Early B on song at Aldo Scribante Raceway

The Herald

4 days ago

Hoping to at least finish on the podium at his first home race at Aldo Scribante Raceway, rap-singer Earl Swartz (Early B) went one better with two second places and a maiden win to end the day on the top step of the podium after three exhilarating heats during round five of the Algoa Motorsport Club Regional Championship on Saturday.
It was a busy day for Swartz, who spent many hours engaging with the huge legion of fans who had come out to support him.
'The first thing I need to say is thank you to Liqui Moly and the team,' he said.
'The help from everyone and the camaraderie in Super Vee's are the best thing you can experience, where everyone helps everyone.
'I was lucky enough to bring my dad and a few kids from the neighbourhood to watch today, which was super special, and it was a great experience for them.'
Another local hero who enjoyed a great day on his home circuit was Joshua Moore, who took his first overall win in the VW Rookie Cup Interprovincial Championship after a hard-fought battle in all three heats.
With two second-place finishes and a win in the last heat, Moore now moves into the lead of the championship with two rounds to go.
With the cars all identically matched, Moore knew he had to do something special in the third heat if he was to get the win.
Starting from the second row of the grid, he pulled off a spectacular overtaking move in the first corner, outbraking the rest of the field.
He hugged the apex to get his nose in front and somehow managed to hold it steady to emerge as the leader as they exited turn two and then fought off the pressure from the rest of the pack as they chased him to the line with the top six cars all finishing within seconds of each other.
To round off the day of maiden wins, Tiann Coetzer put in a stunning performance in his Opel Tigra to win the odified saloon class to upstage the ever-consistent Deon Slabbert in his immaculately prepared VW Polo.
Slabbert did, however, come back strongly to win the Bronscor Ingco 45-minute endurance race by 17 seconds, with Timothy Ball second.
Rane Berry was back to his best in his Nissan Skyline and though pushed hard by Angelique Griffin in race one, cruised to overall victory in the Wide Horizon Advance Training Coastal Challenge for historic, classic and retro cars.
Results:
EP Regional Saloons
Overall: 1 Tiaan Coetzer, 2 Deon Slabbert, 3 Ian Riddle
Class A: 1 Tiaan Coetzer, 2 Deon Slabbert
Class B: 1 Ian Riddle, 2 Ian Oberholzer, 3 Elan Buchman
Class C: 1 Timothy Ball, 2 Johan Nel, 3 Gordon Nolan
Class D: 1 Greg Forward, 2 Duncan Phillips, 3 Juan van Rooyen
Class E: 1 Mark Els, 2 Alstair Mew, 3 Kiesha Potgieter
Class F: 1 James Moore, 2 Michael Beukman, 3 Andrew Meyer
Class X: 1 Julian Bunge, 2 Henry Adams, 3 Barry Buchman
Wide Horizon Advance Training Coastal Challenge
Overall: 1st Rane Berry, 2nd Tom Hugo, 3rd Neil Stephen
Class C: 1 Rane Berry, 2 Tom Hugo, 3 Neil Stephen
Class D: 1 Pikkie Marais, 2 Anton Ehlers, 3 Angelique Griffin
Class E: 1 Johan Marais
Class X: 1 Ronnie van Eyk
Retro Classic: 1 Sydney Lippstreu, 2 Alwyn Kretzmann, 3 Henry Adams
Motorcycles
Open: 1 Dylan Grobler, 2nd Ruan van Zyl, 3rd Ivor Vermaak
Powersport: 1 Ronnie Doyle
600cc: 1 Ruan van Zyl
600cc Std: 1 Dylan Grobler, 2 Ethan Diener
Historics: 1 Ivor Vermaak
Super Vee National Challenge: 1 Earl Swartz, 2 Tonie van der Westhuizen, 3 Blane de Meillon
VW Rookie Cup Interprovincial Championship
Overall: 1 Joshua Moore, 2 Christopher Tait, 3 Luke Hill
Class B: 1 Andre de Lange, 2 Tinus Botes, 3 Josef Kotze
Class L: 1 Nick Hodgson, 2 Andrew Fulton, 3 Sean Hepburn
Bronscor Ingco 45 Minute Enduro
Overall: 1 Deon Slabbert, 2 Timothy Ball, 3 Josh Moore
Index of Performance: 1 Josh Moore 94.92%, 2 Riaan van Vuuren 94.33%, 3 Deon Slabbert 94.02%.
The Herald