Latest news with #AldoScribante
The Herald
13-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Herald
TimesLIVE racer finishes second overall at Aldo Scribante
This past weekend Aldo Scribante brought a lot of new things, starting with box-fresh MY25 GR Yaris car fitted with automatic transmissions, and a second place overall finish. It was a hard-won step up though. The media field arrived at the Bay of Bluewaters with horns sharpened and cars visually transformed. Note the now black and yellow TimesLIVE car instead of the multicoloured cousin from last month's race. The shock to the system and a true test of racing mettle started with Friday's two practice rounds. Aldo Scribante has a notoriously coarse tarmac surface, and we initiated ourselves with the track on old tyres. Not surprising that we slithered about all day, learning little about the new car's racing prowess. Saturday morning's qualifying session, and both morning and afternoon races would be completed on fresh rubber though. A racing strategy was another first-time requirement for the band of media challenge racers. Drivers had to make a call whether to use all of the eight qualifying laps on the abrasive surface to hunt for an advantageous grid start position, risking the vitality of the tyres for the main races, or use fewer qualifying laps to preserve the grip and rely on race craft for a good outcome. I opted for the latter, qualifying 14th overall at the start and fourth in the bunched-up dealer and media classes. With fresher tyres fitted, the first race was a spirited affair that saw me pick out opponents, including my closest points and class rival Kyle Kock from Car Magazine after he left the door open at the Dunlop corner. The qualifying gamble paid off, with a second-place finish in the GR Yaris bunch at the end of race one. The second race was an even more frenzied fight. Once more, on the rolling start I managed to outrun Kock and a dealer Corolla GR to the first corner, and onto the rear bumper of class leader Nabil Abdool, who was behind the leading GR Corollas of Paul de Vos and Mario de Sousa. A small lapse in concentration resulted in overshooting a braking point, and onto the grass we went but I held on, rejoining the field behind Kock, who hadn't wasted a second to capitalise.
The Herald
09-05-2025
- Automotive
- The Herald
National Extreme Festival to thrill Gqeberha race fans
The 2025 Extreme Festival presented by Coca-Cola converges on Nelson Mandela Bay for the third round of National championship action at the Aldo Scribante racetrack on Saturday. Always a track to deliver scintillating action, the short, sharp but quick 2.48km Scribante Circuit is set to thrill with national championship South African Touring Cars and the Supa Cup and Astron Energy Polo Cup. Add the national challenge attractions of the SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup, Volkswagen Rookie Cup and Gazoo Racing SA Cup and Gqeberha race fans can rest assured of an epic day of racing. Ever-consistent Michael van Rooyen may not have won a South African Touring Cars race so far this season, but he leads the championship to Aldo Scribante Raceway in his Toyota Corolla. He leads impressive rookie Jagger Robertson and his Volkswagen Golf teammate Julian van der Watt, neither of whom have won yet, either. Second-round Kyalami winners Saood Variawa's Corolla and debutant Keegan Campos' BMW 328tc did not race the first round, so they will be fighting back at Aldo. It's just as dramatic in the SATC SupaCup, where SuperPolo trio Tate Bishop has a grip on that chase with three wins to one over Jonathan Mogotsi and Charl Michael Visser. But dominant Mogotsi and Visser were both penalised to let Bishop off the hook at Kyalami, and they too will be chasing a little vengeance at Mogotsi's Volkswagen team's home race. Dawie van der Merwe is another rookie to watch in the sole Toyota SupaStarlet, as are Polo Cup champion Jason Loosemore, Niko Zafiris and Dylan Pragji. It's tight at the top of the Astron Energy Polo Cup log where class veterans Ethan Coetzee and Mo Karodia are separated by a single championship point with rapid racing lass Tyler Robinson climbing all over their tailpipes. All three have won races, but they have the consistent Hannes Scheepers, another race winner, Rory Atkinson, and VW Rookie Cup champion Judd Bertholdt among the many others to contend with. Wayne Masters meantime has the Astron Energy Polo Masters championship under control with John Kruger and Derick Smalberger tied in pursuit. The SunBet ZX10 Masters return to Scribante after skipping Kyalami, but it's still a matter of catching Clinton Seller. Graeme van Breda, Jayson Lamb, James Barson, Dave Veringa, Adriaan van Dalen and local motorcycle star Darryl Barrington are out to do just that. Joshua Moore will enjoy a home track advantage in the VW Rookie Cup national challenge series and will be hoping to capitalise as he chases down championship leader Giovanni Fiorotto and the likes of karting talents Uzair Khan, Mauro Da Luz and VW Challenge champion Christopher Tait, and Jason Coetzee tops Kent Swartz in the GR86 Rookie Cup, Mario de Sousa is ahead in the Corolla Dealer Cup and Nabil Abdool leads the Yaris Media Cup from Kyle Kock in the Toyota Gazoo Cup action. So, Gqeberha race fans have a great late autumn Saturday of racing entertainment and action to look forward to at the third round of the 2025 National Extreme Festival presented by Coca-Cola. Included in the weekend's activities is the Mac's Motorcycle Club Day Jol, where around 500 bikers from around the country will have their own camping and VIP area set up alongside the circuit with proceeds from this fundraising initiative going to the Aurora Special Care Centre. The Herald
