April Race Report When fractions of a second count.
The National team headed down to Port Elizabeth on the 28th April for the third round of the Engen Polo cup Series. This series is the bench mark of competition for South African Motorsport and the field is filled with the most talented and eager drivers all willing to prove their worth. Our regular pole position driver Devin Robertson in the Big Boss Auto Liqui Moly Polo was down to 11th on the grid, out of the top 6 draw for only the second time in 4 years in the class, and with only one second covering the top 19 drivers. A certain group of cars had suddenly found some extra pace and the front of the pack had an edge but they say that champions show their worth when faced with a challenge. Devin kept his spirits high and raced hard to finish the first heat in eighth and then fifth in the second heat after two tough tightly contested races on a track which is narrow and tough to make a pass. Not the result we had hoped for but true guts and determination brought him up the field.
Dino Manelis in the GT1 Auto Services / Big Boss Auto Polo driving in the Masters class was at Port Elizabeth for the first time and consistently improved his times out on the track. Each event is a learning experience that he is enjoying while improving all the time and becoming more consistent.
Dewald Brummer in the Horne/UMP/Big Boss Auto Polo had high expectations for this outing as his last visit to this track had been a successful one but he battled to match the pace. He had a good feel of the car but could just not find what he needed to get the edge on the competition. He was knocked from behind in the first heat and suffered a puncture ending his chances of any points. He is hoping to find the edge needed to move him further up the field.
Experienced Master Graham Donker joined the team for the weekend in the Mini Maxi Panelbeaters/Big Boss Auto car, only getting to drive the car for the first time at Port Elizabeth so he took some sessions getting used to the new car and had a steady event finishing with two 3rd places in the masters and a 3rd overall in the Masters for the day.
Rookie Bevan Williams in the Industrial Engine Parts/Big Boss Auto Polo was at Port Elizabeth for the first time and found the going tough, being involved in incidents in both heats. Bevan will be looking to return to Zwartkops at the next event and put in a good performance.
When we refer to Engen Polo Cup as being the toughest field in the country it is not an exaggeration and drivers are putting in plenty of time to achieve the results they want, plenty of training and dedication is needed if they want to succeed in this field. The fact that officials did not do any technical checks after an event like this does not put other competitors minds at ease but hopefully the officials will step their controlling of the vehicles to the required level to keep the racing level and fair
Junior karter, Jagger Robertson , a grade R student from Alberview Primary at only 6 years old moved up nicely to 2nd in the regional championship after five of the top eight competitors were excluded for technical infringements when technical officials did thorough checks , surprising and sad how many people show such disregard for the rules but at least now the legal competitors are restored to their rightful place in the standings. Jagger has been putting in some great race moves and thoroughly enjoys driving his kart. His next regional event will be 19th May at Vereeniging.
The regional team headed to Midvaal on the 5th May and they were out in full force and did an excellent job on the track . In the SuperSaloons. Justin Robertson in the Yokohama Big Boss Auto BMW M3 took pole position and two heat wins and Devin Robertson took the Yokohama Big Boss Auto Lotus to its next duo of heat wins after recently finishing the car and already with the standard engine still fitted the CAT is among the pigeons as various competitors struggle to come to terms with the fact of how fast Devin can be when driving any car he is in.
Fred Zeeman in the Longtom Nissan 350Z running on Yokohama slicks also improved his time from the last visit to the track and finished 2nd in class B2.
Ralph Kernes put in some consistent times and took class honours in the Renault Megane which also runs on the Yokohama Semi’s keeping the lap times consistent.
In the Modified Production car series George Bezuidenhout had things all his own way and took two heat wins with Dino Manellis taking 2nd in class. In the second heat Dino achieved an index of performance of 98,6% winning index of performance for the category. Both Dino and George are currently running on Yokohama A048 semi slicks giving them the edge they needed.
In the Alfa Trofeo race it was great to have Miguel Ribiero from Metal Used Spares join us for the day and he is becoming a regular threat of a podium finish in the Alfa Trofeo events and is really enjoying his car.
In the Single Seater Brigade there was an incident in the first heat which unfortunately ended the day for Willie Erasmus as his car suffered severe damage.
Dewald Brummer in the Horne Formula Vee was also out of the first heat but luckily still had the 2nd and 3rd heats to put in some good times and won his class.
Bevan Williams in the Industrial Engine Parts Formula M also got two good heats and dominated the Formula M Cars.
Great news for the team is that Liqui Moly has extended their involvement in the team and are official Lubricant Backing for the Renault Megane being built to enter in Class T Production Car class in the Wesbank super series for Devin Robertson. Big Boss Auto has been appointed as the official Motorsport Distribution Centre for South Africa and then this coupled to the backing of the Factory Renault Team will see the growth of Liqui Moly in the Motorsport market. Liqui Moly is a top quality product that we test to the extreme so that you can have the confidence to request it for your vehicles so use it.
Next National event will be the 25th May at Zwartkops where we will be catering for our guests so please let us know if you would like to attend. Big Boss Auto will be hosting a customer day at Midvaal on the 9th June so come and join us for a day at the track with a big difference.
Track will be open for all guests to :-
- Drive your own car on the track
- Get to drive with one of our team drivers on the track
- One of our team drivers can guide you around the track and give pointers to let you enjoy your car on the track
Many thanks for your support and see you at the track.
