The fifth and last round of the 2016 South-African ORE national championship returned to TRAP RC Venue in Pretoria over weekend 29 and 30 October 2016 after round 2 rained out at the same venue. Free practise was held on Thursday and Friday with a heat wave hitting the Gauteng Province. The air temperature peaked at 38⁰C and the track temperature went up to 64⁰C (147⁰F). The heat put tremendous pressure on the batteries, tyres and electronics and the drivers had to choose their setups carefully and also manage the tyres during the race.
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Touring Modified
The touring modified class is still growing stronger and all the drivers need to be at their best to qualify for the A Mains. All the top drivers pushed hard during the practise rounds and during qualifying but it was Shaun Schutte who dominated the class with his XRAY T4â 17 during practise and qualifying to take TQ. There was a great battle between current champion Jason Hillcoat, Anderton Smith, Antonio Caroli and Ashley Hurley for the remaining grid positions. Anderton managed to take 2nd after a good Q3 and Q4 with Antonio starting 3rd in the A Mains.
During A1 and A2 final Shaun Schutte continued his event domination and took wins in both the finals. The battle for the podium was really hot with great runs from Anderton Smith, Antonio Caroli, Hein Kotze, Jason Hillcoat, Ashley Hurley and Alex Ribeiro. It was Antonio Caroli who eventually achieved 2nd place with Hein Kotze completing the podium.
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The final results for the Modified Touring A-Main:
1. Shaun Schutte (TQ) - XRAY T4
2. Antonio Caroli - XRAY T4
3. Hein Kotze - XRAY T4
4. Jason Hillcoat - XRAY T4
5. Anderton Smith - XRAY T4
6. Alex Ribeiro 7. Juan Landman - XRAY T4
8. Ashley Hurley - XRAY T4
9. Willem Janse van Rensburg 10. Pedro de Gouveia - XRAY T4
1. John Fitzimmons - XRAY T4
2. Chris Reilly - XRAY T4
Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring (Blinky)
The Pro-stock class was a competitive affair with XRAY drivers Shaun Schutte and Deon Gove on the same points for the national championship. Shaun Schutte continued his great form and achieved TQ in the pro-stock class with his rival and team mate Deon Gove starting second on the grid. In A1 Shaun took an early lead and was commanding the race until an unfortunate incident with a back marker dropped him to third. Deon Gove and Jonathan Wilken had a great battle and Johnathan managed the win in A1. In A2 and A3 Shaun made no mistakes and took great wins to ensure the overall win and championship.
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The final results for the Pro-stock 13.5T Touring A-Main:
1. Shaun Schutte (TQ) - XRAY T4
2. Deon Gove - XRAY T4
3. Jonathan Wilken - XRAY T4
4. Hennie Viljoen
5. Sean Vollmer
6. John Steyn 7. John Fitzimmons - XRAY T4
8. Juan Wessels
9. Paul van der Westhuizen
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The results for the Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring B-Main:
1. Michael Rabe - XRAY T4
2. Chris Reilly - XRAY T4
3. Christopher Dolphin - XRAY T4
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The results for the Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring C-Main:
1. Yashin Rhamdin 2. Adrian Botha - XRAY T4
Formula 1 - 21.5T
It was the consistent fast drivers Jonathan Wilken, Pedro de Gouveia and Tyronne Wilken who showed great pace from the start and dominated the event. There was also some great runs from new comers Pieter de Villiers and Hannes Kruger and the father-and-son due of Michael and Jared Rabe. Jonathan managed to take TQ and won final A1 and A2 and his brother Tyronne won A3. Hannes Kruger stayed consistent with a second, third and fourth place.
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The final results for the Formula 1 21.5T A-Main:
1. Jonathan Wilken (TQ) - XRAY X1
2. Tyronne Wilken - XRAY X1
3. Riaan Truscott - XRAY X1
4. Michael Rabe - XRAY X1
5. Pieter de Villiers - XRAY X1
6. Jared Rabe - XRAY X1
