Summarize

The Gauteng Regional Festival racing series is locked, loaded and heading for the Cape for an exclusive weekend of racing on tour at the Killarney International Raceway on Saturday 10 August. But will the locals just sit around and watch while the Vaalies lap up all the glory? Time will tell, but the grapevine suggests that this one may just turn into an epic North versus South derby. 

The day will feature a full Gauteng Festival program of Mobil 1 V8 Supercars, PABAR VW Challenge, the BMW M Performance Parts Race Series, DOE Formula Vee partnered with CIM Lubricants and Ferro Energia 111 GT Sports & Saloons, including SuperHatch. Add the Volkswagen Rookie Cup and the local Cape Laude Classics for extra allure. The real local interest however has to be among the PABAR VW Challenge, BMW M Performance and Ferro Energia 111 races. That’s where wildcard local Cape heroes have a chance to enter. And well, prove a good old Western Province point!

The PABAR VW Challenge is a case in point. Jozi Masters brothers Bevin and Wayne are in charge of Class A, with Miguel Dias right in there too. But will the local API Property GTi Challenge lot just stand and watch? Especially considering the likes of Jurie Swart, Clinton Bezuidenhout and Schalk Geldenhuys race near identical Polos locally? Mo Karodia’s Polo sedan and Stuart Mack’s turbo hatchback, Shiren Rajpaul, Ethan Coetzee and Anthony Lessing are the top Jozi Class B lot. Let’s see if the likes of Zaki Hendricks, Kyle Wiltshire, Shane Williams and Brett Roach allow them to scoop up all those kudos at Killarney! The Jozi Class C Brat Pack meanwhile sees young Chris Tait and Judd Bertholdt up against the experience of Andy Gossman and Philip Croeser.

It also remains to be seen whether there will be any Cape interference in the BMW M Performance Parts Race Series. Especially after Killarney King Nian du Toit and wingman Marco Retter went to show them how to do it in their Zwartkops back yard earlier in the year! Now the Jozi lads want revenge. So expect Class A men Leon Loubser and Bob Neill to be at their best in the Cape. Class B is super tight. Carlo Gabini, Andreas Meier, and Nek Makris can win there. Gary Martins takes on Devin Robertson and Rob Gearing and in Class C. They may have Cape wildcards to deal with. As could Classes D and E, which race on their own. Claudio Jardim, Shaun Dodd, Nicholas and Craig Herbst race in Class D. And Marais Ellis, Tihan van Rooyen and Matthew Wadeley in E.

Ferro Energia 111 GT and Saloons is another Jozi class that could attract the cream of the Cape Clubmans crop. So let’s see how that pans out. Still, expect the visitors to entertain all on their own. They include exotica like Philip Meyer’s Porsche, Lucas Bezuidenhout in a Lexus, and a gang of Subarus. Melanie Spurr, George Economides and Lindsay Clur are among the VWs chasing glory. And Lenard Archer and Dawie Olivier will uphold Killarney BMW honour. Gauteng SuperHatch includes Jonathan du Toit’s BMW, Karel Stols’ Etios and George Aldrich and Seten Naidoo’s Corsas. They could also be joined by a few Cape upstarts this weekend. The more the merrier!

There’s another Cape gang likely lying in wait for their upcountry counterparts to venture out on that Killarney tarmac. The Vee class races in Formula Libre locally, and their cars comply with DOE Formula Vee partnered with CIM Lubricants rules. Which could add great interest up against Gauteng’s finest. The visitors include the dominant Lendl Jansen, Peter and Brandon Hills, Gert van den Berg, Kyle Watt, Jaco Schriks and MD Bester. Add Theodore Vermaak, Marcel Blignaut, Roy Douglas, Jannie Geyser and the rest. That’s guaranteed another great dice at Killarney this weekend.

Adding variety, the Volkswagen Rookie Cup joins the Festival for its penultimate round on Saturday. It’s a big deal for the five karting graduates as they learn and race. One of Dhivyen Naidoo, Judd Bertholdt, Jayden Goosen, Josh Moore of Uzair Khan will earn an Astron Energy Polo Cup drive by winning the Cup. From the new to the old, there are also races for the Cape Laude Classics. Will any Jozi oldtimers join in as Franco Donadio’s Chevy Can Am takes on the likes of Trevor Momberg’s Capri. And did we hear that Dave Kopke could be back with his wild Mazda rotary?

Last but very much not least, the thundering Mobil 1 V8 Supercars will be back to thrill Killarney on Saturday. The quickest class of the day is guaranteed to be fast and exciting around Killarney. Champion Julian Fameliaris leads the pack in his Corvette. But he has Thomas Reib’s Lumina and Warren Lombard’s Mustang right on his case. Terry Wilford’s Mustang, Sam Dahl and Franco di Matteo’s Jaguar are also in the mix. Auke Compaan’s Mustang, Steve Herbst’s Corvette, Shaun Holtzhausen in a Falcon and legend Larry Wilford fight it out for GT2 honours.

So there you have it. Not only is the Regional Festival coming on tour to show Gauteng’s top drawer regional racing off to the Cape crowd, but there’s a better than good chance that a few locals will be out to show them how it’s really done! Either way, Saturday 10 August promises a very different, and most entertaining day of what is likely to become a whole lot of epic interprovincial racing! See you at Killarney Saturday 10 August!