Zwartkops Raceway was the venue for the ninth round of the 2015 Liqui Moly Legends Championship. With three of the series regulars on international duty in America at the Legends Cars Road Course World Finals at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and a few cars being out of action due to repairs a slightly thinner field set out for the all-important qualifying session.
The traditional ball draw for grid positions would shake things up once again. Seef Fourie (Pro) drew pole position with Divan Myburgh (Pro) drawing second. Rudy Myburgh (Master) would start from third position while Shaun Nel (Pro) would start alongside the veteran racer. Johann van de Venter (Master) and Franco Di Matteo (Master) would secure the third row.
The smaller than usual field about to start the first race of the day
Race 1
The start of the first race saw the usual charge through the first few corners. Divan grabbed the lead ahead of Fourie and Nel. Llewellyn Myburgh (Pro) also had a good start and set about chasing the leading trio. Divan ran wide at the top of the hill and handed the lead to Fourie. Llewellyn was up to second by the time they crossed the line for the first time, with Nel fending off Di Matteo and defending champion Devin Robertson who had started on the last row of the grid.
The safety car came out when Nel lost control of his car through turn two allowing the field to bunch up again. When the race restarted on lap three Fourie had his hands full with Llewellyn and Robertson on his tail. Myburgh grabbed the lead before the lap was done with Robertson relegating Fourie to third as well. Di Matteo slotted into fourth with Rudy flying the Myburgh family flag in fifth as well. Justin Robertson (Master) moved into the top six ahead of Anro Stadler with Willie Erasmus (Pro) and a recovered Divan Myburgh in tow.
Divan saw his chances of a comeback go out the window when a long brake pedal caused him to spin out through the turn four sweep. Robertson Junior grabbed the lead on the same lap with Fourie getting past Llewellyn for second. The battle for second was heating up with Di Matteo closing in on the two youngsters ahead of him. Llewellyn regained second place on the penultimate lap of the race as Di Matteo turned the fight for second into a three horse race.
Robertson cruised home to the Overall and Pro class win but it was an all-out dice to the line for the rest of the podium positions. Myburgh pipped Fourie to the line by 0.093, with Fourie only just keeping Masters Victor Di Matteo at bay by 0.143 of a second to claim third. Sixth placed Stadler took the Semi-Pro honours.
Defending Champion Robertson was unbeatable once again
Race 1 Results
Devin Robertson – Best lap: 1:12.710
Llewellyn Myburgh – Best lap: 1:13.561
Seef Fourie – Best lap: 1:13.832
Franco Di Matteo – Best lap: 1:13.615
Justin Robertson – Best lap: 1:14.035
Anro Stadler – Best lap: 1:14.467
The Myburgh boys were in fine form in the second race
Race 2
An inverted grid for race two based on the ball draw for the first race would shake things up once again. Having pole position for the second race Robertson broke away into an immediate lead with Willie Erasmus, Llewellyn Myburgh and Justin Robertson in hot pursuit. Divan Myburgh was driving like a man possessed after a disastrous first race and was soon up to fifth position. He grabbed fourth place by lap two and started closing the gap to his cousin. Llewellyn then took second on lap two with Divan dropping Erasmus back to fourth as well.
Morne Stoltz and van de Venter tangled through the “Table top” on lap five sending both of them into retirement. Fourie was also on a charge after starting from the back of the grid but was finding it harder to get through the traffic. He eventually worked his way up to fourth position after a tough battle with Di Matteo, Robertson Senior and Erasmus. An exciting last lap saw the Myburgh cousins changing positions on numerous occasions.
In a run down to the line Divan passed Llewellyn around the outside of the last corner to snatch second place by 0.080 of a second! Robertson cruised home to take his second Overall and Pro class win of the day. Sixth placed Robertson Senior took the Masters victory with ninth placed Stadler picking up the Semi-Pro laurels once again.
Fourie fought hard in the final race of the day
Race 2 Results
Devin Robertson – Best lap: 1:12.760
Divan Myburgh – Best lap: 1:12.712
Llewellyn Myburgh – Best lap: 1:13.036
Seef Fourie – Best lap: 1:13.135
Willie Erasmus – Best lap: 1:13.870
Justin Robertson – Best lap: 1:13.981
The mid-pack battles were closer than ever despite the smaller field
Race 3
The final race of the day would see a full reverse grid based on the combined points scored from the first two races. Nel led the field through turn three with Fred Els (Master) and a repaired van de Venter in tow. The opening lap of the last race is always busy with the faster drivers making their way through the field. It didn’t take long for the faster drivers in the field to make their way to the front
Erasmus was up to second behind Nel by lap two, with team mate Robertson glued to his rear bumper. Erasmus took the lead before the end of the lap with Robertson hot on his heels. Robertson then shot past his team mate a lap later to claim the lead while Llewellyn grabbed third position from Nel down the main straight.
Fourie was also on a charge as he slotted into fourth position on lap five with Di Matteo relegating Nel to sixth a lap later. Llewellyn grabbed second place on lap six with Fourie getting past Erasmus to claim third as well. Guest driver Jason Wessels (Master) ruined his chances of a decent result with a spin at the top of the hill.
