Summarize

Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante Racetrack played host to the sixth round of the Algoa Motor Sport Club’s Regional racing championships on Saturday as uptown V8 visitors and local lady racers stole the show. On a day dedicated to V8s, none other than Mr. V8, Willie Hepburn came down from Jo’burg to take five wins on the day, while ladies Tanya Watts and Zante Otto lit up the track in their respective Sport & GT and Motorcycle races.

Johannesburg visitor and V8 legend Willie Hepburn took pole position for the AMSC Coastal Challenge & Historic & Classics Saloons race ahead of Darron Gudmanz (Capri Perana) and Wayne Botha’s Escort. Hepburn however made a show of it to pip Gudmanz to the opening race win ahead of Botha, Christopher Radloff (Toyota), Johan Barnard (Kadett) and Brendan Smith (Chevy Can Am). Hepburn then beat Gudmanz by a third of a second in race 2, with Botha third again from Radloff, Barnard and Neil Van Eyk (Escort), but Gudmanz put one over Hepburn in the final, with the rest of the top six in the same order as race 2.

Gudmanz’s final race win saw him pip Hepburn for overall and Historic & Classics honours for the day, with Coastal Challenge overall and Class S winner Botha third from Historics Class B frontrunners Radloff and Barnard and Challenge S man van Eyk. Matthew Gudmanz (Datsun SSS) won Historics Class C for the day as Tom Flynn (Cortina) took Class D, while the Coastal Challenge saw Ian Thompson (Rekord) win Class T, Alec Gudmanz (Datsun) Class B and Ford Escort men Quentin Lessing and Shaun Rudolph took Classes D and X, while Mark Schulpfort (Alfa) won Class U and Ronald Scott (Escort) Class V.

Willie Hepburn also raced his Rekord in the EP Regional Saloon races, where he qualified third behind local Class A Audi S4 quattro son and father duo Aldo and Celso Scribante, before old man Willie powered to the first race win ahead of Bevan Schwartz (Corvette), Celso and Aldo Scribante and Class B frontrunners Ian Riddle (BMW) and Deon Slabbert (Polo). Hepburn again blasted to race 2 victory ahead of the Scribantes this time, with Riddle fourth ahead of Schwartz and Slabbert, while the same top three topped the race 3 podium ahead of Scwartz, Robin Spence and Slabbert.

Hepburn duly took the day from Celso and Aldo Scribante, Schwartz and Class B top two Riddle and Slabbert. BMW duo Rufus Neethling beat Anthony Bridgett to overall Class C honours, George Van Baalen (Polo) beat Stephan Aucamp (BMW) to Class D, Neil Roos (Polo) defeated Derik Gouws (BMW) in Class E and Ryan Britton (Golf) took Class F from Fanie Aucamp (Jetta).

Tanya Watts was one of two lady competitors to star on the day as she drove her Shelby to a last lap opening Sports & GT race win over Kean Barnard (Lotus 7), Garth de Villiers (Formula VW) and Lotus 7 duo Anton Ehlers and Alwyn Kretzmann. De Villiers, who had led that first race until the last lap, made no mistakes to take race 2 from Watts, Jeandre Marais (VW), Ehlers and Kretzmann, with a repeat of that result in the finale, de Villiers took the day and Class A from Class B winner Watts, Class C winner Ehlers, Kretzman and Class T winner Marais.

The other lady to shine was Zante Otto, who rode to an impressive opening smaller class Motorcycle race win aboard her pink Yamaha as she beat Chad Bilsbury (Honda), Malcolm Burrows (Suzuki), Jan Dorfling (Suzuki), Ray Wood (Honda) and Irfaan Johnson (Suzuki) to victory. Paul Jansen (Kawasaki) then took race 2 from Bilsbury, Otto, Dorfling, Johnson and Burrows before Jansen did the double from Otto, Robbie Breakspear (Honda), Johnson, Wood and Burrows.

All that saw Otto take the day and the 300 class from Masters winner Dorfling, Historic winner Burrows, Master rider Wood, Historic runner-up Johnson and 400 winner Breakspear, as Colin Van Eyk took Breakfast Run class honours on his Suzuki and Richard Roussouw took the 650 Twin class win on a Suzuki. The other bigger-bore motorcycle class saw identical results in all three races as Ricardo Otto (Yamaha) beat Kevin Redman (Yamaha), Regardt Koen (Yamaha), Masters rider Roberto Jonker (BMW), Nathan Ashington and Ivor Vermaak each time.

Last but not least, Gareth Hudd (Nissan 350Z) took the opening Fine and Street Car race from Gordon Nicolson (Nissan GT-R), Fred Ballinger (Lotus 7), Francois Wium (BMW) Riaan Van Huyssteen (Citi) and Duncan Lethbridge (M5), before Wium beat van Huyssteen, Ballinger, Dave Thorn (Alfasud), Hudd and Andrew Greenland (Datsun) to race 2 honours and then Nicolsan took the final win from Wium, Thorn, Lethbridge, Tertius Wium (BMW) and Ballinger, who took the day overall from Francois Wium, Thorn, Lethbridge, Tertius Wium and Greenland.