The Kyalami race meeting started with a friendly soccer match between the two one-make Volkswagen series on Friday 4 June. With what can only be described as a “relaxed” set of rules, the two uniformed – in race suits, casual wear or whatever else they felt like – teams set about the game of soccer.
With strict refereeing the players changed sides at will, played onside – or off-side – and generally spent game time involved in a high spirits dash around parc ferme, attempting to score between the two race cars parked on either end of the field doing duty as temporary goalposts.
Fresh from their 6-3 (or 6-5, 5-4 or whatever) victory – or was that loss – in the pre-race day soccer match against their fellow racers in the Engen Volkswagen Cup series, the Formula Volkswagen drivers got down to the serious business of single-seater competition.
Here Simon Moss (38) in the Terry Moss Racing / Southern Sun / Dixon Batteries entry and Wesleigh Orr (2) in the Teugue Distributors / Bravo Racing car set the pace right from the outset of race one. The pair were also put under the microscope when they swapped grid positions before crossing the line during their rolling start.
Initially this was recorded as a 30 second penalty for each, relegating them to fourth and fifth but this was later overturned on appeal as neither gained an advantage and they got to keep their first and second place finishing positions.
Race one was also rather daunting for Orr as he found himself nursing a flaky gearbox that finally retired from competition at the end of the race, leaving Orr will enough drive to make the finish and nothing else. This had to be repaired before he could take the start line for the second race of the day.
Gordon Connelly (3) in the OCC / Cowan Signs / Bravo Holdings car claimed third place in the first race which is a welcome result as this was only his second Formula Volkswagen event this season – and he was suffering food poisoning.
Connelly followed up that third place in race one with a fourth in the second race, giving him a healthly dose of points and a third place overall for the day in his quest for a good overall 2010 result. His fight on circuit has put him in the firing line of Tasmin Pepper (31) in the PG Glass / Plastomark / VW Racing entry. Pepper was determined to produce a podium finish at the Johannesburg event but was robbed of the chance in the first race due to gearbox damage.
Her support crew swung into action after the race to get the car ready for the second event – where she rewarded their efforts by claiming third place to make good on her ambitions for the day.
Ernie van der Walt (95) in the Terry Moss Racing / Southern Sun / Dixon Batteries car produced an excellent result on the day, finishing just behind Connelly in the first race for fourth place and then sixth in race two for fourth overall for the day. This is his best race day result of the season and an achievement his will definitely be looking to equal or better at Phakisa Freeway, the next round of the Formula Volkswagen series.
Practise on Friday saw Chad van Beurden (16) in the Beurden Construction / Square Waste Removal entry slam into the wall backwards while still travelling in excess of 200 km/h. Van Beurden suffered no significant injury in the accident but his team did have to work through the night to repair the damage.
He only just managed to make the qualifying session on Saturday morning – thanks to the work of his team and a number of other Formula Volkswagen teams that offered their help and support in the repair effort.
Unfortunately for Van Beurden he was unable to complete the first race of the day due to one of the most basic of parts failing during the race – he did make a comeback in race two, claiming fifth. For racer André Bezuidenhout (18), Onse Huisie Bloubergstrand / Guma entry, the Kyalami race meeting marked a welcome return to the circuit as he missed the Port Elizabeth round of the championship due to a non-motorsport related injury.
Bezuidenhout immediately dived into the thick of things, going up against Naomi Schiff (9) in the Terry Moss Racing / Southern Sun / Dixon Batteries car in the first race. He beat Schiff in race one and the pair continued their battle through the second race where, just three laps from the end, contact between the two ended Bezuidenhout’s race and he was left to watch Schiff continue and claim ninth spot.
Race one:
- Simon Moss (38) - Terry Moss Racing / Southern Sun / Dixon Batteries
- Wesleigh Orr (2) – Teugue Distributors / Bravo Racing
- Gordon Connelly (3) – OCC / Cowan Signs / Bravo Holdings
Race two:
1. Simon Moss (38) - Terry Moss Racing / Southern Sun / Dixon Batteries
2. Wesleigh Orr (2) – Teugue Distributors / Bravo Racing
3. Tasmin Pepper (31) – PG Glass / Plastomark / VW Racing
Overall:
- Simon Moss (38) - Terry Moss Racing / Southern Sun / Dixon Batteries
- Wesleigh Orr (2) – Teugue Distributors / Bravo Racing
- Gordon Connelly (3) – OCC / Cowan Signs / Bravo Holdings
