Franco claims King of the Hill

KNYSNA, South Africa, 3 May 2024 – Franco Scribante wrote his name in the Simola Hillclimb record books once again by securing his seventh Classic Conqueror title at this year’s extremely competitive Classic Car Friday on May 3, 2024.

The intense battle between Scribante, who last won the title in 2021, and reigning champion Andre Bezuidenhout proved as thrilling as the thousands of attending fans expected. However, it was Scribante who held the advantage in each of the practice and qualifying sessions throughout the day in his rapid 1970 Chevron B19, and he repeated the feat in the Class Finals when he edged out his rival by 0.328 sec with a time of 41.796 seconds to claim the class H9 win.

In the final all-or-nothing Top 10 Shootout, Bezuidenhout’s challenge faltered when the Lola’s gearbox got stuck in third gear coming out of Turn 3, and he was relegated to sixth place overall. In scorching hot conditions, Scribante’s car bogged down slightly as he launched the Chevron off the start line for the crucial last dash, but he gave it absolutely everything on the remainder of the tight and twisty 1.9km Simola Hill course. He recovered to cross the timing beam in 41.937 seconds (at an average speed of 163.1 km/h) to earn a hard-fought Classic Conqueror victory.

“After two challenging years we’re back and I’m very happy to take the win,” Scribante said. “Our game plan for today was to take the fight to our rivals from the first run and that’s what we did by leading every session. It all came together in the end and it’s a fantastic result.”

Charles Arton, the 2015 winner, enjoyed his trip back to the podium with second overall in the Top 10 Shootout with his 1979 March 79A, having set his best time of the day at 43.586 seconds. He also earned third place in class H9, behind Scribante and Bezuidenhout.

Rui Campos made history too by powering his 1974 Porsche 911 RSR to third place in the final shootout with a time of 46.730 seconds – making it the first-ever tin-top car to claim a spot on the Classic Conqueror podium. Campos was rewarded with the class H8 victory too.

James Temple finished fourth in the Top 10 in the roaring 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe and took the class H6 win, with Robert Wolk ending fifth overall in the 1979 Van Diemen RF Formula Ford. With Bezuidenhout having to settle for sixth place as he limped the car across the line, Anthony Rix ended seventh (50.586 sec) in the 1969 Lola T70 Mk3B, while Craig Wessels rounded out the results with a time of 51.179 seconds in his 1983 Porsche 911 RSR IROC.

In the other class results, Rob Prece won H7 in his 1980 Volkswagen Golf (51.170 sec), with H5 going to Ian Kilburn in the 1972 Datsun GX Coupe (53.856 sec) and Porsche specialist Gavin Rooke taking the H4 class win in his 1973 911 (52.204 sec).

While Andre Bezuidenhout endured a difficult 2024 Simola Hillclimb – including the withdrawal of his unbeaten Gould GR55 from King of the Hill due to engine failure during pre-event testing – the family name was held high by his son, Jandre. Driving his dad’s first race car, the 1985 Porsche 944 Turbo Cup, Jandre comfortably took the class H3 win with a time of 52.925 seconds.

In class H1 for the ‘golden oldies’, which is contested on a handicap basis, Callum Price emerged victorious in his 1946 Austin Special, after finishing closest to his target time (101.35%). He narrowly beat Gero Lilleike in the 1931 Ford Model A who ended on 101.83%.

Spirit of Dave Charlton Award

Each year the special ‘Spirit of Dave Charlton’ award is given to the person that reflects South African race legend Dave Charlton’s spirit of impeccable attention to detail, meticulous preparation and commendable performance.

For the 2024 Simola Hillclimb, the award went to Farouk Dangor, the owner of Speedy Car Sales and a former competitor in the South African Touring Car and Production Car championships. Dangor’s passion for racing is embodied in the Speedy Car Sales motorsport museum which features many of the cars that he raced over the years, as well as a host of racing memorabilia.

Words: Colin Mileman

Images: Rob Till

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Simola Hillclimb entries close soon

If you are hankering to get to the top and quickly, there are just a few days left to lodge your entry for the 2024 Simola Hillclimb, whether it be in the ‘Golden Oldies’ category or that rip-snorter you have been pouring your heart and soul into.

Entries close on January 31 and slots for what will be the 14th running of the event from May 02 to 05 are filling up fast. 

Looking for a top quality pre-owned car - click here

“The Simola Hillclimb is an invitational event where all of the applications are reviewed according to strict criteria to ensure we deliver an exciting and diverse line-up of cars and drivers across the various classes,” says sporting director Geoff Goddard.

“We have had a superb response from Simola Hillclimb regulars and several new competitors, which has no doubt been bolstered by the high profile and success of the 2023 even and to date we have received around 140 applications, split between Classic Car Friday and King of the Hill.

“The more applications we receive the better we are placed to choose a line-up that keeps the event fresh and engaging for the spectators that attend, as well as for the many fans around the world that watch the livestream.”

Classic Car Friday allows for a maximum of 65 competitors while King of the Hill is restricted to 84 entries. Successful applicants will receive a formal invitation by February 9.

The Simola Hillclimb showcases some of the most extreme, valuable and fastest cars in the country and an equally impressive line-up of local and international drivers. Competitors vie for glory on the tight and twisty 1,9 km Simola Hill course which is located in one of South Africa’s most scenic towns along the world-renowned Garden Route.

The event comprises Classic Car Friday on May 3 for the ‘golden oldies’, as well as two days of roaring King of the Hill action on May 4 and May 5 for modern road and race cars that range from mild to completely wild.

One of the big innovations for this year is the addition of the new class B10 for Modified Street Cars. This allows enthusiast owners with modified or tuned street-legal cars to compete for class honours.

One of the main drawcards for fans attending the Simola Hillclimb is they can get close to all the action, with numerous spectacular viewpoints located along the  course, either in the formal grandstands or the open grassed areas. For the ultimate Simola Hillclimb experience, VIP Hospitality packages are available with an unrivalled view of the start line complemented by first-class catering.

The main event is supported by an extensive array of activities and attractions to enthral fans of all ages throughout the weekend including car shows and displays, the extremely popular parade laps through Knysna, regular demonstration runs, a variety of vendors in Gasoline Alley and a delectable range of local food and beverages.

Ticket sales and upgrades are open and are all seamlessly processed through the event website for General Entry, VIP Hospitality, VIP Parking, Turn 2 Grandstand or Esses Grandstand seating, as well as Pit Access tickets.

Colin Windell

Proudly CHANGECARS

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Ford confident ahead of Parys clash

A 1-2 finish in the 1 000 km Botswana Desert Race in June has given the Ford Castrol Team a new level of confidence going into the double-header Parys 400 on August 18 and August 18.  

