Midvaal Raceway Vodacom Roadshow race report

Double wins were the order of the day at the Vodacom Roadshow national meeting at Midvaal Raceway over the weekend.

Three of the four categories in action produced double winners on a day that produced some interesting racing, and one or two surprise results. With none of them managing race wins, it also turned out to be a tough day for drivers who led respective championship categories prior to the Midvaal Vodacom Roadshow outing.

The Vodacom Sports Prototype event turned into a benefit for Kempton Park driver George Ferreira. The former Formula Ford star set pole position in qualifying, and then strolled to a pair of comfortable victories ahead of veteran Bernard Tilanus and Neil Lobb.

Championship leader Alan Eve had to content with a fifth and a fourth, and there were also disappointing results for the likes of Clive Kennerley and Donovan Roscoe. A sixth and a 13th were all that Roscoe could manage, with Kennerley way down in 11th in the first heat.

Kennerley was credited with fifth place in heat two, but the race was stopped when the Midrand driver hit the pit wall. The stoppage came after nine of the scheduled 14 laps had been completed.

It was also a good day for Midrand youngster Dale Knez and rising star Gugu Zulu. The two dominated the Formula GTi and Vodacom Isondo Sports 2000 events -- with both of them also taking pole position and winning both heats.

Knez took both Formula GTi races ahead of Pretoria based Miguel Rocha with championship leader Barry Ingle and Middelburg youngster Marco da Cunha sharing third places. For good measure Knez also set the fastest lap in both heats.

Zulu, nowadays making a name for himself in the Wesbank V8 championship where he partners Sarel van der Merwe in the Sasol team, upstaged championship leader Chad Francis in both Vodacom Isondo Sports 2000 heats. Steady drives saw Simon Mosley bag a brace of second places, but the day belonged to Zulu who, like Knez, also set the fastest lap in both races.

After setting the fastest time in qualifying, the wheels fell off for Formula Vee championship leader Dennis Johns. A single point in race one was all he could muster for the rest of the day, with Alan Holm and Pretoria driver Lee Thompson taking the wins.

Second place in heat one and a fourth in race two saw another Pretoria driver, Trevor Smith, close the gap on Holm at the top of the championship. Unofficial scoring now puts Smith only three points behind Johns.

Second place in race two also provided Holm with a rich haul of points, and Thompson's win and a fifth also did his championship cause no harm. There were also solid performances from Port Elizabeth driver Darren Murphy with a third and a fifth, and David Veringa who found himself in the points in both races.

The next Vodacom Roadshow outing is scheduled for Zwartkops on June 9.

-VR-