Huge entry for Classic Festival
Posted Mon, 04 Sep 2006
The Bosal Classic Car Africa Festival at the WesBank Raceway in Germiston this weekend (September 9-10) has attracted over 300 entries including a 20-car contingent from Cape Town and several other entrants from across Southern Africa.
The Festival, which celebrates historic racing and historic cars runs throughout Saturday and Sunday, centred around an action-packed two-day race meeting with far more to do for the car enthusiast and the general public too. Classic car owners who park their cars in the Aon Insurance Classics at the Raceway display and enthusiastic Festival-goers dressed in period dress will stand a chance to win one of several all-expenses paid trips to the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England in 2007…
The highlight of the Bosal Classic Car Africa Festival remains historic motor sport and not only will the legends of South African motor racing — the likes of Dave Charlton, Arnold Chatz, Peter de Klerk and many others be on hand to meet the crowd after the Aon Legends Lunch on Saturday, but the full two-day race programme is set to call back the past as the country’s finest cars battle it out on track.
Classic saloon car racing should prove to be highlight of the Festival’s on-track action with the Bosal Classic Car Africa Legends & Trans Am Races heading up the bill with a heat on each of the two days. With no less than 30 cars entered for this race that will be the first of many Reef versus Cape battles, a bevy of brilliant V8 machines will battle for glory in the Germiston spring sunshine.
Heading the Pre-’72 entry list are the Gauteng-based V8 Trans-Am racers. Modified Racing legends Ben Morgenrood and Willie Hepburn resume on-track action in a ’67 Ford Mustang and 1970 Chevrolet Camaro respectively, while Michele Lupini will be out in the Bosal Classic Car Africa 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 with Peter du Toit in a 1970 Zwartkops Camaro. The original ’72 ‘Little Chev’ Can Am will be driven by Peter Corin. Their job will be made most difficult by a trio of Cape-based Trans Am V8 racers in Derek van Blerk’s Ford Mustang and another pair of Little Chev Firenza Can Ams in Fred Phillips and Anton Rollinos’ hands.
But just having a big 5.0-litre V8 under the bonnet does not mean definite success, as a strong field of lower-class 2.0-litre Trans Am machines will be out to topple the giants. Among those, Robbi Smith has proven his magnificent BMW 2002 ti Alpina can do the lap times required, while fellow BMW man Uli Sanne will be out to prove a point. Pierre de Waal, Clive Densham, Patrick Gearing, Trevor Tuck and Cape visitors Garth Gansselaar, Brian Smith and Eric Bell will be fighting Alfa’s cause and a bevy of Datsuns and Fords will be out to chase glory…
The Pre-’66 legends field too is most impressive. Mark du Toit will be at the helm of the monster Bobby Olthoff replica Zwartkops Ford Galaxie and his hands will be full with the likes of Ben van der Westhiuizen’s Gold Studebaker Golden Hawk, Brian Rowlings and Brian Cook’s mustangs and a swarm of Alfas, Volvos, Renaults, Fords and Datsuns with a good number of Cape competitors looking to upset the regular Gauteng applecart…
Most of the Trans Am and Legends field will have a second bite at the pie in the Master Mowers Historic Saloon, Sports and GT races, which have attracted such a big entry that the field has been split into two races of two heats each — one apiece on Saturday and Sunday. Joining a large field of different and interesting saloon cars in the Master Mowers Class A to C races are several sports and GT racing legends.
Peter Lindenberg will be out in his ex-9-hour race Chevron B23, while several Ford GT40s will be on track, although all will have to go some to match Andre Bezeidenhout’s Le Mans Martini Porsche RSR. Again a significant Cape contingent will be on hand to spice things up and among the significant machinery on track on the Reef for the first time will be the likes of Charles Arton’s BMW M530, Chris Carolin’s Mazda Rotary and Martin Richards’ Datsun SSS.
Close racing is guaranteed in the helter-skelter of the smaller Master Mowers classes with a wide array of machinery ranging from Porsche 911s, VW Sciroccos and an army of Alfas taking on Datsuns, Fords, Renaults and Nissans. And again the Cape contingent will bring some very interesting machinery in the form of a Fiat Abarth 600 and a NSU Prinz to take on the might of the Minis…
The Drain Surgeon Marque cars are a collection of historic street cars and racers not intending to race flat out, these competitors race on handicap — it may seem boring to start, but wait for those last laps when the handicap has all the cars set to finish together.
Further marque action includes the Alfa Romeo Trofeo — a club-oriented one-make event that celebrates Alfas raced over the years. And no, they are not all red!
Then the Lotus Challenge celebrates Colin Chapman’s quest for perfection through light weight and nimbleness in the Lotus Challenge. Yes, a few of these are genuine Lotus, but many are replicas faithful to Chapman’s legendary seven…
Other classic racing highlights at the Bosal Classic Car Africa Festival include the HRCR Historic Racing Cars comprising a selection of SA’s historic single seater racers and specials stretching back to the pre and post-war MG specials, through 1500 F1 cars to more modern Formula Fords & Vees, while Formule Libre is a race for single-seaters from Formula GTI, Formula Ford, Formula Ford and Formula M cars.
And it’s not all four-wheel action as the Lexar Classic Motorcycles may be billed as a Demonstration event, but the Lexar Media have no bones about circulating at full speed — Festival visitors can enjoy some of SA’s finest historic motorcycles in action and take a little time to take a closer look at them in the pits…
Backing up the classic programme are three more modern categories. The Altech Porsche Unlimited Challenge and Porsche 924 Challenge allows owners of exotic racing Porsches the chance to race against like-minded individuals, while Super Saloons presents an interesting selection of production and saloon car racers from over the years featuring cars you may remember from WesBank V8, Production Car and other local formulae and Superhatch is a thriving regional championship series that utilises mainly front-wheel driven hatchback cars of old from Production Car and Polo Cup series of the past…
One of the highlights of the Festival is always the 'Spirit of the Nine-hour' one-hour endurance race that will comprise entries from all of the days various races.
WesBank Raceway is situated on the Rand Airport Road just off the N3 South at Gosforth Park, Germiston. Practise and qualifying gets under way at 7.30am on Saturday with the first race starting at midday, while racing starts at 9.15am on Sunday.
Entry tickets will be available at the gate at a daily cost of R40 per adult per day and R15 per child, while two-day tickets will be available for R60 per adult and R25 per child. Entrance will be at half price for anyone entering the Raceway in a bona fide classic car.
For more information and the latest detail regarding the Bosal Classic Car Africa Festival visit the official site.
