SARDA Electric On-road Nationals Rd4 – Report

The 2016 South-African ORE national championship moved to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape Province at the Diaz RC Club for round 4 of the series. With the third round being rained out, the challenge to gain championship points was on between the drivers. Some of the drivers could not make the event but quite a few of the country’s top drivers still participated. The track and “tennis court” surface was new to most drivers and the fast technical layout proved to be great for racing. Free practise started on Thursday but a cold front hit the coastal city on Friday with strong winds and cold rain. The rain stayed away for the weekend but the track surface gathered lots of sand and water, and the cold temperature made for low traction. The first qualification round started late on Saturday and the drivers were urged to do lots of practise laps to help clear the track of the fine sand that blew in from the coast.

In 1/10 Touring Modified championship leader Jason Hillcoat started well again with consistent runs as he took Q1 and Q2. It was evident though that there would great competition from Anderton Smith, Alex Ribeiro and Ashley Hurley. Anderton Smith manager to win Q3 and Q4 but Jason just beat him for TQ with a faster run. The finals were fast and very competitive with only a small margin for errors on the track due to the sand and dust aside the racing line. Jason Hillcoat drove fast and consistent, winning the first and second final. The rest of the podium was highly contested between Anderton Smith, Alex Ribeiro, Ashley Hurley and Willie Noordman. The podium was eventually completed by Alex Ribeiro and Ashley Hurley.

Touring Modified A-main results:
1. Jason Hillcoat – Xray
2. Alex Ribeiro – Team Magic
3. Ashley Hurley – Xray
4. Willie Noordman – Xray
5. Anderton Smith – Xray
6. Pedro de Gouveia – Xray
7. André Greeff – Xray
8. Willie du Plooy – Xray
9. Raymond Loots – Xray
10.Stan Levinson – Xray

1/10 Pro-Stock saw the absence of championship contenders Shaun Schutte and Deon Gove which made way for Alex Ribeiro to dominate the event with a TQ and win. Local drivers Christo Hitchins and Marius van Niekerk had some great battles with Jonathan Wilken and Hennie Viljoen but they managed to take the remaining podium positions between the two of them.

Pro-Stock A-main results:
1. Alex Ribeiro – Team Magic
2. Marius van Niekerk – Xray
3. Christo Hitchins – VBC Racing
4. Jonathan Wilken – Xray
5. Hennie Viljoen – VBC Racing
6. Morne vd Berg – VBC Racing
7. Tiaan Erasmus – n/a
8. Michael Desmond – TOP Racing
9. Marno vd Berg – Serpent
10.Michael Rabe – Xray

With the cold weather and sandy track conditions, the 1/12th scale Modified drivers really struggled to find some traction with their cars. This however did not deter Xray team mates Willie Noordman, André Greeff, Willie du Plooy and Raymond Loots to enjoy themselves tip-toeing around the slippery track. Willie Noordman found a good setup and tyre preparation and dominated the qualification rounds to take the overall TQ. Raymond Loots managed consistent runs and qualified second on the grid. In the first final Willie Noordman showed good pace, but it was André Greeff who took the win. In the second final Willie Noordman dominated up front and managed the gap to his competitors to take a comfortable win. The third final started with Willie Noordman taking an early lead and André following closely behind. Willie unfortunately made a mistake and picked up too much dirt which gave André a big enough space to hang on for the win.

1/12th Scale Modified A-main results:
1. André Greeff – Xray
2. Willie Noordman – Xray
3. Raymond Loots – Xray
4. Willie du Plooy – Xray

The Formula 1 class drew only 8 entries but it was a rear crowd pleaser with these beautiful cars racing wheel to wheel. The low traction conditions were also not suited for these rear wheel-driven cars but some drivers managed to get good setup for the track. Pedro de Gouveia found a good setup and improved his car throughout the qualification rounds and managed to take TQ with great consistent driving. Marius van Niekerk kept him honest with good runs and qualified second on the grid. Pedro then managed to win the finals followed by Marius and Tyronne Wilken with the latter having a great run in the last final which gave him 3rd overall.

Formula 1 A-main results:
1. Pedro de Gouveia – Xray
2. Marius van Niekerk – Xray
3. Tyronne Wilken – Xray
4. Michael Rabe – Xray
5. Jonathan Wilken – Xray
6. Thinus Strubel – n/a
7. Jason Thompson – n/a
8. Gerhard vd Westhuizen – Hot Bodies

The 13.5T FWD class showed great competition between Hennie Viljoen and local drivers Tiaan Erasmus and Stan Levinson. It was Stan Levinson who took the TQ with a great pace in all qualifying rounds but with some mistakes in the finals, it was Tiaan Erasmus who took the winning honours.

13.5T FWD Touring A-main results:
1. Tiaan Erasmus – TOP Racing
2. Hennie Viljoen – VBC Racing
3. Stan Levinson – Team Powers
4. Fanie Viljoen snr – VBC Racing
5. Marnu vd Berg – Serpent
6. Morne vd Berg – Team Powers

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]