As rounds four and five of the extremely competitive South African Rally Raid Championship (SARRC) Gareth Woolrige and Boyd Dreyer (#277) took their EcoBoost V6-powered T1+ NWM Ford Ranger to the top step of the podium at the three-day Botswana marathon race, and are looking forward to returning to the Free State event where they earned their first overall SARRC win last year.

Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer

The Desert Race victory handed the young pair the championship advantage, and they currently lead the Production Vehicle title chase with 86 points, 15 ahead of the Toyota crew of Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings, and a further three points ahead of third-placed Giniel de Villiers/Dennis Murphy (Toyota).

Additional confidence comes after having competed at the Baja Spain Aragon in July. They finished a commendable 11th overall in their T1+ Ranger against the top rally raid competitors in the world.  

Two-time Dakar Rally winner Nani Roma and co-driver Alex Haro were classified 6th overall in the second T1+ Ranger, with this crucial outing forming part of the build-up to the 2024 Dakar Rally for the NWM, M-Sport and Ford Performance joint venture.  

NWM Ford Castrol teammates Lance Woolridge and Kenny Gilbert (#234) secured their first podium of the SARRC season by finishing as runners-up in Botswana. This gave them a solid points haul and placed them fifth in the Production Vehicle battle on 41 points – just 20 points behind the Toyota crew of Guy Botterill/Simon Vacy-Lyle.  

“All the hard work, intensive testing and long hours the team has put into the development of our T1+ Ranger have certainly paid off, and this sets the scene for a thrilling remainder of the 2023 season,” says team principal Neil Woolridge.  

“Having just come back from Spain where Gareth and Boyd finished 11th, and ran as high as second in one of the stages until they lost time near the end with a puncture, shows just how competitive we are this year, both locally and internationally. 

“Going into the Parys event leading the overall SARRC Production Vehicle and T1+ rankings is fantastic for the team, and the back-to-back races in Parys will be an important opportunity to continue building on this momentum. We have no doubt that our rivals will come out with all guns blazing, so we will be giving it everything for this event.”  

The NWM-supported privateer team of Wors Prinsloo and Andre Vermeulen (#241) are also eager to capitalise on the two races in Parys, having shown impressive pace in their first season with the T1+ Ranger.  

As two full one-day races, the action kicks off on Friday 18 August, with the race headquarters and designated service park (DSP) located at the Afridome Showgrounds on the outskirts of Parys.

Competitors will complete a 32 km qualifying sprint (including 8 km of liaison), starting at 07:30.  

The top 10 finishers then do a draw to determine starting positions for the main race. This is followed by the full race loop of 173 km which commences at 09:30 and is repeated twice, split by a mandatory 30-minute service interval.  

A separate route is lined up for the Saturday race which follows a similar format, including a 16 km qualifying race with 13 km of liaison. The main race loop comprises 190 km (with 20 km liaison), once again completed twice with a service stop in between.  

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Colin-on-Cars - Action aplenty expected in East London

The fearsome Potters Pass – the fastest corner in South African motor racing – awaits the GR Cup at the weekend when the series visits the iconic East London Grand Prix Circuit for the first time.

The GR Cup driven by Netstar, part of Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa, heads to East London for the fifth round of the 2023 season. The stage is set for an adrenaline-fueled showdown as six of the country's top motoring writers once again take the wheel of the stock Toyota GR86 cars, only slightly modified for track use.  

Located within sight of the Indian Ocean, the East London Grand Prix Circuit offers a picturesque backdrop to racing action that is usually intense. The circuit is renowned for its challenging nature and features high-speed corners such as Potter's Pass and Rifle, where drivers must exhibit exceptional skill and bravery to navigate the demanding right-hander, before braking hard for the following series of corners.  

Following the races of the previous rounds, the familiar faces of Mark Jones (Citizen), Denis Droppa (TimesLIVE), Setshaba Mashigo (ASAMM), Chad Luckhoff (Auto Trader), Reuben van Niekerk (Jumping Kids/Wheels24), and Brendon Staniforth will return to continue their battle for GR Cup glory.  

In an exciting addition to the event, Mario De Sousa will join the competition as a guest driver. De Sousa is no stranger to the world of motor racing, having previously participated in the GR Cup, driving the GR Yaris in Gqeberha last year.

However, this will be his first opportunity to unleash his skills behind the wheel of the GR86.  

As the championship reaches the latter half of the season, Setshaba Mashigo leads the GR Cup driven by Netstar standings with an impressive 47 points, holding a 15-point advantage over Mark Jones, who sits in second place. Denis Droppa occupies the third position with 24 points, just one point ahead of fourth-placed Chad Luckhoff. Reuben van Niekerk follows in fifth place, while Brendon Staniforth rounds out the standings in sixth place. 

"We are thrilled to bring the GR Cup to the prestigious East London Grand Prix Circuit," said Riaan Esterhuysen on behalf of Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa. "With the drivers' skills, the thrilling GR86 cars, and the rich racing heritage of the circuit, we are set for an electrifying event that will keep fans on the edge of their seats."

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Colin-on-Cars - Ford dominates in Eston

Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer proved that they are serious contenders for the South African Rally-Raid Championship title this year following an impressive performance at this weekend’s Sugarbelt 400 in Eston, KwaZulu-Natal, which earned them a second consecutive podium.

The Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) Ford Castrol crew proved their potential, as well as that of the EcoBoost V6-powered T1+ Ranger, on Friday’s 52km qualifying loop by blitzing the short but intense sprint through the sugarcane plantations that define this scenic farming area.

They completed the qualifying sprint in a time of 42 min 49 sec after a faultless run – a substantial 01:13 quicker than second-placed Toyota rivals Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy, and a further two seconds ahead of the second Toyota of Henk Lategan/Brett Cummings.

Their advantage was ultimately cut back to just four seconds after the qualifying sprint was recalculated to end at the 20.29km mark following a fire that blocked the route for several competitors. NWM Ford Castrol team-mates Lance Woolridge and Kenny Gilbert slotted into third place overnight based on the revised times, just seven seconds adrift of De Villiers/Murphy, and a mere one second ahead of Lategan/Cummings.

Saturday saw the exciting battle at the sharp end of the field gain further momentum as Gareth and Boyd completed the opening 162km loop in the lead after a fast and trouble-free run – with a useful margin of 59 seconds to Lategan/Cummings, and 04:43 ahead of De Villiers/Murphy.

Unfortunately, things didn’t go to plan for Lance and Kenny, as a navigation error cost them considerable time and they dropped down the running order.

Punctures afflicted several of the top competitors on the second 162km loop, and this included Gareth and Boyd as they had to replace a tyre with 50km remaining. With less than a minute separating the NWM Ford Ranger pair from the lead at the final split, the thrilling tussle faded as they picked up a problem on the front brakes with just 30km to go.

