Summarize

The  Mopar South African Endurance Series is preparing on all fronts for a return to action at the Killarney Campos 600 at Killarney in Cape Town Saturday 19 May and if last year’s Cape race and the last round of this year’s championship at Killarney are anything to go by, you would be well advised to diarise racing for that date now. 

Last year’s Campos 600 witnessed Franco and Silvio Scribante’s Chevron-Suzuki V8 steal the win from Marcel and Dayne Angel’s Autohaus Angel Ferrari 458 GT3, which ran out of fuel on the last lap to retire in spite of completing two more laps than the winning Chevron. In endurance racing a car needs to cross the line after the race time has expired in order to be classified as a finisher…

The Campos family, dad Rui and sons Jason and Keegan’s Campos transport/Turn 1 Insurance Shelby-Ford V8 was also lucky to take second last year ahead of the reliable Fritz Kleynhans and James Forbes’ Cornelius Ligier JS49, after Mike Verier and Wayne Jardine’s Fantastic Racing AidCall24/7 Shelby-Nissan Can-Am likewise failed to get to the finish line for what could have been second after a late race alternator failure.

It was just as exciting in February’s Mopar SA Endurance Series’ Phakisa 6-hour 2018 season-opener, when Stuart White, Craig Jarvis and Stephen Young drove their Fantastic Racing Maui Formula Renault overcame Nick Adcock, Johan Engelbrecht and Dane Michael Jensen AidCall/247 Rico Barlow Racing Ligier JS53 and leaders until then, Marcel and Dayne Angel’s Ferrari with 15 minutes to run, to win after a race-long 3-car duel that raged throughout. Surely Killarney also has to be third time lucky for the Cape father and son team and their spectacular Ferrari…? 

If that pedigree is anything to go by, Killarney’s Campos 600 is sure to thrill the fans with the likes of the above racers, along with a full field of GT cars the likes of Jaki Scheckter and Greg Parton’s Drizit Lamborghini Huraçan, Charl Arangies’ Stradale Racing Ferrari 458 GT3 and Greg Mills’ Africa Le Mans Ginetta G55 chase GT honours, while tin-top regulars Bradley Scorer and Theo van Vuuren’s Arnold Chatz Alfa Romeo Giulietta look to once again defeat a production car field boosted by local Cape entries.

Several teams are working flat out on finding an extra advantage, with the Adcock Ligier undergoing an extensive Rico Barlow Racing remake, Simon Murray and Gavin Cronje’s glorious super-quick SMR Ginetta G57-Corvette V8 being re-fettled in search of better reliability; Mike Schmidt and Bruce Avern-Taplin’s new Backdraft Cobra now fully ready to race and receiving a fresh coat of paint and news of a new McLaren coming to race, among the many stories doing the rounds in the build-up to Killarney.

The second round of the 2018 Mopar South African Endurance Series, the Campos 600 joins the regular Killarney Wingfield Motors Power Series May 19 program to ensure fans a full, varied and most entertaining raceday topped by the thrill of another sting in the tail endurance race. Mark your diary off now — see you at Killarney in a month or so!