INEX Legends Championship – Round 4 – Dezzi – 2016-06-04 – Race Report

The INEX Legends Championship made the long trip down to the scenic Dezzi Raceway in Port Shepstone on the KwaZulu-Natal coast on Saturday 4 June for the fourth round of the 2016 season.

The traditional ball draw for grid positions saw Johann van de Venter (M) on pole position with Llewellyn Myburgh (P) alongside him. Lonika Maartens (SP) would line up in third position with her team mate Anton Repsold (M) joining her on the second row. Brothers Shjaell Nel (SP) and Shaun Nel (P) would round out the top six starting positions.

Race 1

The first race of the day saw the eager field of competitors charge through the first few corners. Llewellyn Myburgh took the lead with Maartens, Repsold and the rest of the field in tow. A frantic first lap saw the faster drivers scything their way through the field as well. Justin Robertson (M) was up to fourth position by the end of the first lap with Seef Fourie (P) and Divan Myburgh (P) in hot pursuit.

Llewellyn dropped back suddenly when a mysterious misfire caused a sudden loss of power. Robertson inherited the lead on lap two with Fourie and Divan getting past Maartens and Repsold to slot into the top three as well. A decisive move was made at the halfway point of the race when Divan took the lead, bringing Fourie along with him. The battle behind the leading trio was just as close with Jordan Larsson (SP) moving into fourth position behind the leaders. Shaun Nel grabbed fifth place with Anro Stadler (SP) slotting into sixth.

Nel took fourth position a lap later and set about after the leading trio. The titanic battle for the lead continued but it was Myburgh who only just took the flag ahead of a determined Fourie to claim the Overall victory – 0.049 of a second separating the pair across the line! Robertson took an untroubled third position.

Race 1 Results

Race 2

A reverse grid for the second race saw the action get off to another frantic start. Divan Myburgh grabbed the lead ahead of pole man Morne Stoltz (P) with Richard Upton (SP) and Jordan Larsson hot on their heels. Upton and Larsson were through to second and third places respectively after the first lap with Anro Stadler, Justin Robertson and Seef Fourie quickly gaining on them as well. Larsson ruined his chances when he ran wide through turn one on the second lap losing a handful of positions in the process.

Divan continued to open up his lead with Upton, Robertson and Fourie in hot pursuit. Upton’s best effort of the season was cut short when an errant stone jammed the throttle of his car forcing him to retire to the pits. The battle at the front was far from over however with Fourie grabbing second place from Robertson. Larsson was also fighting his way back and took seventh place from Stoltz on the same lap.

Shaun Nel and Llewellyn Myburgh got past Stadler on the fifth lap to claim fourth and fifth places respectively but Nel dropped back to seventh position when he spun out through turn ten. The final lap of the race saw a tight battle behind the leaders with Llewellyn, Stadler and Larsson running nose to tail.

Llewellyn missed a gear in the final stages allowing Stadler to grab fourth position. Divan went on to take a comfortable victory ahead of Fourie with Robertson holding onto third position yet again.

Race 2 Results

Race 3

The final race of the day could not have been scripted any better with nonstop action highlighting an unforgettable event. Llewellyn Myburgh took the lead with Richard Upton, Anton Repsold and Lonika Maartens in tow. Upton grabbed the lead early on with a bold move around the outside of turn ten. Once again the faster drivers in the field were making short work of getting to the front.

Seef Fourie was up to third place by lap three with Lonika Maartens and Divan Myburgh in tow. Fourie grabbed second through turn nine and set about after race leader Upton. Unfortunately Upton ran wide through turn one on the next lap handing the lead to Fourie.

The battle behind the leaders was just as close with Divan and Anro Stadler getting past Maartens to claim fourth and fifth places respectively. Upton fluffed his chances yet again when he ran wide through turn one on the sixth lap handing second place to Llewellyn in the process.

Drama struck for Divan later in the same lap when the throttle on his car stuck wide open coming into the tight complex section before the main straight. He ploughed violently into the unforgiving embankment ending his race on the spot, bringing out the red flag in the process. Thankfully he escaped with minor injuries – the same could not be said for the car however.

When the race restarted on lap eight it was Fourie who retained the lead ahead of Llewellyn and Upton. Stadler held on for fourth position with Robertson and Jordan Larsson hot on his heels. Larsson grabbed fifth position a lap later and set about after Stadler.

Llewellyn ran wide through turn one on lap ten and dropped back to fifth. Upton also dropped back after an error in the same corner saw him drop back as well. Stadler inherited second position with Larsson and a recovered Llewellyn in tow. Robertson was also on a late charge as he challenged Llewellyn for position. The pair ran side by side for a number of corners before he was able to secure fourth place heading into the complex.

With time quickly running out it was Fourie who romped home to an unchallenged victory – setting a new lap record for the Class in the process, smashing it by more than half a second with a time of 1:25.608! Stadler took his best result to date with a well-deserved second place while Upton impressed with a fine third overall.

Race 3 Results

The next round of the INEX Legends Championship will visit the rustic Midvaal Raceway near Vereeniging on the 25th of June.

Race Report by: Greg Reilly
Event Photographs: www.RacePics.co.za
Media requests can be directed to: media@racepics.co.za
Website: www.legendsracing.co.za
Facebook: LegendsRacingSA

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