Having to rely solely on the handbrake to slow the vehicle, Gareth and Boyd fought tenaciously right to the finish, and were rewarded with third place overall. They lost out on second place by just 14 seconds to De Villiers/Murphy after almost 350km of high-paced action, with the win going to Lategan/Cummings. This was the NWM Ford Castrol crew’s second podium on the trot, after securing the runner-up spot at the season-opening race in Malalane.

“It was great to win the qualifying race yesterday, and we started today strong and found a good rhythm on the first loop,” Gareth said. “We were even quicker on loop two and it was going really well until we got the puncture. We then had the brake issue which cost us a lot of time, so finishing third is a good result all considered.

“For our local championship, it’s really exciting that the top teams are very evenly matched. Today was a proper race, especially amongst the three of us up front. We all had a laugh at the end and agreed that it was extremely close, which is nice to see,” Gareth added.

Lance and Kenny’s first loop navigation error was compounded by an issue with the rear differential, which the team elected to replace at the mandatory 30-minute service stop. They incurred a further 15 minutes of lateness making the change, but fortunately had a clear and impressively fast run through the second loop, bringing the NWM Ranger home 12th overall and seventh in T1+.

“It was a tough weekend for us after the navigation mistake this morning, but Kenny and I are learning together which is our goal for this year,” Lance said. “On the second lap we had a perfect run without a single mistake and got into a really nice groove, so Kenny is very quickly getting to grips with the road book and GPS navigation.

“We also stopped to pull out Eben Basson and Leander Pienaar after they overshot a corner, and were happy to return the favour after they helped me at the Parys event last year,” Lance said. “We are looking forward to the Desert Race in Botswana, as that’s the big one and we have a lot of work planned for the cars, but the pace we had this weekend is very exciting for us.”

It was a positive result for NWM team principal, Neil Woolridge. “We’re always working on the car with upgrades and evolutions, and all the effort the team has put into it this year is really showing, as we’ve been very competitive in both of the opening races, which is very encouraging.

“Our joint development project with M-Sport is also bearing fruit, as we learn a lot about the car every time we go testing together,” Neil said. “Last week we completed around 3 500km of testing in Morocco without any issues, proving just how tough and capable our T1+ Ranger is, and it’s fantastic to be taking the fight to our rivals this year.”

The next race is the Toyota 1000 Desert Race in Jwaneng, Botswana, from 23-25 June 2023.

Story and Pictures: Colin Mileman

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Colin-on-Cars - Storming drive from Van der Linde

The South African flag flew high and proud over the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit near Johannesburg at the weekend when Sheldon van der Linde brought the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 across the line to claim the marque’s first victory in the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli since 2020.

Not only did he do that with team mates Cries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts but, the team’s sister car shared by Philipp Eng, Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin finished in second place a mere 1,7 seconds adrift after a final chase 23 minutes from thed of the 9-Hour race when the safety car was deployed for the first time.

Tresor Attempto’s Audi crewed by Mattia Drudi, Ricardo Feller and Patric Niederhauser completed the overall podium another 1,0 seconds behind.

Tresor Attempto’s second R8 LMS GT3 finished fourth overall in the hands of Alex Aka, Dennis Marschall and Markus Winkelhock thanks, in part, to GruppeM Racing’s gearbox issue that denied Maro Engel, Mikael Grenier and Raffaele Marciello a podium shot.

Instead, it was SunEnergy1 by SPS’s entry that scored the bulk of Mercedes-AMG’s IGTC points in fifth overall. The car shared by Kenny Habul, Jules Gounon and Yannick Mettler won the event’s Pro-Am class, finished third of the Intercontinental entries, and won IGTC’s Independent Cup.

Results elsewhere have also seen Habul and Gounon retain their overall drivers’ championship lead by three points from Van der Linde, Vanthoor and Weerts. However, BMW’s one-two now sees it tied with Mercedes-AMG at the top of the manufacturers’ standings.

WRT was never headed after seizing control from GruppeM soon after the start despite Farfus and Van der Linde swapping second place at Turn 1 on the opening lap. The home favourite was back ahead with the help of team orders after eight minutes before he hunted down and passed Engel through the Jukskei Sweep with quarter-of-an-hour gone.

Farfus was also past the Mercedes-AMG before the first round of stops began just after the hour mark. But although #33 regularly closed in on #32, there was never any serious threat of a lead change between the two WRT entries which remained no more than four seconds apart until roughly half distance when Weerts began gapping Farfus after each entry had cycled through its three crew members.

Behind, GruppeM’s race was slowly unravelling thanks to a radio issue that forced Grenier to communicate with his team using a mix of the pit board and his Mercedes-AMG’s indicators. But far worse was to follow when a gearbox problem restricted the car to gears three, four and five.

That largely accounted for both Audis passing the Canadian in the fourth hour, Drudi doing so in the pits and then Markus Winkelhock on track.

The problem worsened once Engel climbed back aboard and eventually led to the car circulating five or even six seconds off the pace. The team made it to 70% distance in order to be classified and score IGTC points before effectively retiring.

As the evening approached it looked as though Audi might be able to challenge the BMWs. Aka signalled Tresor Attempto’s potential by setting fastest lap while Feller homed in on Farfus. However, as darkness fell so the M4s upped their pace and it wasn’t long before #32 and #33 pulled clear again.

Indeed, the race appeared to be heading for a regulation finish when Van der Linde took over the leading car from Vanthoor who’d established a 20-second lead over Martin thanks, in part, to the race’s fastest lap. That was until Stradale Motorsport’s Mercedes-AMG beached itself down the Mineshaft, which necessitated a Full Course Yellow and subsequent Safety Car period.

Suddenly the top-three were separated by a second when racing resumed with 20 minutes remaining. But while Niederhauser, on old tyres, didn’t have the pace to challenge, Martin did initially hustle Van der Linde before the South African edged clear to claim his second IGTC win on home soil aboard a BMW.

Further back, the combination of pace and fault-free performances from all three of its drivers and pit crew helped SunEnergy1 clinch a well-deserved Pro-Am victory over Grove Racing’s Porsche and the SPS automotive performance Mercedes-AMG.

Habul didn’t put a foot wrong en route to maximum IGTC Independent Cup points while Mettler’s speed saw him set two overall fastest laps early in the race. The result also sees Bathurst winners Gounon and Habul retain their overall drivers’ championship lead, albeit now from Van der Linde, Vanthoor and Weerts.

An early puncture set Grove Racing back, but father-son duo Stephen and Brenton battled hard with the help of Earl Bamber to beat SPS’s Miguel Ramos, Reece Barr and Luca Stolz to second in Pro-Am. Brenton’s opportunistic move on Barr in traffic with just over an hour remaining would prove decisive.

