Summarize

The 2021 Historic Racing South Africa season gets under way with races for both the Pre-90 Sports and GTs and Pre-80 Saloon Cars, as well as the opening round of the Charlies SuperSpar Pursuit Series at the Red Star raceway near Delmas on Saturday 6 March. 

Class A champion Willie Hepburn is out to make amends for his Amtec Opel Rekord’s monster V8 swallowing its air cleaner nut last time out in the Sports, GT and Saloon races. He'll have a swarm of Class A Porsche 911 RSRs including George Avvakoumides’ Liqui Moly car, Richard Pott, Evapco entry Andre van der Merwe, Richard de Roos and Stefan Snyders Class B Steton car on his case and Steve Pickering will be out in his Classic Porsche 914/6.

While 2020 HRSA champion Jannie van Rooyen will sit out this season, all of the above will need to keep an eye out for Pre-80 Saloon Car front runners. Class C man Johann Smith is back with his JMS Mazda Capella, while runner-up Stuart Konig drops down to Class D in his Northern Bolt & Tool Scirocco. He will be up against Class D runner-up Alan Green’s Ford Escort and Johann Barnard's Fuchs Industrial & Mining Ford Capri.

Class E champion Riaan Roux is back for more in his Addfin Scirocco, where he will have Andre ten Napel’s similar TNMC Medical car, Ian Kilburn in a Collectible Wheels Datsun GX Coupe, Tony Lundin’s Silver Guard Datsun 1200 GX and Rene van Rensburg’s SV Tech Ford Escort to contend with.

Class F will be a crunch race as 2020 class champion Jaco Roux and his Addfin Scirocco returns to take on 2019 overall champion Sean Hepburn's HiQ Midrand Datsun 1200 Deluxe and a cool new entry in Cor Kraamwinkel's BMW 2002. Class G champ Rian de Ru’s Ford Prefect takes on Alfa Romeo GT Junior duo, Jan Jacobs’ Olifantsfontein Training and Peter Ross Twisted Wiskers machines and Andre Dannhauser's Pro Rubber Toyota SR5 Coupe.

Also on the Red Star HRSA bill, the Charlies SuperSpar Pursuit series never fails to thrill. Each car starts these handicap races at a time designed to have the entire field reach finish at the same instant. There the usual eclectic cast is back to chase 2020 street car Fines class champion Rob Clark and his listing Containerforce Citroen GS 1220 Club and double racecar Trophy class champ Werner Hartzenberg’s planted Aircooled Wonders Porsche 916. 

Hartzenberg will have an exotic field of Trophy rivals to contend with, including Willem van Niekerk’s unique Marauder MK3, Van Rooyen Vision Centre Porsche 924 duo Tihan van Rooyen and Heinrich Norton and Wynand du Plessis Sr. in a DBM Architects Porsche 944 S2. Charlies SuperSpar Pursuit stalwart Kola de Klerk is back in his Nissan 300 ZX, Riaan Roux is entered in his Addfin Scirocco and Gary Stacey races his Coastal Hire Ford Cortina.

Clark’s Sarel van der Merwe Group 1 replica Citroen has a varied bunch on his case. There’s a bit of exotica in Clive Winterstein’s Casheri Porsche 356A and Bert van Aarle’s Mazda MX5. And more regular competition in the likes of Mercedes-Benz 190E duo Richard Tudor-Owen and Jose Vasques, Althea Pretorius’ Carinvest Nissan EXA, Shane Forget’s Pro Rubber Toyota SR5 and Rob and Lauren van Aarle sharing an Ace Auto Ford Escort.

The HRSA’s recently launched all new Youngtimers designed to bring an exciting and affordable new class to the racetrack in the spirit of the epic SA Touring Car Championship, only starts racing later in the season. That before the new series races in earnest from 2022. Several new cars are being built to race in Youngtimers, which promises an exciting new historic motorsport era in South Africa. Find out more at www.historicracing.co.za.

Saturday’s Red Star races will be run behind closed doors without spectators in accordance with lockdown protocols.