Free practice was held on Thursday and Friday with good winter weather in the Gauteng Province meeting the drivers. The club did some good repair work on the track and ensured a fast track with some technical sections proved demanding for most drivers.
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Touring Modified
The strong 2017 touring modified class was represented by all the top and new drivers in South Africa and they pushed hard during the practise rounds and qualifying to achieve the best performance with their cars. During the practise rounds the local Liebenberg brothers showed great pace and the XRAY team mates Anderton Smith, Hein Kotze, Shaun Schutte, Antonio Caroli and Ashley Hurley also had great practise sessions. On Saturday the weather changed and influenced the traction for the qualification rounds. Qualification was a good battle between Jacques Liebenberg, Hein Kotze, Antonio Caroli, Anderton Smith and Conrad Liebenberg. It was Hein Kotze who eventually to TQ with his XRAY T4â 17 followed by Jacques Liebenberg and Antonio Caroli. During A1 and A2 final Hein Kotze managed to win both mains from the TQ spot after great battles with Jacques Liebenberg, Anderton Smith, Antonio Caroli and Conrad Liebenberg. It was Jacques who eventually achieved 2nd place with Anderton completing the podium. This win takes Hein Kotze one step closer to the national title for 2017, but there are still two rounds remaining and his competitors are all fast and focused.
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Modified Touring A-Main:
1. Hein Kotze (TQ) â“ XRAY T4
2. Jacques Liebenberg 3. Anderton Smith â“ XRAY T4
4. Antonio Caroli â“ XRAY T4
5. Shaun Schutte â“ XRAY T4
6. Conrad Liebenberg
7. Jason Hillcoat 8. Willie du Plooy â“ XRAY T4
9. Deon Gove â“ XRAY T4
10. Juan Landman â“ XRAY T4
Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring (Blinky)
The Pro-stock class was a competitive affair with XRAY team mates Jonathan Wilken, Anthony Smith and Willie Noordman showing great pace during the practise sessions. They were chased hard by Hennie Viljoen, Gunther Cornelius and Jean Wessels. Jonathan Wilken showed all the experience gained at the ETS in Trencin by winning Q1, 2 and 3 to take a dominant TQ in the pro-stock class with his XRAY team mates Willie Noordman and Gunther Cornelius starting from the No2 and No3 grid positions. Jonathan continued his dominant form on Sunday by winning A1 and A2. It was up to Willie, Gunther and Hennie Viljoen to fight for the remaining podium spots. Anthony Smith drove a great A1 and A3 to finish 2nd after starting from No 5 on the grid. It was Willie Noordman who eventually completed the podium. This win for Jonathan Wilken also assured him the 2017 title in the Pro-Stock Class.
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13.5T Touring A-Main:
1. Jonathan Wilken (TQ) â“ XRAY T4
2. Anthony Smith â“ XRAY T4
3. Willie Noordmanâ“ XRAY T4
4. Hennie Viljoen 5. Gunther Cornelius â“ XRAY T4
6. Jean Wessels
7. Tyronne Wilken 8. Christopher Dolphin â“ XRAY T4
9. Pieter Swemmer
10. Paul van der Westhuizen
Formula 1 - 21.5T
The F1 had challenging early morning runs with a very low grip track, but they managed to get their cars to work great and improved throughout the two racing days. It was Jonathan Wilken who continued his great form from his ETS visit and dominated qualifying to take TQ as well as winning A1 and A2 finals to win the event. It was up to the youngsters Nico Kellerman and Tyronne Wilken as well as Wayde Solomon, Piet du Plessis and Brett Ross to fight for grid positions and the podium. It was young Nico Kellerman who managed to finish second and Wayde Solomon took the final podium spot.
