Summarize

South African champion and 2019 Mopar SA Endurance champion Nick Adcock, Fritz Kleynhans and James Forbes' Point Blank Racing Ligier-Honda dodged the problems that beset many of their rivals to win the Nelson Mandela Bay 500 at Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante Race track on Saturday.

In a dramatic race, the winning trio came home 6 laps clear of GT winners Charl and Harry Arangies' Stradale Lamborghini Gallardo with Andrew Culbert and Sun Moodley Bigfoot Express Freight Porsche 911 GT3 another 5 laps behind.

There was drama at the start as Adcock and Michael Jensen's championship-leading AidCall247 RBR Ligier JS53 Evo Honda did not make the start, causing Adcock to jump ship and join teammates Kleynhans and Forbes in the similar Point Blank Racing machine.

Stuart White had qualified the Maui Motorhomes Ginetta Corvette on pole position in a stunning 55.312 second lap and he led the way initially but it was all over for them after just six minutes, to leave the way open to Cronje to move ahead in the other SMR Ginetta. Cronje then led until he too was confined to the pits for almost half an hour at mid distance as night fell, before emerging down in 11th, leaving the Adcock/Kleynhans/Forbes Ligier to the win.

Howard Blake and Andrew Horne survived to take a giant beating and class winning fourth overall in their SA-built Blake Digital Capital/Xena Nash Volkswagen ahead of Production Car winners, Theo Van Vuuren and Keegan Ward’s Alfa Romeo Giulietta and GT5 winners, Kishoor Pitamber and Kris Budnik's Bucketlist Ferrari F360 Challenge.

Gavin Cronje and Byron Ferguson fought back to seventh in the Simon Murray Racing Ginetta-Corvette ahead of Sam, Nathan and Damien Hammond’s Trinity Protection Services Lamborghini Gallardo Super Trofeo, Dean Wolson and Gerald Wright's Wright Motorsport S2000 Opel, Wayne Lotter and Steve Truter’s Globe Lotter BMW M3 2JZ and Hennie Trollip and Clinton Thorne’s Full Output, Lotus Seven, with Trevor and Shannon Frost’s Strocam Ligier the last car classified as a finisher.

It was a race of attrition for besides the headline issues, both factory Backdraft Racing Cobras of Brian Martin/Trevor Graham and Tony Martin/Mike McLoughlin failed to finish and tin-top runners, Killarney winners Dayne Angel and Jarryd Evans' Autohaus Angel Honda Civic Type R, Paul Hill and Micheal Stephen’s quick Kalex BMW M3 and Uli Sanne, Martin Botha and Terence Ladner’s Alfa Romeo GT as well as Byron and John Oliver’s Mega Pile Nash stopped, while poor Eric Salomon and Dave Sinclair Lessons Elf-Toyota 23 stopped on the last lap and was rendered a non-finisher.

The 500 ran alongside of a full day of fourth round Eastern Province race action, where Scribante brothers Aldo and Silvio raced hard in their Scribante Concrete Audi S5s as Aldo pipped Silvio to a 0.1 second first heat EP Modified Saloon win. Deon Slabbert’s Emerald Fire Polo Turbo enjoyed an equally entertaining dice with Robin Spence Subaru Forester in Class B ahead of Class X winner Quinsley Sale, while George van Baalen (Emerald Fire Polo) took Class C, Stephan Aucamp (Injection Tech/A1 BMW) Class D, Derik Gouws (BMW) Class E and Theo Scholts F.

Aldo beat Silvio Scribante again following another entertaining race in race 2, this time by 0.3 seconds, as Slabbert enjoyed a lonely run to third ahead of Duncan Lethbridge (St. Francis Marine Class A Audi TT), Spence and Sale. Van Baalen took Class C again, while Richard Rath (Vader VI Nissan 200SX), Daniel Bright (Brights Golf 1) and Fanie Aucamp (Jetta) turned the tables in Classes D, E and F. Aldo took the day from Silvio Scribante, Slabbert took Class B, Sale Class X and van Baalen Aucamp, Bright and Aucamp Classes C, D, E and F, respectively.

The Sports & GT race was overrun by visiting endurance cars as Byron Ferguson stormed to the win in the thundering SMR Ginetta ahead of Porsche trio Nicky Dicks, Andrew Culbert and Sun Moodley, with Gavin Gorman best of the locals in his Nardini. another visiting Porsche, Roy Obery was next up from Aldo regular Gordon Nicholson (GT-R) and Dave Sinclair (Elf-Toyota), with EP Lotus 7 quartet Ray Farnham, Kean Barnard, Patrick Hanly and Cherne Marais next up. Dicks took race 2 from Moodley, Nicholson, Obery, Sinclair and Farnham from Jeandre Marais (Seven), Hanly and Gary Marais (Nardini).

On two wheels, Jared Schultz (ASAP Yamaha R6) took the opening Unlimited, 600 and Masters motorcycle race from Ricardo Otto (R6), Brandon Staffen (AJH Kawasaki ZX6), Travis Naude (Pro Seals ZX10), Nathan Ashington (Auto Recovery R6), Ivor Vermaak (Ginger Arrow R6), Melt Koekemoer (ZX6) and Jaco Scholtz (JC Suzuki). Schultz repeated his win in race 2, but it was all change behind as Staffen beat Naude, Otto, Scholtz, Ashington, Vermaak, Koekemoer to see Schultz take the day from Staffen, Naude and Otto.

In the Clubmans bike classes, Breakfast Run lass Jessica Howden (Otto Racing Yamaha R3) put one over 650 winner Paul Jansen (Kawasaki ER6) and 400 victor Chad Bilsbury (Ginger Arrow Honda) as Glen Elliott (Suzuki) took Historic and Ashton Heidemann (KTM) 300 honours. Howden took race 2 ahead of Bilsbury, Breakfast Run rider Gerrie Havenga (Auto Salvage R6), while Malcolm Burrows (Suzuki) took Historic class, Heidemann 300 sand Richard Rossouw (Suzuki) the 650 win as Howden beat Bilsbury and Havenga overall.

Rudolf de Vos thundered to double AMSC Coastal Challenge & Historic & Classic Saloons wins in his Chevy Can Am ahead of Shaun Rudolph (MR Escort), Deon Gouws (Kadett), Anton Ehlers (Escort), Darryn Vice (Anglia) and Rane Berry (Capri). De Vos beat Rudolph again in heat 2 with Ehlers third from Vice, Berry and Gordon Bennett (Rekord) as the Can Am man took  the day with the top six also coming home in that order overall.

Last but not least, Stuart Cornforth (Mini) took the first Street and Fine Car race from Tom Hugo (350Z), Francois Wium (BMW), Caryn Van Wyk (350Z) and Quinsley Sale (Atom). Justin Seale (350Z) and Cherne Marais (Seven) were excluded from race 1 but bounced back to take the 1-2 over Cornforth, Hugo, Wium and van Wyk in race 2, as Cornforth took the day from Hugo, Wium and van Wyk.

Aldo Scribante now enjoys a short break to ready itself for Port Elizabeth’s next big racing attraction, when the SA National Championship Extreme Festival visits Nelson Mandela Bay and PE’s top national racers and teams prepare to make their home fans proud. Be sure to diarise 15 June right now!