The ATE Brakes VW Challenge delivered scintillating action at Saturday’s Zwartkops Raceway’s Regional Extreme Festival presented by Coca-Cola when young Jayden Goosen was twice forced to fight back to beat an on form Ian Walker to take the day. Stuart Mack meantime continued to dominate Class B while Adriaan de Beer and Bryce Pillay shared Class C honours.
Qualifying saw young gun Jayden Goosen snatch pole position by a couple of tenths in his Ferro Energia AA Certified Polo from on-form ex-Class C champion Ian Walker, who turned a great lap in his Mellow Veio version. Lady racer Elna Croeser lined up third in her ATE Brakes machine.
Stuart Mack led the Class B way as always in his AutoZone Tour Plan turbo litre Polo. Francis Aldrich led the 2-litre charge in his VaporWorx car ahead of Nicky Lombard with another great lap in her PSA Africa car and Rookie Cup racer and ATR Brakes VW Challenge debutant Josh Moore. Chris Davison’s GSI Generator car was next from Northen Bolt and Tool lad Jonathan Konig, and MLP racer Martin de Beer.
Championship leader Adriaan de Beer’s Ukwazi Vivo took the Class C pole from Stuart Konig finding his feet in his Northen Bolt and Tool car and with Challenge Chairman Philip Croeser’s ATE Brakes version. Mitch Coetzee’s ECM LTR Vivo lined up fourth from returning Rezcom lad Dino Smit, Dimitri Zapheriou’s Insurisk Vivo and an out of sequence Bryce Pillay’s Matelico Autobody car. Cody Petersen’s Insurisk Vivo followed from Shalom Racing duo Nolan Schoeman and Justin Gower.
Ian Walker put one over pole lad Jayden Goosen to shoot into the lead off the line to spark a brilliant first ATE VW Challenge first heat fight between the two. Former karter Goosen took three laps to finally get to the front with a decisive move on the inside at turn one to take the lead, from which he went on to win. Elna Croeser kept a watching brief en route to her first podium since re-joining the series.
Stuart Mack did it again in class B, followed by Francis Aldrich with the broadly smiling Chris Davison’s Polo third from Josh Moore and the delayed Martin de Beer and Nicole Lombard. Adriaan de Beer took class C from Stuart Koenig. Bryce Pillay fought back to third from Mitch Coetzee, Cody Petersen, Justin Gower, Dimitri Zapheriou and Dino Smit. Philip Croeser and Nolan Schoeman were delayed after a clash that earned Schoeman a yellow card.
Ian Walker made another demon start to lead Jayden Goosen, only for Goosen to make his move on lap two, never to look back while Elna Croeser did a double podium in third. Stuart Mack once again made class B his own with Francis Aldrich in pursuit, while Josh Moore scored a maiden podium in third from Chris Davison, Jonathan Konig and Nicole Lombard.
Bryce Pillay bounced back to take Class C from Adriaan de beer and Stuart Koenig, with Coetzee, Croeser, Zapheriou, Smit, Schoeman, Petersen and Gower in chase. Double winners, Jayden Goosen took the day and class A overall from Ian Walker and Elna Croeser, and Stuart Mack put one over the consistent Francis Aldrich, and Josh Moore and Adriaan de Beer took the class C day from Bryce Pillay and Stuart Konig.
The ATE Brakes VW Challenge heads to Red Star’s mid-winter, mid-season Extreme Festival presented by Coca-Cola next on Saturday 28 June.
*ATE Brakes VW Challenge salutes its co-sponsors ATS Motorsport Supplies, Dunlop Tyres, Norbrake Distributors, Autozone, van der Linde Developments, Origen Oil, Clean Renewables, Insurisk, Pabar, and The Specialist Pest Control and Cleaning.
