26 Feb POWER SERIES ROUND 1 SPONSORED BY WINGFIELD MOTORS – SATURDAY 7 MARCH 2020 – PREVIEW
Posted at 12:51h
in Dave's Corner
THE BOYS ARE BACK IN TOWN FOR POWER SERIES AT KILLARNEY
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– The Power Series presented by Wingfield Motors at Killarney International Raceway gets a whole new look for 2020, starting with Round 1 on Saturday 7 March.
To spice up the entertainment there has been quite a radical change to the program, with shorter periods between the category races. That means racing will start much earlier, at 8:15am, with eight-lap races in the cool of the morning for the Formula Libre Single Seaters, RST Trac Mac Powersport Motorcycles and RST Trac Mac Clubmans bikes.
A lot of things have changed here: In the absence of Dee-Jay Booysen, the open-wheeler races are wide open – but keep an eye out for Damian White in a Formula GTi Ray and Albertus Engelbrecht in Booysen’s former RM08, now running under the Spreads banner.
The Powersport ranks have been swelled by the addition of Motard maniac Franco Flach on a Kawasaki ER650 and Gauteng refugee Dominic Penny, who made a sensational Killarney debut just a few weeks ago at Passion for Speed on the Rays Signs SV650, battling for the lead with Trevor Westman’s Monza Group Ninja 650 before crashing out of Race 2. Westman and Penny will want to take up where they left off – expect fireworks.
There’s another huge rivalry in the Powersport 300 class, between teenagers Slade van Niekerk (Prestige Products R3) and the similar Yamaha of Fueled Racing’s David Lindemann. A rider to watch for the future, however, is immensely talented 14-year-old Abigail Bosson, in only her second outing on the HSC Racing RC390.
Lubabalo Ntisana, who set the Clubmans races on fire in 2019, has been promoted to the Superbike category, leaving veteran Wayne Arendse (JJ Smith Trust ZX-10R) to battle it out with Robbie Pedrica (Yamaha R1) and Willem Binedell on the Chefathome Kawasaki ZX-10R. There are also a number of new entries in this ‘run wot ya brung’ category. Anything could happen and probably will
Then the big guns come out, starting with the Sports & GT cars. These include the fastest circuit racing vehicle in South Africa, the Maui Motorhomes Ginetta G57 of Craig Jarvis. Keeping him honest will be Mike Verrier’s Aidcall 247 Shelby CanAm, Steve Humble in the Harp Mallock Mk14B and Sandro Biccari’s remarkably quick two-litre Mazda-powered Juno.
The newly-renamed Cheaper Cars GTi Challenge will be led by Nian du Toit (Allied Fibreglass Jetta 3 2L), Marco Busi in the Automan Polo 6R and the Wingfield Polo Vivo of Jano van der Westhuizen – and if you ask any one of the three who’s going to win, he’ll say “Me!”.
Super-quick Ford Escort pilot Franco Donadio would love to make the same prediction for the combined Millstock Classic Cars and BeJo Trust Fine Cars races but, with a field of more than 20 cars led by Eric van der Merwe’s Lynx Porsche 944T and the thundering V8 Chevy De Ville of Erik Mouton, he’ll have to work very hard for it.
Fabio Tafani is still the man to beat in the V8 Masters one-make series, although Marcel Angel, Richard Schreuder and Sean Moore are likely to have something to say about that. All we can say is that all the cars are identical, which brings it down to nerve, skill and set-up, making the racing very close and completely unpredictable.
The same applies to the two-litre Opel-powered Makita Supercars, another one-make series in cars designed locally by the late Owen Ashley, which run together with the V8 Masters. Look out for Ryan McCarthy, Glen Phillips and Andrew Moffit – but don’t make any predictions.
The biggest field of the day belongs as usual to the Mikes Place Clubmans, with 36 entries in six classes. At the sharp end, however, you can expect to see Danie van Niekerk in the Wingfield E36 battling it out with Clint Rennard (G&A Promotions/Speed Precision Golf 2L) and Michael le Sueur’s giant-killing New Engineering Golf Mk1. Nevertheless, watch out for veteran Jesse Huggett (Weskaap Bakwerke Jetta 2L) and Mansoor Parker’s BMW E30.
The most unpredictable events of the day are likely to be the Superbike races. In the absence of defending title-holder Brandon Haupt, attention must shift to 2019 Western Province 600cc Champion Kewyn Snyman, who will be out for the first time on a new Kawasaki ZX-10R. It’s a huge step up to the litre-class machines, and Snyman will face stiff competition from Trevor Westman (Mad Macs ZX-10R) and triple former Regional Champion Ronald Slamet, back in the frame on a brand-new ZX-10R, also under the Mad Macs banner.
The advantage will lie with whoever adapts most readily to their new bikes, says Haupt, who will be an interested spectator crewing for his older brother, part-time racer Bernard Haupt, and their father Peter, each on a Fueled Racing R1.
Motorsport attracts a very large fan base and the Western Province Motor Club has a long-held tradition of encouraging competitors and spectators alike to use the power in those numbers to give back to the community.
Thus the opening round of the 2020 Power Series presented by Wingfield Motors has been themed as Power Series: Cancer Awareness. We’re asking all motorsport enthusiasts to show their support for cancer survivors by having your hair shaved or sprayed – or even donating your hair, if it’s long enough, to make wigs for chemotherapy patients.
Entry is R80 for adults, R20 for scholars under 16 and free for children under 12. Gates open at 7:00am and racing begins at 8:15am.
With live coverage of the day’s racing on screen at the Clubhouse and New Pits Lounge, children’s play areas at the Clubhouse and the New Pits, a Mom’s Lounge at the Clubhouse, and a free Hyundai shuttle to save you from walking to and from your favourite viewpoints around the circuit, it’s an adrenalin-fuelled day for the whole family!