The Liqui Moly Legends Championship made their way to the scenic Dezzi Raceway on the KZN coast for the first time on Saturday 2 May for round three of the 2015 championship. Once again this popular series showed its continual growth with an impressive twenty two car field making the long trip down to Port Shepstone.
As always the traditional ball draw produced a few interesting results for the grid positions for the first race of the day. Franco di Matteo (Pro) drew pole position for the first time since joining the series, while Lonika Maartens (Young Lion) found herself on the front row alongside the experienced veteran. Young guns Keagan Wessels (Semi-Pro) and Divan Myburgh (Pro) would line up on the second row, with Rudy Myburgh (Master) and Llewellyn Myburgh (Pro) keeping the family flag flying high to lock out the third row of the grid.
This event also saw the addition of three very experienced drivers who were sure to shake things up amongst the series regulars. Current rally ace Guy Botterill (Pro) stepped into the Liqui Moly sponsored car, with former Opel OPC teammates Reghard Roets (Pro) and Gary van Heerden (Pro) also spicing up an already impressive entry list. However all three would be starting from further back on the grid as none championship contenders.
Race 1
An impressive field of 22 cars made the long trip down to the scenic Dezzi Raceway
The first race of the day got off to the usual rolling start into the first corner. With the faster drivers in the field starting further back on the grid, a frantic charge into the first corner was definitely on the cards. The inevitable chaos ensued as three into one would not go. A collision between Rudy Myburgh and Seef Fourie (Pro) saw the latter get airborne and flip over the front end of di Matteo’s car. This left the rest of the field shooting off in all directions to avoid further chaos. The red flag was brought out to clear up the remains of the cars involved in the incident, thankfully with no one experiencing personal injury from the big incident.
Wessels grabbed the lead at the re-start with the rest of the field following him through turn one under yellow flags. Llewellyn slotted into second position ahead of his cousin Divan, with Morne Stoltz (Pro), Justin Robertson (Pro) and a fired up Roets in hot pursuit. Defending champion Devin Robertson outbraked himself through turn one on the second lap and did remarkably well to carve his way through the cycad garden without hitting anything. Race leader Wessels was then unceremoniously punted into a spin on the same lap and dropped to the back of the field.
Llewellyn gained the lead ahead of Divan with a recovered Robertson slotting into third position ahead of stablemate Stoltz. Roets and Botterill were making good progress as well as they chased down the leading pack in fifth and sixth positions respectively. Botterill squeezed past Roets through turn nine on the third lap, bringing Robertson Senior along with him. The pair then repeated the feat on Stoltz, dropping him down by a further two positions as well. Roets followed their example with young Maartens getting past Stoltz on the same lap as well.
Devin Robertson took second position on the fifth lap and then proceeded to grab the lead two laps later. Guest driver van Heerden saw his efforts for the day come to nought when terminal engine failure ended his challenge.
When the chequered flag came out it was Robertson who claimed a narrow victory ahead of Llewellyn Myburgh. Divan Myburgh had to settle for a lonely third position. Maartens took the Young Lions category with an impressive fifth overall, while series newcomer Neville Loosemoore took the Semi-Pro class with a respectable top ten position on debut. Fred Els had a consistent drive to claim the Masters Class honours.
Fourie walked away from this flip to claim points and a podium in the next two races
Race 1 Results
- Devin Robertson – Best lap: 1:26.844
- Llewellyn Myburgh – Best lap: 1:27.677
- Divan Myburgh – Best lap: 1:28.067
- Guy Botterill – Best lap: 1:29.337
- Lonika Maartens – Best lap: 1:29.733
- Reghard Roets – Best lap: 1:29.501
Race 2
Erasmus and Divan Myburgh fought tooth and nail in the second race
A partial reverse grid for the second heat of the day would keep things interesting. Robertson picked up where he left off as he took the lead through turn six on the opening lap. Big Boss Auto team mates Willie Erasmus and Justin Robertson slotted in behind him with Shaun Nel (Pro) holding off Llewellyn and Divan Myburgh. A battle royale started to develop amongst the top six with positions changing numerous times over the next few laps. Incredibly, a repaired Fourie was also scything his way through the field as well. He joined the party on the third lap already as he took sixth position.
Roets’ luck ran out when a puncture side lined him on lap four. With Robertson leaving the rest of the field in his wake, the real battle was for the rest of the podium positions. Erasmus held on to second position with Divan getting past Llewellyn for third. Fourie had worked his way up to fifth position with Nel relegating Robertson Senior to seventh. Series newcomer Jason Loosemoore was putting in an impressive performance as well as he came to grips with a new car and circuit. He had fought his way into eighth position ahead of Botterill and Wessels.
