Summarize

A brand new race season awaits the V8 Masters, who kick their racing year off at the first round of the Killarney’s Power Series in Cape Town Saturday 7 March and all eyes will be on reigning champion Fabio Tafani who starts a fresh campaign fresh off a dominant 2019 title. Tafani scored an emphatic double victory to close last season off in championship style and he will be looking to pick up where he left off, but there’s a full field of rivals out to stop him too.

Principal among Tafani’s opposition, lifelong rival out of karting and then Superkarts over the years, Marcel Angel (Autohaus Angel) is the man most likely to put one over his old rival, but there’s an extra bit of excitement for the two of them as another old karting rival Barry Ingle dusts off his overalls to makes his V8 Masters debut aboard the car Paolo Cavallieri usually drives. 

Other Gold class men after Tafani’s blood going into the brand new season are Richard Schreuder (TRS Construction), Rob Warrington, Sean Moore, Rui Campos (Campos Transport) and Brian Evans (Cape Eye Hospital), while erstwhile competitors Craig Jarvis and Mark Ridgeway both return to the fray. All of them are quick and consistent and on their day, proven contenders.

If Tafani romped away to Gold honours last year, V8 Masters' Silver Class proved a year long fight that went right down to the wire as Mike Brooks (Signarama) fought Harry Tayler and Charl van Stittert off in a spectacular fight to the finish. All three of them will be back for more this year, but don’t expect them to have it easy — the vastly experienced Fanie Theron (Chianti Property Holdings), Andrew Strike, Alister Brown, Charl van Sittert and Rhoderick Simpson will all be back, while newcomers Jason Ibbotson and Ilan Kaplin join the grid too.

V8 Masters is limited to drivers over 40 years old driving identical powerful V8-powered Mustang-like machines designed by the late, great Owen Ashley. The Cape Town based series races mostly at Killarney, but does occasionally travel and attracts several upcountry racers including Tafani and Campos to race the series every round, while international drivers also occasionally join the V8 Masters fray. Watch them race alongside a full regional race program at Killarney Saturday  7 March.