Stradale’s Charl Arangies, Arnold Neveling and Clint Weston also scored their first IGTC points in eighth overall, one place ahead of GruppeM’s hobbled but classified entry, while MJR Motorsport’s Marius Jackson, Mo Mia and Kwanda Mokoena rounded out the top-10.

The Kyalami Supercup for entries only contesting the opening hour was won by NGK Pablo Clark Racing’s Mikaeel Pitamber who beat Sun Moodley (BigFoot Express Racing) and Joseph Ellerine (MJR Motorsport).

After races in Australia and South Africa within the space of a month IGTC now takes a well-earned break before resuming at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa on June 29 – July 2.

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Colin-on-Cars - Van der Linde brothers head the fields

South African race fans will be spoilt for choice this weekend with Sheldon van der Linde doing battle in the Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 in the Intercontinental GT3 Challenge in nine hours of frenetic action at Kyalami, while brother, Kelvin, stars in the first electric Grand Prix on African soil on a street course in Cape Town.

Some 33 of the top International and local GT3 and GT4 race car drivers across four iconic motorsport brands will fight for overall and class victory at the Kyalami 9-Hour, the second round of the Intercontinental GT3 Challenge powered by Pirelli this weekend.

Heading the K9H Motorfest support races will be more than 160 entries across seven racing categories which will provide 12 hours of non-stop track action over the three-day event.

Mercedes-AMG, BMW, Audi and Porsche will all be aiming for maximum Manufacturer’s points in this early part of the season – Mercedes-AMG currently leads BMW by 18 points after the first round.

Team WRT will be hunting for their first IGTC victory with the BMW M4 and have sent a second car for Augusto Farfus, Maxime Martin and factory driver Philip Eng to bolster their chances against a strong Mercedes-AMG contingent who were victorious at the opening IGTC race in Bathurst earlier in February.

Heading the Affalterbach quartet is GruppeM Racing’s all-factory line up of Maro Engel, Mikael Grenier and Raffaele Marciello who are highly motivated to stand on the top step of the podium come 10 pm on Saturday.

Engel has won the FIA GT World Cup while Marciello is the current GT World Challenge champion.

Bathurst winners SunEnergy1 can count on the crack team of drivers Kenny Habul and Jules Gounon who will be joined by 33-year-old Swiss Yannick Mettler. Australian Habul is the CEO of SunEnergy1 and won the 2018 Bronze class IGTC Championship while Frenchman Gounon has twice won the Spa 24-Hour.

SPS Automotive Performance will have Luca Stoltz, Irishman Reece Barr and Miguel Ramos in its Mercedes-AMG line-up. Stoltz was the third winner of the Bathurst 12-hour and claimed his first DTM victory in his debut season last year while Ramos is a former Spanish and Italian GT Champion.

Stradale Motorsport needs no introduction to South African motor sport fans and has been nominated to score Manufacturers’ points for Mercedes-AMG. Their driver line-up includes Charl Arangies, - who has won 12 championships in various categories, Arnold Neveling and Mercedes-AMG ambassador Clint Weston who will be watched with great interest from the grandstands.

Audi will have a strong presence with two Tresor Attempto Racing entries for the experienced all-German crew of Markus Winkelhock, Dennis Marschall and Alex Aka in one R8 LMS GT3 and Italian Mattia Drudi, Ricardo Feller and Audi works driver Patrick Niederhauser in the second R8 LMS machine.

Marius Jackson, who also needs no introduction to local enthusiasts, has entered a team with the reigning SA Endurance Champion 18-year-old Kwanda Mokoena and Toys-R-Us businessman Mo Mia behind the wheel of a MJR Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo 2.

A lone Porsche entry from Australian-based Grove Racing, driven by the Father and Son pairing of Stephen and Brenton Grove, will be joined by the vastly experienced Porsche factory driver Earl Bamber who has proven his speed at Kyalami in the past and also claimed two overall wins, for Porsche, at the Le Mans 24-Hour in 2015 and 2017.

KYALAMI SUPERCUP

The one-hour race-within-a-race will see three teams take the K9H start and peel into the pits after the first hour.

Heading the entry is the National SA GT AM Champion Sun Moodley in his Bigfoot Express Mercedes-AMG with rival Mikaeel Pitamber in a version of the same car. Pitamber raced in the DTM Trophy last year giving the 18-year-old much-needed experience of GT3 power and aero.

Rounding out the entry is newcomer Joseph Ellerine in his MJR Motorsport-run Audi R8 GT4; the youngster made his GT debut at the end of January, earning a class victory.

K9H qualifying will do away with the previous season’s Pole Shootout and average the three driver’s qualifying times to set the grid. Qualifying takes place on Friday from 15:00 with the K9H starting on Saturday at 13:00.

GTC/SUPACUP

Heading the support races is the opening round of the GTC Championship where Robert Wolk will be aiming for a third back-to-back championship in his InvestChem Toyota Corolla. Backing him up is his teammate Julian van der Watt in an InvestChem-backed Ford Focus ST.

Toyota Gazoo Racing will debut their brand-new Corolla Hatchbacks for veteran racer Michael van Rooyen and last year’s runner-up Saood Variawa joined by team newcomer Nathi Msimanga in a 2022 Corolla sedan.

Andrew Rackstraw debuts his RDSA/Sparco Volkswagen Golf GTi who will face-off against former F1600 rival Josh le Roux’s Chemical Logistics Audi.

In the GTC SupaCup class, Brad Liebenberg (Hype Energy Drink Polo) will take the fight to Volkswagen Motorsport’s Jonathan Mogotsi in a similar Polo GTi.

Damian and Nathan Hammond (Trinity Protection Services Polo) will battle with Calvin and Dominic Dias (Chemi/Liquid Energy Polo), JP Van der Walt’s Platinum Wheels version, Tate Bishop (Angri Polo), Tato Carello (Carello Auto) and Masters driver Stefan Snyders (Telerex Polo).

COMPCARE VOLKSWAGEN POLO CUP

Entering its 27th year, the CompCare Polo Cup is one of the most open championships in the country. Dawie van der Merwe (Nathan’s Motorsport) will square off against Charl Visser’s Universal Motorsport Polo with teen Jagger Robertson (Liqui Moly) also in the hunt for the title.

Hot rod racer Jason Loosemore, Karah Hill (Kalex), Dean Venter (VDN Auto Cars) and Mo Karodia (Fast 5 Motorsport) and Anthony Pretorius (Bucket List Racing) are likely to scrap for podiums all year long.

Ethan Coetzee (JRT Racing Experience) makes a welcome return and will face Buksi Komane (Nathan Motorsport), Farhaan Basha (QVWi Motorsport), Bryce Pillay (Techtisa) and Shivesh Bissoon (The Steaming Bean).

