Marthinus Muller, Pierre van der Berg and Jaco Pitout emerged as the heroes of the large contingent of local drivers that took part in the national Dirt Oval Championship that culminated in Oudtshoorn recently.
Muller, who hails from East London but races out of Victory Raceway in Gqeberha, managed to go one better than last year, where he finished as runner-up in the very competitive 1660 class, by staking claim to the coveted SA1 number that will be proudly brandished on his car for the next year.
Van der Berg, who also represents Victory Raceway, continued his fine run of form in the Heavy Metal class and put in a calculated performance to finish in second place in the class that caters for classic stock cars.
Pitout, representing Port Elizabeth Ovaltrack Raceway (PEOTR), finished third in the 1600 class.
For many of the other Eastern Cape competitors who had done all the hard work in qualifying to take part in the Nationals, it was just a bridge too far.
Pieta Victor, who grabbed an early lead in the final of the V8 American Saloon clas,s suffered a mechanical failure that saw him limp home in 7th place overall with other local favourite, Vincent Venter, finishing behind him in 8th.
Jaco Aylward, who had dominated the Hot Rod class this season and looked set to earn an SA number, unfortunately burnt a piston in his engine that saw him limp home in 8th place overall with Borders Ashley Victor finishing in 9th and fellow Border driver Derick van der Westhuizen 14th and PEOTR’s Johan Schoeman in 15th.
JP Coetzee finished 5th overall in the Heavy Metal class with Ruzanne Jansen claiming 10th.
The 2.1 Modified class saw former SA3 Daniel Renison coming home in 7th overall, Henties de Villiers in 9th, Christiaan de Jager 14th and Rimon Landman 15th.
The competitive 1660 class was a heartbreaking affair with Channel van Tonder looking set for a podium finish only to suffer damage that saw her cross the line down in 7th place with Border's Johan Visagie in 10th, Pieter le Roux in 14th, Kenzo Barnard in 15th, Percy Noah in 17th and Melindre Marais in 19th.
The action moves straight from the Nationals to the next round of the Regional Championship that takes place at Victory Raceway on Saturday evening.
HeraldLIVE
Muller, Van der Berg and Pitout shine at Dirt Oval Nationals
Image: Facebook
Marthinus Muller, Pierre van der Berg and Jaco Pitout emerged as the heroes of the large contingent of local drivers that took part in the national Dirt Oval Championship that culminated in Oudtshoorn recently.
Muller, who hails from East London but races out of Victory Raceway in Gqeberha, managed to go one better than last year, where he finished as runner-up in the very competitive 1660 class, by staking claim to the coveted SA1 number that will be proudly brandished on his car for the next year.
Van der Berg, who also represents Victory Raceway, continued his fine run of form in the Heavy Metal class and put in a calculated performance to finish in second place in the class that caters for classic stock cars.
Pitout, representing Port Elizabeth Ovaltrack Raceway (PEOTR), finished third in the 1600 class.
For many of the other Eastern Cape competitors who had done all the hard work in qualifying to take part in the Nationals, it was just a bridge too far.
Pieta Victor, who grabbed an early lead in the final of the V8 American Saloon clas,s suffered a mechanical failure that saw him limp home in 7th place overall with other local favourite, Vincent Venter, finishing behind him in 8th.
Jaco Aylward, who had dominated the Hot Rod class this season and looked set to earn an SA number, unfortunately burnt a piston in his engine that saw him limp home in 8th place overall with Borders Ashley Victor finishing in 9th and fellow Border driver Derick van der Westhuizen 14th and PEOTR’s Johan Schoeman in 15th.
JP Coetzee finished 5th overall in the Heavy Metal class with Ruzanne Jansen claiming 10th.
The 2.1 Modified class saw former SA3 Daniel Renison coming home in 7th overall, Henties de Villiers in 9th, Christiaan de Jager 14th and Rimon Landman 15th.
The competitive 1660 class was a heartbreaking affair with Channel van Tonder looking set for a podium finish only to suffer damage that saw her cross the line down in 7th place with Border's Johan Visagie in 10th, Pieter le Roux in 14th, Kenzo Barnard in 15th, Percy Noah in 17th and Melindre Marais in 19th.
The action moves straight from the Nationals to the next round of the Regional Championship that takes place at Victory Raceway on Saturday evening.
HeraldLIVE
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