What Regional Extreme Festival Round 4 Preview
Where Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria
When Saturday 24 June 2023
Community Gauteng Regional
Zwartkops braced for red hot midwinter Pabar action
The Pabar VW Challenge heads home to Zwartkops for its midwinter midseason round with a new look at the top of the championship table following a disruptive outing for some at the previous round. All of which paves the way for a little red hot racing action in Pretoria on Saturday 24 June.
Starting with Class A, Rory Atkinson finally got his championship defence back on track with his first win off pole position at Phakisa last time out. That also propelled him into the class title lead and second overall in his BHIT Industrial Transport Polo. So rest assured that erstwhile leaders, the Masters brothers, Bevin’s CPS Warehouse machine and Wayne and his Performance Master car, will be keen to retake their lost advantage in Pretoria.
They may however have a bigger problem looming large behind. Phakisa’s second heat winner, Challenge Stalwart Waldie Meintjies will have taken a liking to the taste of that champagne and now he wants more. Charl Smalberger is another man looking to win in his Sabertek Polo, and never ignore Dean Ross, Mike Barbaglia, Mydi Mfana, Dewald Theron, Luigi Ferro and Nicole Lombard in the top class.
Ever competitive, the monster Class B field will race on its own again at Zwartkops. That has also seen to the middle class not benefiting a clear leader as the find of the season, schoolboy Ethan Coetzee and his JRT Racing Experience Polo lead the way, a short head clear of reigning champion Dr. Hannes Scheepers’ Dainfern Dental Polo and former champion Pierluigi Muzzulini. Elna Croeser and her ATE Brakes Polo Jacques Hayes have quietly been racking up the points in fourth and fifth in, ahead of Ross Butt’s EeziParts machine. Which means that a bunch of rated drivers will want to improve their title lots after a few difficult races.
Regular class winners, RAM lad Bevan Williams and Charisse Piazza Musso, and Class C champion Ian Walker’s Melo Velo car among them. Never discount Francois van Zyl, Stelio Nousias, another fast racing lass in Tyler Robinson, Tinahe Ncube and newcomer Shiren Rajpaul. Add Martin de Beer, Chris Davison, dad Elio Muzzulini, and Stuart Mack’s prototype Class X turbo triple one litre Nathans Polo that races together with the B bunch. Class B also welcomes two new drivers in Josh Wilford, son of previous VW Challenge champion Ray Wilford, and Milan Emslie to the fray.
The impressive Yotti Nousias has emerged as the overall Pabar VW Challenge championship leader in his Class C We Fix Cars Vivo. He thus also leads the Brat Pack from an on form Philip Croeser in his ATE Brakes version. Another rookie young gun and Nousias’ archrival, Bjorn Bertholdt missed the previous race, so he will be out to prove a point on his return. He will also have Andy Gossman, Charl Andersen, Kyle Petersen, Jan Spamers, and Michael and Dimitri Zapheriou, and newcomer, Tyron Pillay to deal with.
A wonderful warmer for any race fans’ midwinter wants, the Pabar VW Challenge joins an action packed Zwartkops Regional Festival race program on the shortest Saturday of the year on 24 June. Sounds like a great way to spend it!
*VW Challenge salutes its partners, Pabar Automotive Pressings, Habot Performance Lubricants, Dunlop tyres, Habot Performance Lubricants, ATS Motorsport Supplies, Platinum Wheels, Habot Synthetic Oils, ATE Brakes, Norbrake, Eco Simply Solar, Insurisk insurance brokers, Pozidrive, Eeziparts, Van der Linde Developments, MDS Consulting Engineers, FSS Logistics, and Bush & Buck.
Issued on behalf of PABAR VW Challenge
Photography by: Dave Ledbitter
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