Newcomers Jeandre Marais (Syrabix), Roshaan Goodman (Upward Spiral) and Nathan Victor (Summit Racing) will face their baptism of fire on the K9H global stage.

MOBIL 1 V8 SERIES

The thundering Mobil V8s are a crowd favourite and will see the defending champion Mackie Adlem going for title number seven in his Adlem Auto Jaguar XKR. Also Jaguar mounted, Franco Di Matteo (Deltec Batteries) will have his hands full with Terry Wilford (Fuchs Ford Mustang) and Julian Familiaris’ Lube-net Chevvy Corvette.

Warren Lombard (Pepboys Ford Falcon) and Thomas Reib (Mobil 1 Chevvy Lumina) will battle against Steve Herbst (PPG Coatings Chev Corvette), Richard Fuller (Idemitsui Ford Falcon), Sten Jarl (Ford Falcon), Auke Compaan (Hurricane Automotive Mustang) and Sam Dahl’s ArcProTech Falcon).

BMW M PERFORMANCE PARTS RACE SERIES

All told, 59 BMWs will take to the track spread across five classes with the overall winner likely to come from the top A class – but not necessarily the champion elect.

Leon Loubser started his year off with a victory as did Andreas Meier in class B. With six other class A rivals, the front of the pack will be action-packed. Paulo Loureiro, Imaad Modack, Rick Loureiro and Carlo Garbini will try and prevent another runaway while 2022 GTC SupaCup champion Leyton Fourie will continue to make an impression after his strong series debut in January.

There are 13 Class B cars that will chase down Andreas Meier’s BMW Super Touring replica. The chase should be led by Paul Munro, Mansoor Parker, Salvi Gualttieri and Lyle Ramsay.

Class C sees Dawie Olivier take on the likes of champion Nicholas Fischer go up against Hein van der Merwe, Vigen Naidu, Shane Grobler, Neil Pillay, Troy Cochrane, Eugene Gouws and another six competitors snapping at their heels.

No less than 18 class D competitors will slug it out for honours at Kyalami. Riaan Lubbe leads the way and will expect to come under pressure from Trevor Long, Craig and Nicholas Herbst, Farhaad Ebrahim, Andre Diedericks amongst a host of challengers.

Dave Rehse leads the class E battle after one round and will find himself in a tough battle with Cobus Bohmer, Craig Rapp, Dewald Smith, Mike Grobler and Arri van Heerden.

WILD ROSE GIN SA SPORTS CAR SERIES

The two30-minute races for the SA Sports Car Series provides a perfect warm-up for the Kyalami 9-Hour. An eclectic array of open sports cars and GT3 machinery takes to the track, headed by three Ligier-Honda JS53s. 

Mikaeel Pitamber (Rico Barlow Racing), Riaan Botma (Auto Investments) and Trevor frost (Strocam Mining) will vie for the trophies but will be chased hard by the swarm of Porsches, Lamborghinis and McLarens.

Heading the onslaught should be Pieter Zeelie (Speads RS 12) and Franco Scribante’s twin-Hayabusa-powered Chevron B16 and Deon du Plessis’ KTM X-Bow RR.

Izak Spies and Michael Stephen will race a pair of Ultimate Outlaws McLaren MP4-12Cs in class GT A and be chased by Ricky Giannoccaro (G&H Transport Lamborghini Huracan GT3), Sam Hammond’s Trinity Lamborghini Super Trofeo, Nicky Dicks (Curvent Porsche GT3 Cup), Mo Mia (Toys-R-Us Porsche (1 GT3 Cup)) and Franco Di Matteo’s Deltec Ford Mustang.

The GTB class will be a battle between Roy Obery (Haval Edenvale Porsche 997 Cup), Roelf du Plessis (Ultimate Outlaws Chev), Kishoor Pitamber (Creative Ink Ferrari 360) and Richard Fuller’s Idemitsui Ford Falcon.

Philip Meyer (PPLE Group Porsche 924 GTR) will face off with Stefan Puschavez’s Chamdor Installations Porsche 911 RSR and the similar Evapco RSR of Andre van der Merwe.

INVESTCHEM F1600

Single-seater fans will be well catered for with the F1600 and FF Kent races. Antwan and Gerard Geldenhuys should duke it out in their Abacus Divisions Mygales, with Nicholas van Weeley (Magnificent Paints Mygale), airline pilot Andrew Schofield (Flysafair Mygale), Alex Vos (DV Building Supplies Mygale) and Troy Dolinschek (Sujean Mygale) hot on their heels.

Karabo Malemela’s Mygale, Storm Lanfear (AMD Engineering Mygale) Siya Mankonkwana (InvestChem Mygale) and Shrien Naidoo (PX Racing Mygale) keeping the front-runners honest.

In the FF Kent class, look to veteran Ian Schofield (Investchem Mygale) and Duncan Vos’ Swift to lock horns with Rick Morris (Investchem Mygale), Graham Hepburn (Qualipak Van Diemen), Allen Meyer (Investchem Van Diemen) and Ronald van Weeley (Magnificent Paints Van Diemen).

ITOO HISTORIC DEMONSTRATION

Lovers of historic race cars from the Kyalami 9-Hour days of yore will be thrilled with the historic demonstration which includes Colin Ellison’s Chevron B19 and Ford Thunderbolt, Pablo Clark’s collection of BMWs and Ferraris and Evolution2 Motorsport’s BMWs including a classic 635CSi

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Colin-on-Cars - Drama on the mountain

Never quite having the pace to hunt down the leaders, South African Sheldon van der Linde with Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts took the chequered flag in a solid fourth in the BMW M4 GT3’s Mount Panorama debut – in a 12-hour battle that saw just 0,9 seconds between the top two finishers.

SunEnergy1 and Mercedes-AMG defended their Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 crown in epic fashion and made the perfect start to this year’s Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli campaign by beating Manthey EMA and GruppeM Racing to victory in Australia’s International Enduro.

Kenny Habul, Luca Stolz and Jules Gounon also belied their status as Pro class underdogs to lead home a top-three covered by just 1, 5s at the end of a thrilling encounter around Mount Panorama where a record-breaking 53 000-strong crowd witnessed the fastest race in the event’s history.

It was also incredibly close thanks to the grandstand finish between Gounon, Matt Campbell and recovering Maro Engel who fought back from a drive-through penalty in the final hour after contact with Gounon at The Chase turned SunEnergy1’s Mercedes-AMG around.

Campbell, along with his fellow Porsche factory co-drivers Mathieu Jaminet and Thomas Preining, took the chequered flag just 0,9 s behind Gounon after failing to work an opening over the final 20 minutes, while Engel – who shared GruppeM’s Mercedes-AMG with Raffaele Marciello and Mikael Grenier – made up 14 seconds in his pursuit of the leaders.