After ten laps of action packed racing Robertson made it a clean sweep of victories for the day while Llewellyn took his second runner up placing ahead of Fourie. Fifth placed Di Matteo took his second win in the Masters class while ninth placed Stadler made it three out of three in the Semi-Pro class.
Jason Wessels in his first outing for the year as guest driver
Race 3 Results
Devin Robertson – Best lap: 1:12.995
Llewellyn Myburgh – Best lap: 1:12.905
Seef Fourie – Best lap: 1:13.021
Willie Erasmus – Best lap: 1:13.866
Franco Di Matteo – Best lap: 1:13.989
Shaun Nel – Best lap: 1:14.515
The next round will see the series return to Red Star Raceway for the second time this season for round 10 of the championship on the 31st of October 2015.
Round nine of the 2015 Liqui Moly Legends Championship will see this popular series return to the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria on Saturday 17 October for the third time this season. Three notable entries will be missing from the grid at this event however as they will be representing South Africa at the Legends Cars Road Course World Finals at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, USA on the same weekend.
Lonika Maartens will return to the World Finals for the second time in as many years in an attempt to improve on her impressive results in the Young Lions Division last year. Clinton Bezuidenhout will join his team mate in the same division in his first visit to the World Finals. His international karting experience could certainly see him adapt quickly and pull off a few surprise results as well. Keagan Wessels will be driving in one of the most fiercely contested divisions – the Semi-Pro class. He may have his work cut out for him but he has already shown that he has what it takes to run with more experienced drivers in the local series.
Defending World and SA champion Devin Robertson (Pro) continues to dominate the local series and has opted to defend his South African championship in favour of making the trip to the USA. He now has a five hundred point lead over nearest rival Seef Fourie (Pro). Robertson’s team mate Willie Erasmus (Pro) will also be hoping to pick up on more of the good results that he has achieved from the past few races.
Franco di Matteo (Master) has moved up to fourth position Overall and is well within striking distance of the third placed man. Llewellyn Myburgh (Pro) will be looking to make up for lost time after missing a few events half way through the season and has already proved that he has what it takes to get himself onto the podium. Keagan Wessels (Semi-Pro) is sure to lose points and championship positions but will still have two events left in the local season to try and catch up when he returns from the States.
Shaun Nel (Pro) holds onto seventh position and will be looking for more of the pace that he displayed at the previous event in a bid to get himself into the top six. Mr Consistency Justin Robertson (Master) continues to rack up the points and will most certainly be keen to move into the top six as well.
Ninth placed Lonika Maartens (YL) has been in sublime form of late but will be focused on repeating her local performances on the international stage in the USA. She is sure to lose points in the local championship but like Wessels she will also have two events left in the season to play catch up when she returns from America. Fred Els (M) enters the top ten after a number of good results of late and will be looking to make the most of Maartens’ absence.
With more than a dozen other drivers in the field who are all capable of taking a points scoring position the racing is expected to be closer than ever.
Three young South African racers will head to the USA on Sunday 11 October in a bid to take on the rest of the world at the Legends Cars Road Course World Finals. Lonika Maartens (Young Lion), Keagan Wessels (Semi Pro) and Clinton Bezuidenhout (Young Lion) will represent South Africa at this year’s event being held at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway from 16 to 18 October 2015. The speedway, which opened in 1990 and hosts two NASCAR Sprint Cup Series events each year, is located about one hour north of Boston in Loudon, New Hampshire, USA
Last year saw South African competitors achieve great success when the event was held at the Virginia Motor Speedway. Devin Robertson was crowned the World Champion in the Pro Championship category while Franco Di Matteo claimed sixth overall in the Masters Division World points and third at the World Finals. Lonika Maartens also impressed by claiming third position in the World Championship points in the Young Lions Division as well as seventh position at the world finals. Willie Erasmus did well to claim sixth position in the Semi-pro Division at the World Finals as well.
Lonika Maartens
This year Lonika Maartens will return to the World Finals in an attempt to improve on her impressive results from last year in the Young Lions Division.
She heads into this event ranked second in the Young Lions Road Course World Championship Points! With her experience from last year, fifteen year old Maartens is sure to be one of the favourites in her category.
Her consistent performance in the local championship has prepared her well for the World Finals and much is expected from this young talent.
Clinton Bezuidenhout
Fourteen year old Clinton Bezuidenhout, better known in karting circles joined the Legends Championship for the first time this year. Despite mixed results in the local championship – mainly due to mechanical issues, he heads into the World Finals ranked third in the Young Lions Road Course World Championship points.
His international experience in karting should set him in good stead as he takes on the best that the world has to offer.
As team mate to Maartens he is sure to gain valuable input which could certainly see him pull off a few surprise results as well.
Keagan Wessels
Keagan Wessels is the current championship leader in the Semi-Pro category in only his first year of competition in the local Legends championship. He has proved his mettle this year with many close battles amongst the top Pro racers in the country.
Currently ranked seventeenth in the Semi-Pro Road Course World Championship Points Wessels will be driving in one of the most fiercely contested divisions in the Legends World Finals with more than thirty drivers in his class.
He has his work cut out for him but this young talent has already shown that he has what it takes and a good result at the World Finals would top off a great debut season for him.
Regular updates of the progress of these three South African drivers in the USA will be posted on the RacePics and Legends Racing SA Facebook pages.
