Race Report: Liqui Moly Legends Championship – Round 4 – Zwartkops Raceway

The Liqui Moly Legends Championship made their way to the Zwartkops Raceway for the first time this season on Saturday 16 May for the fourth round of the 2015 championship.

A record entry of twenty six starters was once again proof of how quickly this popular racing series continues to grow.

The traditional ball draw produced a few interesting results of the grid for the first race. Defending champion Devin Robertson (Pro) would start from pole position with Justin Robertson (Masters) making it an all family affair on the front row. Morne Stoltz (Pro) would start from third position with series newcomer Anro “Stompie” Stadler (Semi-Pro) alongside him.

Rudy Myburgh found himself in fifth position with Johann van de Venter locking out the third row for the two Masters competitors.

Robertson took the lead in the Overall championship with victory in the first race

The start of the first race saw a frantic charge down through the first corner. Devin Robertson grabbed an immediate lead with the rest of the field fighting it out for the rest of the positions. Llewellyn Myburgh (Pro) had a great start as he stormed from eighth position to third by turn four. His cousin Divan Myburgh (Pro) did not have the same luck however as he slowed with a mysterious misfire – forcing him into eventual retirement three laps later.

Llewellyn had grabbed second position behind Robertson by the end of the first lap. Newcomer Stadler held onto third position with Robertson Senior hot on his heels. Steve Nel’s recent run of bad luck continued as he ran straight off the track through turn four – luckily being able to continue with no damage to his car. Seef Fourie was scything his way through the field from fifteenth position and was already into the top six by the second lap. He fought his way past the opposition to slot into third a lap later. Stoltz followed his example as he passed Robertson Senior for fifth position. Johan van der Venter and Franco di Matteo (Master) were involved in a scrap of their own with the pair rubbing fenders through turn four as di Matteo picked up seventh position. Shaun Nel then relegated van der Venter by another position a lap later.

With the leaders settling into a good rhythm out in front the battle behind them was far from over. Di Matteo lined Justin Robertson up heading down the back straight and passed him around the outside of turn four on the fourth lap. Nel was in his slip stream and followed the veteran through to drop Robertson Senior down to eighth position. The pair then repeated the feat by passing Stadler and Stoltz on the next lap as well.

When the flag dropped after eight exciting laps it was Robertson who claimed a comfortable victory ahead of Myburgh. Fourie made up a lot of ground on the leaders but had to be content with third position. Di Matteo claimed the Masters honours with a strong fifth position, while young Keagan Wessels made a late charge to claim the Semi Pro laurels with an impressive sixth. Rookie Jason Loosemoore crossed the line in thirteenth position to win the Young Lions category.

A string of impressive results saw Wessels claim fourth overall for the day

A partially inverted grid for the second race would almost certainly keep things interesting. When the dust had settled through turn three it was Willie Erasmus (Pro) who had grabbed the lead ahead of Wessels and Fourie. Series newcomer Neville Loosemoore (Masters) ruined his chances with a spin on the opening lap but was able to get back up and running again.

Fourie made short work of getting to the front as he led the field across the line after the first lap. Erasmus dropped back to second position with Wessels holding onto third. Llewellyn Myburgh slotted into fourth ahead of his cousin Divan. Jacques Taljaard (Semi-Pro) made a welcome return to the series as he secured sixth position ahead of Nel, Fred Els (Master) and a hard charging Robertson.

The pace at the sharp end of the field had really picked up by the third lap with Fourie holding onto the lead ahead of Llewellyn and Robertson. Wessels had dropped back to fourth position but was holding Erasmus, di Matteo and Nel at bay. A puncture on the left front ruined Erasmus’ chances a lap later, with series debutant Charl Taylor (Semi-Pro) retiring to the pits with mechanical gremlins for the second race in a row.

Di Matteo wasn’t about to be outshone by a youngster and squeezed past Wessels to grab fourth position on lap six. After battling to find a way past Myburgh, Robertson eventually passed him through the turn three sweep on the same lap. Fourie looked like he had a comfortable gap on the defending champion, but a missed gear through turn two on the last lap of the race saw Robertson drastically close the gap.

Fourie had to defend for all he was worth and an exciting run for the line saw the latter claim the victory with the narrowest of margins – 0.046 of a second to be exact! Myburgh had the best seat in the house as he finished less than a second behind the leaders to claim third position. Fourth placed di Matteo claimed the Masters honours once again. Wessels claimed another top 6 result, securing his second win in the Semi Pro class as well. Loosemoore Junior also impressed in his first outing to Zwartkops Raceway to claim yet another victory in the Young Lions category with a hard fought ninth position overall.

Fourie was on the limit to claim the victory in the second race

The final race of the day would see a full reverse grid with the opening laps of the race destined to be a very busy affair! Divan Myburgh made a great start to grab the lead around the outside of turn one. Chaos ensued further back in the field however as Kishoor Pitamber clashed with team mate Justin Robertson coming out of turn two, and then collected Shaun Nel as well with the pair hurtling across the grass into the unforgiving steel barriers. This incident would bring the safety car out for two laps.

When the safety car came in it was Erasmus who grabbed the lead ahead of the father and son pairing of Rudy and Divan Myburgh. With the usual front runners scything their way through the pack, this was short lived however. Fourie and Els relegated Divan to fifth position with Robertson hunting him down as well. Positions continued to change amongst the top six with Robertson fighting his way through to fourth position a lap later. Stadler followed his lead and grabbed fifth position from Els, with Llewellyn Myburgh making his way up the ranks as well. For the third time in a row an unlucky Divan dropped further back in the field due to the persistent misfire that he had been suffering from all day.

Fourie grabbed second position from Myburgh Senior on lap two with Robertson doing the same a few corners later to claim third. Llewellyn slotted in behind his uncle with Stadler getting past Els to grab sixth position. Fourie and Robertson got past Erasmus through turn two a lap later with Robertson then diving up the inside of Fourie to grab the lead through turn four. Rudy was holding his nephew at bay for fourth position, while Stadler was coming under pressure from Wessels. Taljaard split the mid field on lap six when he was tapped into a spin through turn eight. Young Clinton Bezuidenhout suffered a similar fate three laps later when a spongy brake pedal saw him go off through turn four.

The leaders were still hard at battle out in front with Fourie not allowing Robertson to get away from him. Llewellyn was also on a late charge as he finally got past his uncle on the eighth lap to slot into fourth position behind Erasmus. The rest of the chasing pack was just as close with no quarter been given or taken. When the chequered flag came out it was Robertson who only just held on for the victory ahead of Fourie and Erasmus. Myburgh Senior claimed the Masters Class honours, with Stadler crossing the line in sixth position to claim his first Semi-Pro win in the series. Jason Loosemoore impressed with another top 10 finish to claim the Triple Crown in the Young Lions class.