Formula Vee Returns to Kyalami
The battle for the 2007 South African National Formula Vee Championship,
resumes at Kyalami on the 8th September, with the running of the sixth
round of the 2007 Pro Tour series. Also on the program, will be SA National
Championship races for Hollard Shelby Can Am and Investchem Formula Ford
Zetec, Regional Championship events, for Altech Porsche Unlimited Challenge
and Goldwagen VW Challenge and Club events for Altech Porsche 924
Challenge, Silver Cup and Super Hatch. Silver Cup and Super Hatch, will be
run as a combined fifteen lap race, at the end of the day. Motor Cycle
enthusiasts will are also catered for, with two races for the Altech
Kawasaki ZX10 Masters Cup, while the second heat for the Hollard Shelby Can
Am and Altech Porsche Unlimited categories, will again be a combined event,
a format which produced awesome racing at the previous Kyalami Pro Tour
round, as well as at East London and Phakisa. With the Hollard Shelby Can
Am sports cars, the Ferrari 360 Cup cars, a Ferrari 250M, the Lotus Exige
and a full field of Porsches, including the awesome 956, some extremely
potent GT2s, a 917 replica and a 935 K3 replica, all competing in the same
race, this is certainly a race, not to be missed.
Heading the Formula Vee entry, is the reigning Champion and current log
leader Alan Holm (No1 Lasersprint Rhema 2). His winning streak has however
been broken and he has, not had a win in the last five races, after winning
the first seven races in a row! The recent victories have gone to Peter
Hills (No2 Vacuform Rhema 2) who won the second heat, at the Zwartkops
National Championship event and the second heat, at the recent Lichtenburg
Regional Championship event, while Dennis Johns (No8 Geyser Attorneys Rhema
2), took both victories at the Phakisa National Championship event and the
first heat victory, at Lichtenburg. The only other regular ex Champion in
the field, Symm Grobler (No5 Auto Mecca Rhema 2), has yet to record a
victory this year and could be looking to bounce back at Kyalami..
The battle at the head of the field should however, no longer be confined
to the four ex Champions. At Phakisa Trevor Bland (No6 Rhema 2) and sixteen
year old Cape Town based development driver Courtney Steenveld (No23 NLDTF
Indy Oil Rhema 1) both invaded this elite group, for the first time and
should be there or there about at Kyalami as well. For Steenveld and the
other development driver, Durban's Zahieer Essa (No71 NLDTF Rhema 1),
Kyalami will be the first time this year that they are returning to a
circuit that they have already raced on. Also capable of upsetting the
apple cart, at Kyalami, is Jaco Schriks (No3 Lasersprint Rhema 2) and to
add fuel to the fire, relations between Holm and Johns are a little
strained, after a coming together in the first heat at Lichtenburg, which
eliminated Holm from the race.
With a full field expected, for the Kyalami race, there should be plenty of
action and other good close battles raging all the way down the field, with
the likes of Essa, James Leach (No52 Auto Fair Rhema 1), Ben Pienaar (No101
BJ Pro Welding Rhema 1), Gareth Jackson (No10 Lasersprint Rhema 2), Bradley
Martin (No14 Rhema 2), Jannie Geyser (No7 Geyser Attorneys Vision), Johan
Gouws (No27 Computer Assemblies Mantis), Secunda's Gert Van Den Berg (No40
Rhema 1), Doug MacDonald (No18 Fantastic Racing Rhema 1), Nico Blignaut
(No26 Gilus SAP IT Rhema 1) and Kevin Cartmell (No17 Rand Brake Sting), all
expected to give a good account of themselves.
Making their first appearance, at a National event in Gauteng, will be
Lucky Thomaides (No120 Midrand Diesel & Turbo Rhema 2) and Jannie Geyser
Jnr (No60 Geyser Attorneys Rhema 2), while Alan Kernick (No38 Randburg
Distributors Tasman) will be back and could well be capable of making it
into the top ten, on race day. A newcomer to Formula Vee racing who should
be making his Formula Vee debut at Kyalami, is Azeem Boomberg who has
competed in Karting, as a member of the Castrol/Toyota Karting and Mail &
Guardian development programs and later raced in the Vodacom Sports 2000
development series. Boomberg is expected to be behind the wheel of Holm's
Rhema 1, raced by Jackson last year and is related to the Domingo family
who where a part of an era in South African motor racing history from 1967
to 1984.
See You at Kyalami
-credit: safv
