2016 SARDA National Championship Rd1 – Report

The first round of the 2016 South-African ORE National Championship was held at the Krugersdorp Model Racers club. Free practise started on Thursday but Summer rains only allowed for a couple of hours practise on Thursday and Friday. The rain stayed away for the weekend and a full racing schedule could be managed. The weather challenged the drivers with a little variation in traction due to temperature differences but the track was in great shape and the drivers pushed hard and raced fast. The opening round also marked the introduction of new Nationals rules that see less classes with now only Touring Modified, Touring Pro Stock 13.5T Blinky, 1/12th Modified, Formula and 13.5T FWD being run.

With the streamlined classes, the premier category of Touring Modified attracted three full mains for the first time in many years. Form the first qualification run is was evident that the top 10 spots would be highly contested. The reigning champion Jason Hillcoat started well but Alex Ribeiro, Antonio Caroli, Anderton Smith and Ashley Hurley were pushing hard, but it was Jason who managed to grab the TQ position. The young drivers Alex Ribeiro, Willem Janse van Rensburg, Ashley Hurley and Jacques Myburgh (13) all managed to make the top 10. The finals were fast and “furious” with Jason taking the first final and his Xray team mate Antonio Caroli taking the second final. In the third and deciding leg Jason kept the lead and Willie du Plooy found his setup and pushed hard but unfortunately his transponder did not pick up which left Jason with an easy win. The podium was completed by Alex Ribeiro and Antonio Caroli.

Touring Modified A-Main result:
1. Jason Hillcoat – Xray
2. Alex Ribeiro – Team Magic
3. Antonio Caroli – Xray
4. Shaun Schutte – Xray
5. Anderton Smith – Xray
6. Willem Janse van Rensburg – VBC Racing
7. Jacques Myburgh – Xray
8. Deon Gove – Xray
9. Willie du Plooy – Xray
10.Ashley Hurley – VBC Racing

The new Pro Stock 13.5T Blinky class proved to be very popular and competitive and another three full mains were run. Team mates Shaun Schutte and Deon Gove set a good early pace with Willem Janse van Rensburg, Sean Vollmer and Juan Landman also pushed hard for TQ. Deon Gove managed to take the TQ with Shaun Schutte starting behind him. In the first final Deon and Shaun started fast and left the field behind. They unfortunately touched which gave Shaun the win and Willem Janse van Rensburg the second place. In the second final it was Deon who took the win with Willem second and Shaun third. The third final was fast and Shaun snatched the win with Deon in second and Sean Vollmer taking the third place. The eventual winner was Shaun Schutte, with Deon Gove and Willem Janse van Rensburg completing the podium.

Pro Stock A-Main result:
1. Shaun Schutte – Xray
2. Deon Gove – Xray
3. Willem Janse van Rensburg – VBC Racing
4. Sean Vollmer – VBC Racing
5. Jonathan Wilken – Xray
6. Pedro de Gouveia – Xray
7. Harold van Eeden – Xray
8. Juan Landman – Yokomo
9. Pieter de Villiers – Xray
10.Conrad Liebenberg – Xray

Unfortunately SARDA is struggling to get more entries for the class of 1/12th Scale Modified. This however did not deter Xray team mates André Greeff, Willie du Plooy, Shaun Schutte and electric newcomer Willie Noordman to have a full go at the track setting the fastest times and averages for the weekend. André Greeff showed very good pace and consistency right from the start. He however struggled to make run time with his batteries and Willie du Plooy pushed hard during the qualifying rounds. André managed to take the TQ eventually. In the first final André Greeff started well and he ran a very fast and consistent pace but lost battery power with 20 seconds to go which gave Willie du Plooy the win and Willie Noordman third place. In the second final André Greeff started well and managed his pace in the front to take a comfortable win. The third final started with Willie du Plooy taking the early lead and André following trying to manage his battery. Shaun Schutte sorted his car out and was running the same pace to make for a good race. André made a big mistake that put him well back in the race but he came back strongly. Willie du Plooy was losing battery power and André managed to catch up to him but could not beat him to the line losing by 0.3 seconds after the 8 minute run.

1/12th Scale Modified A-main result:
1. Willie du Plooy – Xray
2. André Greeff – Xray
3. Willie Noordman – Xray
4. Shaun Schutte – Xray

The Formula class is back at a national level in South Africa in 2016. The first official race started well with the youngsters Farhaan Basha, Pedro de Gouveia, Jonathan Wilken and Dillon du Plooy battling for the TQ honours. Pedro de Gouveia managed to take TQ ahead of Jonathan Wilken. Pedro and Jonathan both took wins in the finals with Dillon and Farhaan also finishing in the top three. The final result then saw the win for Jonathan Wilken with Pedro de Gouveia and Dillon du Plooy completing the podium.

Formula A-main result:
1. Jonathan Wilken – Xray
2. Pedro de Gouveia – Xray
3. Dillon du Plooy – Xray
4. Farhaan Basha – Xray
5. Danie Botha – Xray
6. Kevin Chowles – n/a
7. Christopher Dolphin – Xray
8. Werner Botes – n/a

Finally in the FWD class there was a great fight between Fanie Viljoen Sr, his son Fanie Viljoen Jr, Paul van der Westhuizen and Andrew Richter. It was Fanie Viljoen Sr who managed to TQ with great pace in all qualifying rounds. Fanie Sr also dominated with three wins in the three mains with Adrian Botha and Fanie Viljoen Jr completing the podium.

13.5 FWD Touring A-main:
1. Fanie Viljoen Sr – VBC Racing
2. Adrian Botha – n/a
3. Fanie Viljoen Jr – TOP Racing
4. Andrew Richter – n/a
5. Paul van der Westhuizen – VBC Racing

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]