The result saw Habul and Stolz go back-to-back at the Mountain, while Gounon became the first driver to win three 12 Hours – victories achieved across consecutive events. And Mercedes-AMG also equalled Audi Sport’s record after visiting victory lane for a third time.

Team WRT’s #32 BMW completed a top-four solely comprising IGTC-nominated entries.

Sheldon van der Linde

The strength of its driver crew relative to the other Pro entries made this a remarkable victory for SunEnergy1. However, the team – which received support from Akkodis ASP – also benefitted from a stroke of good fortune even before Engel’s drive-through left long-time leaders and pole winners GruppeM with a metaphorical as well as literal mountain to climb.

Engel was the class of the field in the opening stint en route to a five-second lead over Supercheap Auto Racing’s Maxi Goetz at the first round of pitstops. The car dropped back to fifth during the first caution period but had sufficient pace to re-emerge as the fastest front-runner despite an alternative strategy helping SunEnergy1 to spend large parts of the first six hours in the lead.

That was partly thanks to Habul completing his drive-time during the first quarter of the race, which then allowed Gounon and Stolz to keep the pressure on GruppeM, as well as Manthey EMA’s Porsche which was seldom outside of the top-three all day.

Neither of the BMWs spent time in the lead on merit but they were still very much in contention until the #46 M4 shared by Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin and Augusto Farfus was forced into the garage to repair a brake light with two-and-a-half hours left to run.

Ahead of them, the timing of Safety Cars – of which there were only a joint-record five across the 12 hours – left SunEnergy1 on a different strategy to, and swapping the lead with, GruppeM, which looked set to end the race out front. But that all changed in the penultimate hour when a datalogger technical issue necessitated repairs at the final pitstop.

The time lost and SunEnergy1 opting to double stint Gounon’s tyres gained #75 track position, albeit with less grip and a fired up Engel right behind.

The Mercedes-AMG colleagues circulated together for the first 15 minutes of their final stint until Engel spied an opening at The Chase and went for the inside just as Gounon was taking his line. The inevitable contact sent SunEnergy1 spinning across the grass as Engel powered into the lead.

The subsequent drive-through dropped him to third behind Campbell whose 12-second deficit to Gounon was halved as a result of the contact. The incident, as well as the Porsche’s fresher tyres, then helped the 2020 winner home in on the Mercedes-AMG, while Engel’s pace also saw him slash the deficit over the final 30 minutes.

But Gounon hung on to take the chequered flag and his record-breaking third Bathurst victory.

The sister car looked set to complete the top-five before making its unscheduled repairs, which elevated Supercheap Auto’s Triple Eight-run Mercedes-AMG.

With Habul’s Pro entry ineligible to score IGTC Independent Cup points at Bathurst, the class victory went to Jonathan Hui and his Harrolds Volante Rosso Motorsport co-drivers Kevin Tse, Ross Poulakis and Josh Hunt who finished 14th overall.

Hui, as well as Habul and Stephen Grove, will battle for more Independent Cup points when the Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli season continues later this month at the Kyalami 9 Hour (February 23-25).https://bit.ly/3l8ckBA

Colin-on-Cars - New season roars in

The new year in South Africa does really get going for the petrolhead fraternity until the Passion for Speed festival at Zwartkops Raceway - scheduled for January 28/28 - where some of finest fast cars will strut their stuff.

Speed is the challenge, but the machine is his weapon. It all started in America with the oval Daytona-type tracks and events in 1950. However, by the sixties big American family cars were racing on road racetracks. The drivers were the heroes of the day. These thunder sound monsters with 350 to 500 Horsepower engines with standard suspension and brakes became the rage.

In South Africa it started in the 7-litre Galaxie (the red monster) which Lee Thompson will be driving followed by the Ford Mustang Commit (Hennie Groenewald), Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt (Mark Du Toit) the Chevs, and Barracudas.

Graeme Nathan will be out for the first time to tame the Chevelle. Franco di Matteo will race the Black Widow in a 1975 Chev Bel-Air. Stiaan Kriel in the black Studebaker Lark. With Hennie Groenewald, Ben Morgenrood Mark du Toit, Lee Thompson, Jaki Scheckter, and Paolo Cavalieri to compete with the big new bangers.

Class B is equally competitive with repeating champion Paige Lindenberg in her grey Ford Fairlane being pushed to the limit by Oliver Broom’s 1965 Ford Mustang and the purple FIA Mustang. Carel Pienaar in his Ford Escort MK1 could just slip by the big bangers.

This is an annual “ONLY FOR THE BRAVE.”

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Colin-on-Cars - Branching out

It was a red-letter day 10 for Southern African bikers and cars at Dakar 2023, as Botswana’s Ross Branch scored his second stage win in three days, while SA rider Mike Docherty moved into the rookie bike lead with third overall. He joins compatriot Malle Moto rider Charan Moore in leading his class, while SA cars continue to dominate, leading three of the four car classes with four days left to race.

Ross Branch

Sand, sand and more sand: Comprising of 95% dunes, Wednesday’s 114 km stage from Haradh which ventured deep into the bowls of the Empty Quarter to Shaybah caused much intrigue. Bikers were up at 4am to take on sub 8° temperatures and a 470km liaison section, it was a shorter stage than most care to remember on the Dakar, but it was expected to be extreme.

It however turned out to be a short, sharp, and relatively easy stage by Dakar standards, with the first bike home in just an hour and 44 minutes after the start. 

LOEB WINS DAY 10

Sebastien Loeb and Fabian Lurquin continued in their relentless pursuit of a first Dakar Rally win for the 9-time World Rally Champion. However, Loeb’s mesmerising pace would hardly put a dent on the overall rankings. 

Sebastian Loeb

Barring a disaster in the last quarter, fourth on the day, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah is well on his way to his fifth Dakar victory, and his third for the South African Toyota Gazoo Racing team alongside Mathieu Baumel in their Hilux DKR T1+.

They Qatari veteran followed Loeb, DTM ace Mattias Ekstrom, and second overall, rookie sensation Lukas Moraes in another Hilux. Saudi home hero Yazeed Al Rajhi was fifth on Wednesday ahead of rear wheel drive winner Jakub Przygonski’s Mini, Henk Lategan’s Hilux and Mathieu Serradori’s SA built 4x2 Century CR6-T.

Lukas Moraes

Besides a little movement in the gaps, there was no change in the overall top ten. Attiyah leads Moraes by an hour and 20 minutes, with Loeb a further 16 minutes adrift in third. Toyota trio, SA Gazoo Racing crews Henk Lategan, Giniel De Villiers and former Le Mans winner Romain Dumas follow from Martin Prokop and Viktor Chytk in a Ford Raptor.

