Summarize

But Class B man Slabbert takes the day

There was drama aplenty as Port Elizabeth’s EP Modified Saloons got down to brass tacks at the third round of the Aldo Scribante Racetrack’s third round EP Regional races, backed by a splendidly varied set of supporting races on Saturday. The fun started when Bryn High acquired the ex Nick Davidson Audi S5 and promptly put it on pole position, instigating a wild and ultimately controversial day’s racing between him and Aldo Scribante, the grandson of the man who built the track.

High put a third on Scribante’s similar Audi S5 to grab that pole, with the ever-present Deon Slabbert’s Class B Polo third ahead of Bryn’s dad Steve High’s Chevy Cruze. Rufus Neethling's BMW topped Class C, while Ryan Britton’s Class E Golf outpaced Class D Jeff pole man Jeff Guscott's Porsche 928, while Wickus Basson grabbed the Class F pole in his BMW.

High led away until he fell off on the second lap and was left to fight back from sixth to pass Slabbert for second with a couple of laps to run, while Scribante cruised home to win the first race. Class B men Steve High and Kevin Kelly (Mitsubishi) were next up from Class C winner Neethling, while Stephen Aukamp (BMW) took Class D, Daniel Bright (Golf) Class E and Theo Scholtz (Polo) Class F. Race 2 was a straightforward affair - Scribante beat Brynn High and Class B men Slabbert and Steve High; Neethling took Class C, Aukamp Class D, Bright Class E and Scholtz Class F.

Scribante then led race 3 away but High found a way through on lap 3, only for Scribante to help High off with a lap to go as Aldo headed for the flag. Scribante was however penalised to the position behind the stranded High in eighth place, to leave the win to class B hero Slabbert from Kelly and Steve High, with Class C racers Neethling and Ellis, Class D winner Aukamp and those Class A men High and Scribante were next up. There was a similar situation as Daniel Bright was promoted back to the Class E win after an altercation had dropped him back and Scholtz won Class F.

So Deon Slabbert won the day from Steve High and Class C men Rufus Neethling and Marais Ellis, leaving Aldo Scribante fifth from Bryn High. Stephan Aucamp won Class D, Daniel Bright beat Ryan Britton and Wickus Basson to Class E and Theo Scholtz took Class F. 

Port Elizaberh legend Arushen Moodley was back in action to thrill the home crowd en route to Unlimited Superbike honours Moodley put it on pole ahead of Yamaha men Paul Roelofse and Chris Webster on the quickest of the 600s. Moodley then made no mistakes as he raced to victory in all three races from Webster, Roelofse, Ivor Vermaak (Yamaha 600) and Melt Koekemoer (Kawasaki 600) in all three races.

The smaller motorcycle races saw Paul Jansen put his Kawasaki 650 on pole position ahead of Chad Bilsbury (Honda 400) and rider Historic Johan Anker’s Yamaha before Jansen rode to race 1 victory ahead of Anker, Bilsbury, Ian Meaker (Historic Ducati), Breakfast Run rider Gerrie Koen and Ashton Heidemann (KTM 300). Jansen beat Bilsbury, Koen, Historic winner Glen Elliott (Suzuki), Meaker and Heidemann to race 2 honours, but Bilsbury took the final from Koen, Elliot, Heidemann, Malcolm Burrows' Historic Suzuki and Richard Hawkins Suzuki 650 with that four raking the top six for the day in that order too.

Shaun Rudolph powered his wieldy Escort to the AMSC Classic Saloon pole position from Neil Van Eyk’s similar car, Deon Gouws’ Kadet and Anton Ehlers Escort. Rudolph then raced to all three heat wins from Gouws, Darryn Vice (Anglia), Rane Berry (Skyline) and T winner Ehlers while Andrew Greenland's Alfa and Ronald Scott Escort took classes U and V. Vice and Gouws swapped second and third from Berry and van Eyk in Race 2 with the same class winners, while Berry beat Gouws to fourth in the final, while van Eyk Robert Halgreen's Escort upset the Class U applecart too.

Garth De Villers put his Formula VW on Sports & GT pole position from Gordon Nicholson (Skyline GTR) and Patrick Hanly's Lotus 7, before de Villers took the opening race win from Nicholson and the Lotus 7s of Kean Barnard, Jeandre Marais, Hanly and Alwyn Kretzmann. Nicholson then beat Barnard Hanly to second race honours after de Villers, Marais and Kretzmann hit trouble, but de Villers and Barnard hit back to beat Nicholson, Marais and Hanly in the final to see Barnard emerge as the winner of the day from Nicholson, Hanly, de Villers and Marais.

If racing variety gets your attention, then the EP Fine Cars will always entertain with everything from bakkies to sports cars on the grid as Robin Venter took pole position from Tertius Wium (BMW) and Riaan Van Huyssteen, before Francois Wium
took his BMW to the opening race win from Duncan Lethbridge (Ford Ranger), Tertius Wium, and Robin Venter. Chris van der Walt then took race 2 from Tom Hugo’s Nissan 350Z, Francois Wium and Venter, who went on to win the final ahead of Hugo in a Francois and Tertius Wium sandwich.

There’s a fair wait until Aldo Scribante’s next race, but it will be well worth it as Port Elizabeth’s race season steps up a gear when the second round of the Mopar SA Endurance Series joins the regular EP Classes for the PE 400 meeting Saturday 25 May.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Aldo Scribante Racetrack

What:Eastern Province Championship Round 2 Report
Where:Aldo Scribante Racetrack, Port Elizabeth
When:Saturday 13 April 2019
Community:Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape.

For further information please contact sparkyb@vodamail.co.za

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