After claiming a hattrick of wins at the previous round, Devin Robertson repeated the feat just a week later when he fought his way to another clean sweep at the fifth round of the 2023 Don Bravo INEX Legends Championship held at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday, 23 September.
Devin opted not to go out in the morning warm-up session, so it was left to Jagger Robertson to set the pace. He ended the session just over a tenth quicker than Sebastian Lanzetti. Next up, it was the youngsters, with Jayden Goosen in third ahead of Tyler Robinson and Cyril Jacobs Jnr. Christiaan Padayachee got the better of Berlin Robinson to end sixth. Johann van de Venter was the quickest of the Masters contingent in eighth ahead of Johann Jooste, Dawie Deetleefs and Neels Jooste.
The starting-grid draw saw Devin Robertson drawing pole position, with Johann Jooste sharing the front row. Jagger Robertson and Tyler Robinson secured the second row ahead of Van de Venter and Neels Jooste. Lanzetti and Deetlefs drew seventh and eighth, with Goosen and Jacobs Jnr rounding out the top 10. Berlin Robinson and Padayachee completed the field.
In the opening heat, it was all about Devin, Jagger and Lanzetti at the front, with the trio opening a substantial gap over the chasing pack led by Tyler Robinson. Devin was able to open an interval of around half a second, which he held until the flag, but behind him, Lanzetti was putting massive pressure on Jagger to try to take second. It was not to be, however, as Lanzetti dropped slightly off the pace on the penultimate lap before running off the circuit on the final tour. The gap the leaders had opened over the rest of the competitors meant that Lanzetti could rejoin and take third place behind Devin and Jagger. Behind the leading trio, the race-long scrap for fourth between Goosen and Tyler Robinson went to Goosen, albeit by only two-tenths of a second. Jacobs was next up ahead of Padayachee and Berlin Robinson. Johann Jooste led the Masters class over the line in ninth, just over a tenth ahead of van de Venter. Neels Jooste and Deetlefs rounded out the classified finishers.
Lanzetti used his front-row starting position to good effect in the second heat, opening up a gap of over a second over the Robertson cousins as they worked their way through the pack. Devin slowly closed that gap, bringing Jagger with him, and took the lead under braking for turn five on the third lap. Devin could then control things from the front before opening a gap in the final stages, taking the win by over two seconds and leaving Jagger and Lanzetti to fight it out for the runner-up spot. It looked like Lanzetti had done enough to claim second after repelling Jagger’s attempted pass early on the final lap, but a last corner move under braking was sufficient to give Jagger second place, leaving Lanzetti in third again. As was the case in the opening heat, the battle for fourth was between Tyler Robinson and Goosen, with Tyler leading the way until mechanical issues left her stranded on the circuit with a couple of laps to go. This left Goosen an untroubled run to fourth and his second Young Lions class win of the day. Padayachee and Jacobs were in fifth and sixth, respectively. Van de Venter, in seventh, was the leading Master ahead of Berlin Robinson, with Johan and Neels Jooste in ninth and 10th. Deetlefs and Tyler Robinson were classified 11th and 12th.
There was drama in the early stages of the final heat, with several cars coming together in turn two. When the dust settled, Jacobs’ car was perched on top of Goosen’s, and the race was stopped to allow the marshals to separate them. When the race restarted, it was again Lanzetti who led the Robertson cousins, the trio setting a blistering pace at the head of the field. It wasn’t until the penultimate lap that Devin managed to work his way into the lead, but Lanzetti didn’t give up. He kept Devin honest while fending off Jagger, who was also looking for a way through. In the end, Devin took the win, with Lanzetti ahead of Jagger in second. The trio were separated by just 0.136” at the finish line. For the third time on the day, the battle for fourth was between Tyler Robinson and Goosen, with Goosen making the decisive move to take the place on the penultimate lap. Padayachee got the better of Jacobs to take sixth, with van de Venter again just edging Berlin Robinson to claim Eighth. Johann and Neels Jooste were next up, ahead of Deetlefs in 12th place.
Devin Robertson took the overall and Professional class honours for day, with Jagger Robertson Robertson and Lanzetti completing the podium in both. Tyler Robinson beat Deetlefs to the Semi-Professional win, while Goosen took the Young Lions win ahead of Padayachee and Jacobs Jnr. Van de Venter beat Neels Jooste in the Masters class, with Johann Jooste in third place.
The Don Bravo INEX Legends competitors return to Zwartkops Raceway on 7 October for the sixth round of their 2023 championship.
Issued by Brandsponential on behalf of INEX Legends South Africa
Photography by: Willie Pretorius
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