Another all-South African crew, eighth placed Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century CR6-T leads the rear-wheel drive T1.2 class. Daniel Schröder and SA navigator Ryan Bland’s PS Laser Red-Lined VK50 lead the amateur T1.1 class with teammates Tom Bell and SA’s Gerhard Schutte third. Which leaves South African made race cars leading three of Dakar 2023’s four car classes.

SOUTHERN AFRICAN BIKERS DOMINATE

Botswana’s Ross Branch on his Factory Hero and South African Michael Docherty’s R2 amateur class FK Husqvarna were in the mix from the get-go on Wednesday. Docherty initially led Factory Honda duo Adrien van Beveren and Pablo Quintanilla, who were closely trailed by Kevin Benavides’ KTM and Branch. Branch made steady progress to move ahead of van Beveren, Docherty, Benavides and Matthias Walkner’s KTM to win.

Further back, overall top two Skyler Howes’ Husqvarna and Toby Price’s KTM struggled to open the road as Howes led Price home by 34 seconds to consolidate his advantage. But it was Kevin Benavides passed them both to now lead Howes by a minute and a half overall, with Price a further 40 seconds adrift, over 3,000 km into Dakar 2023!

Docherty is back into the top 20 overall in 19th, as he now leads the motorcycle rookie rankings by all of 3 minutes and is up to fourth in R2. SA Malle Mote Hero Charan Moore finished 52nd after a tough day, but he’d crucially done enough to hold onto his 21 minute overall no service class lead.

Fellow South Africans, Stevan Wilken rode in 75th on Wednesday, Stuart Gregory 76th and Iron Lady Kirsten Landman 79th. Gregory is up to 67th overall and 10th in Malle Moto, Landman 76th overall and 12th in Malle Moto, and rookie Wilken 78th overall. Marcelo Madieros took the quad stage from  Manuel Andujar and Giovanni Enrico, with overall leader Alexandre Giroud fifth on Wednesday.

Seth Quintero and former quad winner Ignacio Casale fought it out for T3 side-by-side prototype honours, while Guilaume de Mevius kept Austin Jones in check overall. South African crews, rookie leaders Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar ran 14th to retain their 7th overall. 12th overall Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman were 20th on the day.

Gerard Farres Guell led Eryk and Marek Goczal in the T4 side by sides as Eryk Goczal slashed overall leader Rokas Baciuska’s advantage down to just 3 minutes 40 seconds with four days left to race. New overall leader Janus van Kasteren’s Iveco also led the trucks on Wednesday after overall leader Ales Loprais withdrew his Praga from the race due to a tragic incident which claimed the life of a spectator.

Thursday’s varied 274 km stage deep into the Empty Quarter is the first half of this year’s marathon stage. Crews are not allowed service assistance and will be in isolation overnight in a Camp in the desert.

Words: Motorsport Media

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Colin-on-Cars - Al-Attiyah still on top

Dakar 2023’s opening week has been a stunning success for South African men and machines, with incredible results across all categories. SA-built cars lead three of Dakar’s four car categories to the traditional midway rest day, as South African riders led the way among the two wheelers too.

Nasser Al-Attiyah

2022 car winners, Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah and navigator Mathieu Baumel’s Gazoo Racing Hilux leads a proudly South African built Toyota 1-2-3 overall. Five SA Hiluxes occupy the top six after the first half of the race. South Africans, Brian Baragwanath and Leonard Cremer’s Century also leads the T1.2 4x2 class. German Daniel Schröder and his South African navigator, Ryan Bland,  also lead the amateur T1.1 4x4 car class in their South African built PS Red-Lined VK50 .

Sunday was a red letter day for Southern Africans on two wheels too. Botswana star Ross Branch stormed to victory amongst the bikes. SA rookie Michael Docherty was sixth to take the day in the amateur R2 class and slash his rookie class second overall to just five minutes behind leader Neels Theric. 33rd overall, Charan Moore took yet another Malle Moto win to consolidate his lead in the no service class.

Ross Branch

CARS: SOUTH AFRICAN DOMINATION

Navigation and opening the road up front appeared difficult on Sunday. Saturday’s car top five languished well down the order at mid distance. 31st place starters Carlos Sainz Sr. and Lucas Cruz’ Audi RS Q e-Tron led the way from overall leader Al Attiyah, and Sebastien Loeb in his Prodrive Hunter. Loeb later overtook Al Attiyah for second. 

Sainz’ woes continued as a speeding penalty cost him an almost certain stage win. Loeb therefore won the stage ahead of Al Attiyah and penalty-stricken veteran, Carlos Sainz Sr. in third. SA duo Henk Lategan and Brett Cummings were fourth as top ten runners, Romain Dumas and Max Delfino Dumas ended ninth, with Baragwanath 20th and Giniel de Villiers and Dennis Murphy’s Gazoo Hilux 21st.

So, Al Attiyah leads a Toyota 1-2-3 by an hour from Lategan and rookie Moraes. Loeb has clawed back to fourth, seconds clear of de Villiers. Le Mans winner Dumas makes it five SA Hiluxes in the top six from Martin Prokop’s Ford Raptor in seventh and Baragwanath and Cremer’s SA-built Century that leads the T1.2 4x2 class in eighth overall.  Schröder and Bland’s SA Red-Lined also leads the amateur T1.1 4x4s. 

Looking back at the first week, the petrol-electric Audis hit the ground running. WRC legend Sainz took both the prologue and day 1 in the Audi. Al-Attiyah then won Day 2 as Sainz stayed ahead overall. Guerlain Chicherit’s Hunter took Day 3 as Attiyah in 13th moved into a lead he would not relinquish. Loeb then bounced back from his trouble the previous day to win on Wednesday.

Al Attiyah then consolidated his lead with double wins Thursday and Friday. Toyota GR Hilux duo, Saudi hero Yazeed Al Rajhi and Dirk van Zitzewitz hit back from a horrid week to win on Saturday before Loeb benefited from Sainz’ penalty to take a second win on Sunday.

Of the pros, Serradori sits 12th, Al Rajhi provisionally 17th, Prodrive trio Chicherit in 16th, Vaidotas Zala 39th and Orlando Terranova has retired. Sainz’ progress is scant reward after Dakar’s first week was particularly cruel to the highly vaunted petrol electric Audi team. He sits 37th overall with Ekstrom struggling and Stephane Peterhansel out after a disastrous first week.

Henk Lategan

BIKES: SA HEROES BRANCH, DOCHERTY, MOORE WIN

Sunday was also splendid for Southern Africa on two wheels. Botswana’s Ross Branch put a torrid first week behind him to take a storming win on his Hero. He ended a minute and 33 seconds clear of Mason Klein’s KTM, Daniel Sanders’ GasGas, Pablo Quintanilla and Adrien van Beveren’s Hondas, and SA rookie and R2 amateur class winner, Michael Docherty on his FK Husqvarna.