A repaired di Matteo was robbed of a decent result when a broken accelerator cable ended his race on the fifth lap. The battle for the podium continued out in front however. Erasmus started losing power when the exhaust branches came loose on his car, allowing Divan to close the gap on him in the last few laps of the race. Divan made his move on the penultimate lap when he got past Erasmus to claim second position. Erasmus couldn’t afford to relax however as Llewellyn was closing in on him as well.
Robertson picked up his second win for the day as he romped home to victory ahead of Divan. In a run down to the line Erasmus only just held onto third position ahead of Llewellyn. Justin Robertson picked up the Masters honours with young Jason Loosemoore impressing all as he claimed the Young Lions laurels with a fine eighth position overall. Keagan Wessels came back to claim the win in the Semi-Pro class.
The racing throughout the field was closer than ever
Race 2 Results
- Devin Robertson – Best lap: 1:26.138
- Divan Myburgh – Best lap: 1:26.647
- Willie Erasmus – Best lap: 1:28.057
- Llewellyn Myburgh – Best lap: 1:26.901
- Seef Fourie – Best lap: 1:27.875
- Shaun Nel – Best lap: 1:28.135
Race 3
Di Matteo fought back hard in his battle scarred machine
The final heat of the day would see a reverse grid based on the points accumulated from the first two races. This would most certainly set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons! The opening lap was a mad charge through the first few corners, with the faster drivers in the field making their way through the pack from the back of the grid.
Di Matteo held the lead ahead of Fourie and Stoltz as they crossed the line for the first time. Steve Nel (Masters) found himself in fourth position with Rudy Myburgh and Robertson hot on his heels. Nel’s challenge was short lived however when he spun on the second lap. Fred Els (Master) had nowhere to go and collided with the stranded Nel. The head on impact between the two veterans bent the front bumper of Nel’s car, jamming the front wheel and ending his race on the spot.
Fourie took the lead on the same lap with Robertson relegating di Matteo to third position a lap later. The charge behind the leaders continued as well with Divan slotting into fourth position ahead of Stoltz and Rudy. Wessels was having a much better race this time around as he found himself in seventh position ahead of Llewellyn. Robertson was as determined as ever and grabbed the lead through turn six on lap four. Divan was also on a move as he dropped di Matteo to fourth position on the same lap as well.
Divan then set his sights on the leaders and started reeling in the battle scarred car of Fourie. Llewellyn Myburgh followed his cousin’s example and picked off Wessels and then Stoltz to move into fifth position on lap six. Divan then dived up the inside of Fourie through turn one to gain second position on the next lap, with Llewellyn grabbing fourth from di Matteo a lap later. The race behind the leading pack was just as close with some late charges from further back in the field keeping things interesting. An impressive Roets was on a charge as he passed both Shaun Nel and Robertson Senior to secure another top six result for himself.
Robertson cruised home to secure his third victory of the day, ensuring that he claimed the official lap record at Dezzi Raceway for the series as well – 1:26.138 set in the second race of the day. Divan was kept honest as he was chased all the way to the line for second position by Fourie. Fifth placed di Matteo did well to claim the Masters class win in his battle scarred racer, with local boy Clinton Bezuidenhout taking the honours in the Young Lions class. Once again Wessels was pushed around a bit, but was still able to hold on to take the points in the Semi-Pro category.
Roets took home two top six results for the Denmar Steel racing team
Race 3 Results
- Devin Robertson – Best lap: 1:26.686
- Divan Myburgh – Best lap: 1:27.178
- Seef Fourie – Best lap: 1:28.008
- Llewellyn Myburgh – Best lap: 1:28.052
- Franco di Matteo – Best lap: 1:30.058
- Reghard Roets – Best lap: 1:28.754
Top Ten Points Table
Botterill was quick but suffered his fair share of bad luck as well
- Divan Myburgh (P) – 1445 points
- Devin Robertson (P) – 1395 points
- Llewellyn Myburgh (P) – 1345 points
- Seef Fourie (P) – 1240 points
- Willie Erasmus (P) – 1170 points
- Keagan Wessels (SP) – 920 points
- Franco di Matteo (M) – 910 points
- Shaun Nel (P) – 855 points
- Clinton Bezuidenhout (YL) – 795 points
- Justin Robertson (P) – 760 points
