Summarize

It’s been a long break since May, but the Ben Morgenrood Historic Racing circus is off to Phakisa Raceway in Welkom for a little midwinter classic racing excitement on Saturday 16 July. Last time out, the tortoise beat the proverbial hares as Rob Clark’s Citroen took Pursuit honours. He will be looking to celebrate Bastille weekend in French style too, while Andre van der Merwe took Ben Morgenrood Historic Sprint honours in his Porsche 911 RSR.

It’s however Stuart Konig and his Pro Auto Rubber Class C VW Scirocco who leads the overall HRSA title chase scored out of a combination of each driver’s sprint race finishes, and an element of handicap versus their ultimate pace. Handicap King Konig has outpaced top three on pure speed, Sean Hepburn’s AA Datsun 1200 Deluxe, overall sprint championship leader John Simpson’s Class G Evoke Reality Alfa Giulia GT Sprint and Andre ten Napel Class D TNMC Scirocco to lead the way.

Harm Beens Jr.'s Class G SvTech Ford Escort, Gavin Lundin’s Class D Silvergaurd Datsun 1200 GX and Jannie van Rooyen’s Pro Auto Class C Scirocco are next up. Steve Pickering Porsche 914, Andre Dannhauser’s Class F Pro Auto Toyota Corolla SR5 and Andre vd Merwe’s Evapco Class B Porsche RSR close off the top ten. But that’s just half the story as several other drivers have proven quick across the classes so far this year.

Porsche men Peter Bailey’s Class B Bailey Cars 911 and rainmaster George Avvakoumides Class D Liqui-Moly RS are always on point, as are Class C men Johann Smith’s JMS Mazda Capella RS and Stefan Puschavez' Porsche 911 RS. Sophos Pantazis and Evelthon Rotsides Datsun 240Zs and Johann Barnard’s Industrial & Mining Ford Capri are always on point in Class D, as are Class E men, Neil Lobb's  Fiat 13  David Leyshon’s U-Pack Scirocco and Tony Lundin’s Silvergaurd Datsun.

Class G is competitive too, with Jan Jacobs' Olifantsfontein Training Centre Alfa Romeo GT Junior, Harm Beens Jr’s H3 Generator Escort, Barry Nel’s Barry Datsun P510 and Tihan van Rooyen’s Van Rooyen Optics Porsche 924 in the mix, while Henrich Norton’s similar car leads Class H. All of them are ready to fire up Phakisa on Saturday.

The back to front handicap Ben Morgenrood Historic Pursuit races can be guaranteed to deliver their regular overtaking spectacle in the Free State. The slowest Pursuit cars start first and the fastest last, all timed to theoretically reach the finish together. The tortoise, Rob Clark's Trophy class Citroen GS 1220 Club will be out to celebrate French ingenuity on that special weekend after a few race wins, but he’s only fourth in that title chase.

Fines rivals, Werner Hartzenberg's Porsche 916, Wynand du Plessis Sr.’s Porsche 944 S2 and Rob van Aarle’s Ace Auto Ford Escort Mk1 head the title chase to Welkom. Behind those four come the top three Modified class cars, Althea Pretorius’ Exa, Harm Beens Sr.’s Escort and Willem van Niekerk’s Marauder. Machiel Oberholzer's Mercedes Benz 190E is next up from Mike Thompson's Ford Capri, with Henk de Klerk in his Honda Civic tenth in the championship

Others to look out for in Pursuit are Robbie Frank’s Lotus 23B, John Bronner's Alfa GT Junior and Wynand du Plessis Jr. in a Toyota MR2, as well as Youngtimer upstarts Mike O’Sullivan’s Honda Ballade and Tiaan Smith’s Nissan Sentra. The Ben Morgenrood Historic gang races as part of a full and diverse BMW M Performance Parts Race Series Phakisa Freeway raceday along with a Welkom Old Auto Club and other exhibitions.