Branch and Docherty were in the mix from early Sunday, with Ross second behind Klein, and ahead of Sanders and Docherty. Branch moved into the lead as Pro riders, van Beveren on a Honda and Hero man Seb Bühler moved past Docherty as the morning wore on, but Iron Mike fought back to end sixth. 

South Africa’s no service Malle Moto Original class leader Charan Moore meanwhile enjoyed another productive ride to 33rd overall. Compatriots, Malle Moto duo Stuart Gregory was 80th, rookie Stevan Wilken 86th, and Iron Lady heroine Kirsten Landman 89th.

Kirsten Landman

The bike race has delivered exceptional racing with eight winners in eight days of racing. Toby Price’s KTM took the prologue before Ricky Brabec won day 1 on his Honda and then Klein took Monday’s race to lead overall. Sanders won on Tuesday, as Joan Barreda’s Honda then took Wednesday ‘s win as Sanders led overall.

Adrien van Beveren won Day 6 as the consistent American Skyler Howes took the overall lead on his Husqvarna. His teammate Luciano Benavides took Friday’s win as Howes stayed ahead overall. Saturday’s bike race was cancelled, before Branch made it 8 out of 8. Klein moved a mere 40 seconds clear of Howes overall, with Benavides, Price, Quintanilla, and van Beveren within 5 minutes of the lead.

Michael Docherty got off to a flying start early in the week, mixing it up with the pros up front, before struggling a little on the tough third and fourth days. He regrouped and forged back to second among the rookies. A fired up Sunday run saw him back up front to end sixth as he climbed to a provisional 21st overall at the rest day.

Charan Moore took control of Malle Moto from the get-go, winning the no service class on the prologue and four of the first seven days to emerge a comfortable original leader on Friday before Saturday’s stage was cancelled. 33rd on Sunday, he won Malle Moto again to sit 31st overall. Ross Branch suffered a dreadful midweek, before winning on Sunday to claw back to 35th overall.

Although exhausted by Friday, amateur SA Malle Moto duo Stuart Gregory and Kirsten Landman starred throughout. They sit 10th and 12th in the no service class, and 68th and 77th overall. Rookie Stevan Wilken had a clean run until a fall on Friday, but he bounced back to 80th overall.

Dakar has also been cruel to the bikers. 2022 winner Sam Sunderland and SA amateur Bradley Cox crashed out on Day 1. Sunday winner Brabec went out Monday and Hero rider Joaquim Rodriguez was one of ten bike retirements on Thursday. Sherco pro Rui Goncalves went out Friday, while Dakar has not been kind to troubled Hero duo Branch and Seb Bühler, among others.

Michael Docherty

EPIC ACTION IN ALL DAKAR CLASSES

Elsewhere, Christina Gutierrez Herrero took the T3 side-by-side prototype prologue. Red Bull teammates Francisco Lopez Contardo won Day 2, Mitch Guthrie day 3 and Austin Jones day 4. Guthrie won Thursday, and Seth Quintero Friday before Guilaume de Mevius broke the Red Bull stranglehold on Friday. Guthrie took a third win on Saturday and Joao Ferreira took the Sunday win.

Overall, de Mevius and Francois Casalet’s GR Racing leads a Red Bull throng of Jones, Quintero and Contardo after form man Guthrie fell well down after several issues. 7th placed  South African crew Eben Basson and Abertus Pienaar enjoyed a strong week to lead the T3 rookies in their GR Rally, with compatriots Geoff Minnitt and Gerhard Snyman 14th in their HBE Can Am.

Rokas Baciuska leads Marek and Eryk Goczal in the T4 side-by-sides. Baciuska won the prologue before teen sensation Eryk Goczal took Day 1 and dad Marek Goczal won Day 2. Cristian Batista won Tuesday, Eryk Goczal Wednesday, and Baciuska took Thursday’s stage. Marek won Friday, Baciuska Saturday, and Jeremias Gonzalez on Sunday. Mozambican Paulo Oliveira and Miguel Alberty sit 26th overall.

Dominant throughout the early days, Frenchman Alexandre Giroud took control of the quads. He then rolled back the throttle to control the pace over Pablo Copetti, Friday winner Moreno Flores, Saturday and Sunday winner Manuel Andujar, and rookie Juraj Varga overall.

Ales Loprais, Petr Pokora and Jaroslav Valr’s Praga leads the trucks overall from Martin van den Brink and Janus van Kasteren’s Ivecos. Martin Macik’s Iveco took the Prologue and Day 1 before Loprais won on Monday. Gert Huznik’s Iveco won on Tuesday before retiring on Wednesday when Macik won again. Loprais, van den Brink, van Kasteren and Macik took the next four stage wins.

Monday’s rest day will bring a much needed recharge to the four-wheeler crews after eight gruelling days of racing, while the bikers will enjoy their second day off in three. The action resumes on Tuesday with a rather different and mainly gravel 358 km long track. Tuesday’s stage will be the ninth of 14 stages to Haradh, where a few dunes will test crews toward the finish. 

Words: Motorsport Media

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Colin-on-Cars - Enticing lineup from BMW

Although BMW M Motorsport has confirmed it will contest the 2023 Intercontinental GT Challenge Powered by Pirelli campaign, the final driver selection has not been announced – but could include South African ace, Sheldon van der Linde.

Other racers could include Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts who have joined the extensive list of BMW M works drivers. 

The 20-strong roster also includes Brazilian, Augusto Farfus, who clinched the IGTC drivers’ crown when BMW last entered the globe-trotting GT3 series in 2020, as well as Connor De Phillippi who shared victories with the Brazilian at Indianapolis and Kyalami, respectively.

Both wins were achieved with the previous generation M6.

Successor

Now its successor, the M4 GT3, will make its Mount Panorama debut with Team WRT early next year before the likes of Rowe Racing – which is contesting Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS – nominates additional IGTC entries at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Customer teams are also eligible to score points on BMW’s behalf at all of 2023’s Intercontinental rounds.

BMW M Motorsport’s busy 2023 schedule also features the Nurburgring 24 Hours and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“After a successful 2022, including the title win in the DTM, we are shifting up another gear next year,” says Head of BMW M Motorsport, Andreas Roos. “We have improved what was already a very strong squad of works drivers with René Rast, Maxime Martin, Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts. 

“On the team side, we are continuing our collaborations, which have grown over many years, including with BMW M Team RLL, BMW M Team RMG and Rowe Racing. We also welcome BMW M Team WRT as a new BMW M Motorsport team. We are facing some exciting sporting challenges in 2023 and the years to come, for which we need the best teams and drivers. After all, the goal is to add to the success story of the BMW brand in motor racing.”

Further full-season IGTC manufacturers will be confirmed in due course, while the championship’s 2022 campaign concludes this weekend at the Gulf 12 Hours.

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