Pretoria student Ruan Pretorius (Castrol EDGE) cemented his Shelby Can-Am championship advantage with a strong result at this weekend’s Zwartkops race meeting. A third in heat one and a win in heat two see him further extend his lead over closest rivals Darryn Lobb (DK Woodcraft) and father Neil Lobb (Caltex Havoline).

The Lobbs dominated heat 1 with Darryn taking a narrow win ahead of his father and Pretorius claiming third place. Rising Shelby Can-Am star Jean-Paul Bredenhann (Chem Spec) got his weekend off to a good start when he took fourth place ahead of series stalwart Rui Campos (Boltt). 

Sixth place went to Donovan Roscoe in the Stanley Tools Can-Am with Peter Bailey (Bailey Edwards) and Colin Frost (Strocam) having a consistent outing to finish seventh and eighth respectively.  

A number of series newcomers made their Shelby Can-Am debut at Zwartkops. Sam Hammond (Samlin Constructions) had a close tussle mid-field with Franz Pretorius (Castrol EDGE) however an early exist for Hammond allowed Pretorius to take ninth place untroubled ahead of Alan Eve (Keliza Group).  

Also new to the series, Sean Greve (Vulcania Reinforcing) and Brain Algar (Hemisphere Risk Solutions) acquitted themselves well taking 11^th and 12^th places respectively. They were followed in hot pursuit by Richard Wood (Almar Packaging), with Harry Roscoe (Protea Playing Cards), Craig Shorter (Hollard Insurance) and Karl Zachau (Driveline Technologies) rounding out the field.   

Heat two saw Ruan Pretorius leading Neil Lobb at the front of the pack while Darryn Lobb was being challenged for third place by a hard charging Bredenhann. 

Pretorius got some breathing space when the elder Lobb lost ground via an off track excursion. Darryn was unable to take advantage off his father’s misfortune as mechanical gremlins saw him leave the circuit to retire in the gravel trap.  

This left Bredenhann to take a career best second place behind championship leader Pretorius with Campos claiming the final podium slot. Donovan Roscoe took fourth place ahead of Franz Pretorius and Peter Bailey.  

A recovering Neil Lobb was left to settle for seventh place in front of Alan Eve. Sam Hammond was the first rookie home in ninth place with fellow newcomer Craig Shorter in pursuit. Lady racer Claire Vale overcame earlier mechanical difficulties to finish ahead of Richard Wood.   

The next round of the Shelby Can-Am Championship takes place at the Aldo Scribante Race Circuit in Port Elizabeth on 23 September. With a recent boost in the number of Shelby Can-Am entries, PE should be in for a treat when the fastest national single series takes to the track next month.  

Position	Driver	Sponsor
1	Ruan Pretorius	Castrol
2	Jean-Paul Bredenhann	Chem Spec
3	Rui Campos	Boltt
4	Neil Lobb	Caltex Havoline
5	Donovan Roscoe	Stanley Tools
6	Peter Bailey	Bailey Edwards

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