RUAN
AND DARRYN SHARE HOLLARD SHELBY CAN-AM WINS
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Action reached fever pitch at round two of the Hollard Shelby Can Am Championship on Saturday 24 March at the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit in Midrand. Ruan Pretorius (Castrol EDGE) made a re-appearance in the series to take the first heat victory while Darryn Lobb (DK Woodcraft) won the second heat in spite of a broken thumb. Neil Lobb (DK Woodcraft) and Donavan Roscoe (Stanley Tools) appeared to be the early favorites when they lined-up on the front row of the grid for heat 1. The pair got off to a good start but lost their advantage when the safety car came out because of Greg Bailey spinning off. As the field bunched up behind the safety car Ruan Pretorius caught everyone unawares on the re-start, shooting into the lead and eventually clinching the win. He was followed home by Donavan Roscoe, while the Lobb family exited the race prematurely. Father Neil had a momentary loss of control heading into the daunting Kyalami mine shaft. His son Darryn was forced to take evasive action and ended up colliding with the wall. It later emerged that Darryn had broken his thumb in the incident. All this drama allowed Rui Campos (Boltt) to take a spectacular third place having started 15th on the grid. Colin Frost had an impressive showing bringing his Strocam Shelby home in fourth place. Alan Eve (Boss) and Jean-Paul Bredenhann (Chemspec) also had an impressive run carving their way through the field to finish in fifth and sixth place respectively having started at the back of the grid. Sean Greve (Vulcania Reinforcing) headed Karl Zachau (Driveline / Salt) to seventh place while Chris Hart (Hi-Q Plettenberg Bay) was eight ahead of Sam Hammond, Harry Roscoe (Protea Playing Cards) and Trevor Frost (Strocam Mining). Craig Shorter (Hollard), Brian Algar (Hemisphere Risk Solutions), newcomers Rob Wall (Avant-Garde) and Paul Kyriacou, together with Richard Wood (Almar Packaging) rounded out the field. Heat two provided further excitement as the Hollard Shelby Can Am field joined forces with the Altech Porsche Challenge field. Combined the two categories made-up a 48-car grid in what was an innovative and spectacular show. First heat winner Ruan Pretorius was unable to compete due to prior personal commitments. Darryn Lobb however decided to participate in heat two in spite of a broken thumb. His decision paid off as he took a well-earned victory in class ahead of father Neil Lobb and championship contender Donavan Roscoe. There was very close racing between the two classes throughout the field, although the three turbo Porsches of Vernon Bricknel, Andre Bezuidenhout and Toby Venter found their way to the front of the pack, and led for most of the race. Behind them, the Shelbys of Darren Lobb, Neil Lobb, Donavan Roscoe, Jean-Paul Bredenhann and Rui Campos fought a tense battle for the top spots in their class. On the last lap, the Porsches of Bezuidenhout and Venter spun, allowing these top Shelbys to slip through and claim second to sixth places overall, and first to fifth places in class. Donavan Roscoe pulled out a ripper of a lap on lap 9, with a best time only 0.364 of a second slower than the best lap time of the winning turbo Porsche of Vernon Bricknell’s. Colin Frost continued with his competitive streak to finish sixth and into the lead in the Masters Championship. In class, Sean Greve lead home Alan Eve, Brain Algar, Craig Shorter and Harry Roscoe while Richard Wood, Rob Wall, Trevor Frost, Paul Kyriacou and Greg Bailey completed the field. In spite of not getting points in the first heat, the results of the day see Neil Lobb clinging to the lead in the Hollard Shelby Can Am Championship by 2 points from Rui Campos, followed closely by Donavan Roscoe. The next round of the Hollard Shelby Can-Am Championship will take place on Saturday 19 May in East London. HOLLARD SHELBY CAN-AM CHAMPIONSHIP POINTS 1 Neil Lobb DK Woodcraft 58 2 Rui Campos Boltt 56 3 Donavan Roscoe Stanley Tools 52 4 Alan Eve Boss 47 5 JP Bredenhann Chem-Spec 46 6 Darryn Lobb DK Woodcraft 44
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