The scene is set for another absolute humdinger at Victory Raceway tomorrow evening when they host the third round of the Eastern Province Regional Dirt Oval Championship as well as the fifth round of their club championship. The regional classes that will be competing are 1660’s, Hot Rods, Heavy Metals, 2.1 Modifieds & V8 American Saloons with the Pink Rods for ladies & Junior Hot Rods for the rookies holding club status.
In the Heavy Metal Class where 24 drivers have already competed so far this season it is Ruzanne Jansen that currently leads the title race after the first two rounds with 149 points, with Komani competitor Charlie van Gent in second on 128 points and Kyle Daniels just behind him with 126 points.
In the 2.1 Modified class it has been a relatively dominant start to the championship for the Daniel Renison and he leads on 164 points with Neels Vermaak in second on 140 points & Keegan Ellard on 132. Still very much in contention are Rimon Landman on 128 as well as Zandri Weitz on 120.
Vincent Venter enjoys a fairly big lead in the American Saloon class where he has put in consistent performances to finish all the heats so far and has garnered 162 points with young Langkloof competitor HJ Eksteen next best on 145 points and Andrew Meiring on 131. Pieta Victor unfortunately missed the last round at PEOTR and will certainly be a strong contender up front for the balance of the six round championship.
The Hot Rod class sees Johan Schoeman as the favourite this season with his luck finally having turned and he finds himself as the clear leader with 159 points followed by Kelly Dowling in second on 141 and Emile Bothma on 111.
The 1660 class reigns supreme when it comes to fast paced drama, tension and thrill a minute action where one can go from hero to zero in the blink of an eye. Tiaan Oliphant has proven once again that consistency counts in a title hunt and he enjoys a relatively comfortable lead of 165 points over second placed Wesley Slabbert on 131 & Channell van Tonder with 126 points. Not to be discounted after a dominant outing last time out at PEOTR where he took 2 heat wins and the final, is East Londoner Marthinus Muller, proving why he carries the SA2 number on his car and he currently sits on 108 points. Joining the championship at tomorrow’s event will be Jason Drake after having built a new car as well as Clint Claasen. Kenzo Barnard also returns to the 1660 excitement after suffering gearbox failure in round one and will no doubt be considered a dark horse following his good performance in Oudtshoorn a few weeks back.
In the Pink Rod class club championship, Bianca Westraadt has been unstoppable so far this season but will certainly be hard pushed by 14 year old Nadia Rautenbach, Annuschke Landman and the fearless Channell van Tonder.
The Junior Hot rod class will see the battle for supremacy between Quade de Lange and Reghard Joubert continue up front as they take on the likes of East London’s Christine Power and local rising star Tyde Geddes.
The gates to the circuit open at 1pm for the early birds to get there and claim their favoured braai spot on the terraced embankments & racing is scheduled to get underway at 5pm & will comprise of 3 heats and a final per class. The entry fee is R60 for adults & R30 for children under 12. Trackside parking is available & costs R50 per vehicle. Spectators that want trackside parking are urged to get there early to avoid disappointment.
Published by: Brendan Kelly
Picture Caption: Peter Henning
MSA Publishes media releases from a host of different sources on our website as a service to the sport. It is not practically possible to vet/approve every release that is published. Some news items and articles are written by correspondents and do not necessarily represent MSA’s views.