Summarize

The annual Ford & Friends classic racing extravaganza joined Saturday’s regular Zwartkops Regional Festival races to provide an exceptional and varied show for Gauteng race fans who ventured out to witness a fine midwinter's afternoon of track action. With some splendid displays and demonstration runs to add to the spice, the racing was both intriguing and entertaining as classes flipped between hot contemporary championship action and cool classic attractions through the day.

Two Ben Morgenrood & Willie Hepburn V8 Classic Touring Invitational races drew an eclectic grid as Friends, PE visitor Rudolf de Vos’ mighty Chevy Can and Seef Fourie Jr’s wailing Hoosier Mazda R100 rotary put one over the Fords. Cape visitor Franco Donadio was best of the Blue Oval cars in his remarkable good old four cylinder Ford Escort from Eugene Gouws in another Can Am, Jaki Scheckter’s lumbering Ford Galaxie and Ben Morgenrood himself, in his Trans Am Ford Mustang. Race 2 delivered the same top three as Morgenrood ended fourth from Colin Ellison’s Fairlaine Thunderbolt and Gouws.

Franco di Matteo then took the reins of de Vos’ mad Can Am to take the overall win in the other Ford & Friends Pre 66 Sports & GT Legends race. They certainly brought back memories of 1960s 9 hour races as di Matteo fought James Temple’s Lindenberg Daytona Coupe Cobra, Mark du Toit and Peter Bailey’s Ford GT40 tributes off for the win, with Ben Morgenrood’s Mustang and Jonathan du Toit’s TAR Daytona Cobra in pursuit. T/A class winner Di Matteo went on to do the double from SGT winner Mark du Toit, Bailey, Morgenrood, Paige Lindenberg’s class B winning Fairlaine and Alan Poulter’s feisty U2 Volvo.

The regular Regional Festival races did not disappoint, topped by a spectacular pair of Pabar VW Challenge races. Rory Atkinson’s BHIT Polo fought Stiaan Kriel off in the opening heat honours, with son Keagan Masters holding dad Wayne off for third. Hannes Scheepers kept Anthony Pretorius at bay in Class B, as Charisse van der Merwe fought hard to third, while Pierluigi Muzzulini took Class C from Ross Butt and Philip Croeser. Kriel reversed to order to take race 2 from Atkinson and Wayne Masters, while Scheepers and Muzzulini did the Class B and C doubles. Muzullini after fighting back from a first lap contretemps with Butt.

Jeffrey Kruger’s Locost Birkin got past pole man Thomas Falkiner early in the opening Lotus Challenge race to win from JP Nortje, after Matt Nash and John Kruger both retired. That left Mackie Adlem to fourth from David Coetzee and Sean Hewitt as Davide Favo took the Locost class win from Miles Downard and Andre du Plessis. Falkiner then struck back back to overcome Kruger in a wonderful race 2 scrap with Nortje, Adlem, Coetzee and Hewitt in chase. Favo beat Downard and Andrew Fulton to Locost honours.

Jonathan du Toit’s Motul Honda Civic and Lenard Archer’s ACD Welkom Honda Getz broke away from a wild early Car Care Clinic SuperHatch wrought to leave Louis Scholtz’s Car Care Clinic Honda Civic to fend Andre Dannhauser, Karel Stolts and Francois Henning off for third. Nic Martin’s Peugeot 207 beat Melanie Spurr to Class B and Devon Piazza-Musso’s Hot 102.7 FM Polo took Class C from Francis Aldrich. Dannhauser’s Pro Auto Corsa beat du Toit off to win race 2 with Louis Scholtz, Stolts, Archer and Henning in pursuit as Martin and Piazza did the class doubles.

Louis Scholtz' Car Care Clinic Golf overcame Mark du Toit’s TAR BMW Z4 and Lenard Archer’s ACD Welkom Civic Type R to lead the slippery Car Care Clinic 111 GTs all the way. George Economides Wealth Avenue turbo Golf also found a way around Archer to end fourth from Saloon and Class A top two Phillip Meyer and Adrian Dalton. Hank Lombard won Class X, Roland Hopkins B, Maritz le Roux C and Francis Aldrich class D. Scholtz then did the double from Economedes, du Toit and Archer, Dalton took Class B, Lombard X, Wayne Lebotschy B, le Roux C and Didi Matjula D.

Gerald Wright held Klippies Krige’s Seven off to take the opening Sports Car and On Track Magazine Clubmans race. Third man Phillip Meyer’s pple Porsche 924 topped Clubmans from Dumisane Mazibuko’s Tigra, Dirk Lawrence’s JDM Ballade and NSC SR4 winner Dean Wolson. Wayne Lebotschy took Class E, Danie Deysel F, Wayne Robb G and Jonathan Visser Class H. With the Sportscars starting behind, Meyer beat Lawrence to race 2 as Krige and Wright fought back to third and fourth from Class D top two Duane Brown’s Polo and Wayne Pereira in heat 2. Johan Labuschagne took Class D, Wolson SR4, Deysel F, Wayne Robb G and Visser class H.

Marius Jacobs’ AAA Tigra beat Giulio Airaga’s similar Mazda-propelled machine and Evert Seyffert Jr.’s Can Am to victory in the opening Silver Cup 2.0 race. Adrian Dalton’s Golf was fourth from Class A top two Karel Stolts and Paul van Niekerk. Freek Blignaut took Class B, Chantelle Bakkes C, Rob Clark X and Neo van der Walt class D. Jacobs did the double to win race 2 from Dalton, Seyffert, Airaga, Stolts and van Niekerk, while Wayne Perreira beat Blignaut to Class C and Bakkes, van der Walt and Clark repeated their class wins.

Devin Robertson beat nephew Jagger, Kyle Lawrence, Gerhard Roux, Edwin and WB van Niekerk to the opening INEX Legends race, before Devin beat Jagger, Edwin and WB, Richard van Heerde and Tyler Robinson in race 2.  Devin and Jagger, then did the triplle 1-2 in race 3 from Edwin, van Heerde, Kykle Lawrence and Richard van Heerde. The next Regional Festival is at Phakisa Freeway in Welkom on Saturday 10 September.