts of problems ranging from gearbox gremlins to barrier bashing. “I will need a bit of luck, but I’ve got my eyes on second place in the championship standings,” he commented. Other drivers who could feature in the top six battle are Alan Eve (Direct Couriers) and the ever hard working Colin Frost (Strocam). The latter suffered a heavy crash in the first heat at Kyalami last month and made it onto the grid for race two after a superhuman effort. The fiery Karl Zachau (Driveline Technologies) is starting to find his way around a Shelby Can-Am, but a promising run at Kyalami was cut short when he tangled with Clive Kennerley. Dave Beattie, a former front-runner is likely to be in the line-up, but it all depends on sponsorship. He could also influence the top six battle. Then we have the likes of the elder statesmen of the series. Franz Pretorius, a driver who is capable of producing surprises and former off-road racer Harry Roscoe. Gary Green (Autozone) and Richard Wood (Almar Packaging) will also be there, and hoping that they are not beaten by determined lady racer Clare Vale (The Truck Man) who showed a good turn of speed in the recent endurance race. Peter Bailey (Fuchs) is busy working on an interesting development for the Association and might well be entered as a non-scoring driver. Phakisa, with its combination of fast sweeps and tight sections, always produces close racing and, for some reason, the Shelby Can-Am’s always sound superb as their wailing Nissan V6 engines reverberate around the bowl formed by the big oval. |