Plenty of regional racing action at Aldo Scribante
After what seemed like an extended break, the 2024 Algoa Motorsport Clubs Regional and Club championship got under way in overcast conditions at Aldo Scribante Raceway on Saturday.
In the Bennett Plumbers’ Coastal Challenge it was a day that defending champion Darryn Vice would probably want to forget as he suffered his first mechanical failure ever in his Ford Anglia after a blown head gasket led to an early retirement after the first race.
Derek Boy put in an impressive performance in his powerful Chevrolet Firenza Can-Am to take a clean sweep of wins across all three heats, even after having been forced to start from the pit lane after failing to get to the start line on time.
A determined drive saw him chasing from the back of the grid and slicing his way through the rest of the field to claim victory.
Winston “Pikkie” Marais put in a scintillating performance in his Lotus 7, finishing in second place overall as well as winning the open-top class, with Chris Nell in a Ford Capri V8 taking third overall just ahead of the Datsun Skyline of Rane Berry.
Legendary motorcycle enduro champion Juan “Bollie” van Rooyen, the current Algoa Rally Club champion, along with his wife Tarryn made his track racing debut on Saturday in the ex-Jeandre Marais VW Polo and immediately made his presence known with a calculated performance, bringing the car home in fifth place overall as well as being second in class X that caters for new cars and drivers.
Joining Van Rooyen on circuit and getting in some practice for the first round of the rally season on and around the Scribante circuit on April 6 was Ruan van Tonder in his VW Polo Rally car, who finished third in Class X.
Dean Ball in his recently acquired turbo-charged BMW E36 was the stand-out performer as the overall winner in regional saloons as he got in some practice for the upcoming BMW Series, where he will no doubt be a top contender.