Tag: Legends

The sixth round of the 2015 Liqui Moly Legends championship saw the competitors of this popular series make their way to a cold and windy Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday 25 July.

A strong field of more than twenty entries would heat things up however and set the tone for some close and exciting racing.

The traditional ball draw shook things up as usual. Justin Robertson (Master) would start from pole position with Rudy Myburgh making it an all Masters front row. Llewellyn Myburgh (Pro) would start from the second row behind his uncle with Jacques Taljaard (Semi-Pro) alongside him.

Dawie Fourie (Semi-Pro) would start from fifth position while defending champion Devin Robertson (Pro) rounded out the top six.

Race 1

Llewellyn Myburgh led the field at the start of the first race

The start of the first race saw the field charge down through turn one with the pack fanning out three abreast at times. Willie Erasmus (Pro) found himself caught on the outside line and ran wide through the kitty litter after being left with nowhere to go.

Llewellyn Myburgh led the field coming out of turn three with Robertson Junior, Anro Stadler and Robertson Senior ahead of the rest of the chasing pack. Myburgh Senior picked up fourth position before the lap was over with Robertson Senior then being hassled by Divan Myburgh and Seef Fourie as they crossed the line for the first time.

Robertson Junior grabbed the lead heading through turn two on the second lap. Myburgh Senior grabbed third position shortly thereafter and set about after his nephew. Fourie was also on a move as he grabbed sixth position from Divan. Stadler didn’t help his chances when braking issues at the top of the hill caused him to overshoot the corner and take the long way around through the gravel, losing a fist full of positions in the process.

With the race leader already off into the distance the real fight was on for the rest of the podium positions. Llewellyn spun out through turn five with terminal engine failure. Fourie had fought back from fifteenth on the grid to grab second position by lap four. Myburgh Senior was hot on his heels with Robertson Senior and Franco di Matteo (Master) in tow. Di Matteo was as fired up as ever and picked off two more positions over the next three laps.

When the chequered flag came out after eight hotly contested laps it was Robertson Junior who claimed the first scalp of the day. An impressive Fourie crossed the line nine seconds behind him in a fighting second position while di Matteo came through from thirteenth on the grid to claim third and the Masters Class victory. Fifteen year old Lonika Maartens blitzed her way through the field from nineteenth on the grid to claim the Young Lions class honours with an impressive eighth overall. Keagan Wessels crossed the line just behind her to claim the Semi-Pro win in an unfamiliar car, kindly loaned by Masters driver Steve Nel.

Race 2

This incident put paid to Dawie Fourie’s chances in race two

An inverted grid based on the earlier ball draw would once again shake things up a bit at the start of the second race. Fourie caught the front row napping off the line and quickly grabbed the lead through turn one. Fred Els (Master) slotted into second position with Johnny De Carvalho (Master) and di Matteo in tow. The rest of the field were still battling for position with some hair raising moments through the next few corners. Wessels was up to fourth position by the time they crossed the line for the first time, with Stadler relegating de Carvalho to sixth position.

Di Matteo got past Els to grab second place on lap two. The battle behind him was far from over however with positions changing through almost every corner. Robertson Junior was on a charge as he slotted into sixth place on the same lap. He was up to third a lap later and set about after the leaders. Divan Myburgh fought his way through to fourth position with Stadler and Wessels getting past Els as well. Some mid race drama happened when de Carvalho and Dawie Fourie (Semi-Pro) tangled through turn six, unfortunately putting an end to the youngster’s race as he retired to the pits shortly thereafter.

Seef Fourie’s experience shone through as he used the advantage that he gained from his brilliant start to great effect. He held a hard charging Robertson at bay to claim a well-deserved victory. Di Matteo repeated his performance from the first race to take the Masters honours with a fine third place, while Stadler grabbed the win in the Semi-pro category with a respectable seventh. Maartens once again picked up the win in the Young Lions class despite finding the going a bit tougher in the second race.

Race 3

Nel was back to his old form in race three

The final race of the day would see a full reverse grid, apart from the Young Lions competitors who always start at the back of the grid. The opening lap was a chaotic affair – Stadler got turned around through turn two with young Dylan Daly (Young Lion) being left with nowhere to go as the rest of the pack swarmed around them. Seef Fourie saw his chances fly out the window when his car bogged down and caused him to lose power, dropping him to the back of the field in the process.

When the dust had settled it was Dawie Fourie who led the field through turn three. He was quickly followed by Shaun Nel (Pro), Willie Erasmus (Pro) and the rest of the chasing pack. The drama was not over however as Jacques Taljaard (Semi-Pro) saw his race come to a gut wrenching end on the second lap. He lost the back end of his car coming out of the turn seven sweep and screeched across the track into a stationary safety car parked on the grass verge just before the pit entrance. Despite being bruised and battered he was lucky to walk away from his badly damaged vehicle – testimony to the strength of the tough little Legends race cars.

When the dust had cleared once again it was Nel who had picked up the lead ahead of Erasmus and Fourie. Robertson was already up to fifth position behind Els and made short work of grabbing third before the end of the lap. Nel ruined his chances when he ran wide through turn four, handing the lead to Erasmus and allowing Robertson to move into second place as well. A hard charging di Matteo saw his hopes of another good result fly out of the window when he spun on lap four trying to avoid some of the slower cars coming out of turn eight.

Robertson picked up the lead from his team mate on lap seven and started opening up a healthy lead over the next few laps. He took the chequered flag to claim his second win of the day. Erasmus crossed the line behind him to take a welcome second place ahead of an elated Nel. Wessels took his second win of the day in the Semi-Pro category with a strong fifth place overall while young Maartens absolutely blitzed the field from twentieth on the grid to claim the triple crown in the Young Lions class with a mind blowing sixth position overall.