Championship on a knife-edge after Round 3!
Theodore Vermaak • September 16, 2020
Game on! The Hankook Formula Vee Championship
Round 3 of the Hankook National Formula Vee Championship took place at Zwartkops Raceway on 12 September 2020 as part of the Regional Inland Festival. All the championship contenders made it to the races with a strong 18 car entry list.
The racing promised to be action packed as current championship leader Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) was ready to mount a serious challenge for the shortened 5 round championship. Having a five point advantage over Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2), meant it was game on between the two of them. The other potential challenger was Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza), who spent a good couple of Wednesdays practising at Zwartkops.
In qualifying this showed and Jansen pulled off two great laps to take pole position for both races. Behind him it was van den Berg and Ramchander for race 1 and Ramchander and van den Berg for race 2. The first three cars were covered by less than 0,2s. Greg Wilson (Forza) was 4th on the grid with a highest qualifying for Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg) in 5th. This was just again showcasing the knowledge of Dean Nel as a mechanic on these cars. Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2) could only manage 6th, and was the first of the cars on old tyres. He would have his work cut out for him on Saturday. Brandon Hills (Mangaza Rhema 1.5) only managed a couple of laps due to a misfiring car for most of the session. Theo Vermaak (D.O.E. Quality Parts / Forza Racing Vision) had some gearbox struggles as the car kept jumping out of 2nd gear and only managed a handful of laps as well. A returning Ashley Padayachee (Catalyst Technology Solutions Lantis) was finding his feet after a big incident with his first car in 2019. Some steering issue would force him to retire, but he did complete some successful laps in the car this time around. Another surprise was visiting driver Josef Kotze (Hankook Sting) who managed a decent time of 1m13,255s to claim 14th out of the 18 car field.
The racing was as close and hard fought as always. In race 1, Van den Berg got the jump on Jansen to turn 2 and then managed to pull a small gap to the fighting pack behind him. Jansen had a determined championship leader behind him in the form of Ramchander. The two of them had an awesome dice with positions changing frequently. In the end Ramchander beat out Jansen. Wilson and Schriks also had a fight of note. Schriks passed Wilson early on, but Wilson was waiting for the closing stages to make a move. He did, but Schriks came back swiftly. After numerous position changes, Schriks ended up 4th with Wilson in 5th. Van der Linde managed a solid race result after the great qualifying and ended the race in 6th just ahead of Brandon Hills with a car that was running significantly better than in qualifying. Peter Hills managed to come from 17th on the start line to 8th with MD Bester following him closely over the line. Eric Booyens (Rhema 2) managed to narrowly beat Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Stealth). Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) had a stuck accelerator cable and had to come into the pits to repair it. The visiting Kotze had a good race after initially almost stalling it on the start line and having to come from dead last.
At the race 2 start, the big winner was Van den Berg again, who came from 3rd on the grid to claim the lead after the first 2 corners. He would again have the rest fighting it out behind him, thus allowing him to stretch out a lead and take the race 2 win. Behind him, the dice for 2nd delivered the best racing of the entire day. Ramchander was initially leading, but a fast charging Schriks and Wilson took turns to lead out this battle as well. The lead in this group changed constantly and a frustrated Ramchander had to contend with a visually pleasing battle rather than being able to break away and take the fight to Van den Berg. He managed to claim 2nd to limit the damage, with Wilson, Schriks and Jansen following him over the line, covered by less than one second. Van der Linde again secured a solid 6th with Peter Hills coming from last to 7th this time around. He beat out Brandon and Vaughn, who this time had a much better race. Behind the three Hills’s, Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) finished ahead of Bester and Booyens. Roy Douglas (Forza) finished just behind Booyens. Vermaak had to recover after a spin trying to overtake Le Roux cost him some time. Dave Austin (DA Racing Rhema 2) finished ahead of Josef Kotze and Le Roux. Kotze had a spin while trying a move on Austin and Le Roux had a malfunctioning distributor ruin his race with 2 laps to go.
Racing was as close as ever, with only the dicing playing into van den Berg’s hands. The championship now goes to Phakisa on 3 October 2020 with Van den Berg and Ramchander tied on points.
Hankook Formula Vee is proudly brought to you by Hankook and DOE Quality Parts.
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As we enter the second half of the season with 4 races completed there has been 4 different drivers starting on pole position, 4 different drivers taking the fastest qualifying lap, 4 different race winners and get this, 3 different championship leaders… 2022 Saw a lot of changes come to the Vee’s with the move from National status to National Challenge status making it more affordable for members whilst still being able to stay on the National tour. Qualifying structure change has also brought a new twist on the swing of things with the top 6 drivers scrambled after their qualifying session resulting in the epic battles you have come to see so far this season. Still staying on the same Bridgestone rubber as the previous season also makes for closer racing amongst all the drivers throughout the grid. Coastal races are 3 heat races to give drivers more pleasure on those amazing circuits and more rewards for going all that way to race. On the Association side of things, the points structure has been changed giving driver credit for going down to the away races as well, adding valuable points to their championships for traveling. National Challenge Championship Race 1 - was held at Zwartkops Raceway in March with the Regional calendar. 23 cars took to the grid hitting off the season with a big field. Lendl Jansen taking his Rhema 2 quickest around Zwartkops but started in 3 rd place, the Bridgestone grid scramble saw Vaughn Hills on pole position alongside his father Peter giving the Hills’s a front row lockout. Lights out and go with hard racing from the first corner, in the end Gert van den Berg took the top podium spot followed by Greg Wilson and then Lushen Ramchander in the overall results. Race 2 - was held at Zwartkops Raceway again in April this time with the National tour showing the bigger categories that Formula Vee is back! 21 cars took to the grid giving the crowds some epic racing. This time around Greg Wilson dominated the field with his 2x wins and a pole position followed by Gert van den Berg and Lushen Ramchander having another podium finish. Greg taking over the top spot in the Championship from van den Berg. Race 3 – this time going down to Aldo Scribante and taking down a decent field of 15 cars. From the word go the old hand of Peter Hills topped the timing sheets in Friday practice sessions. Qualifying saw Brandon Hills put on a great display to take the fastest time; the grid scramble had other things to say giving pole position to Lushen Ramchander. Peter Hills standing on top of the podium with Lushen Ramchander taking second place and Greg Wilson just beating out Brandon Hills for third place. The month of June saw a midyear break giving all drivers some needed rest and time to work on their cars for the year ahead. Race 4 – Red Star Raceway sees Formula Vee again after not racing there in the 2021 season. The king of Red Star Gert saw him put on a magic lap in qualifying to get that needed point for fastest lap. Once again, the Bridgestone grid scramble mixing things up giving pole position to Greg Wilson. Race pace was all in the hands of Gert van den Berg and Lendl Jansen, with Jansen taking the 2x wins from Gert leaving Peter Hills and Lushen Ramchander to fight it out for that final spot in both heats one a peace. Hills took the third spot in overall over Ramchander. Association Championship As many people don’t know what the Association Championship is, it is for the drivers in the mid to rear end of the pack. Giving other drivers some recognition and something worth driving for. This season has been very tight amongst the association drivers just as it has been for the Overall championship Race 1 - Zwartkops saw Vaughn Hills put down some seriously fast times and with the addition to the new Bridgestone grid scramble he was the lucky one to start on pole position first time for him in his racing career and a first for him and his father Peter to start on the front row of the grid. With allot of action happening during both heats it brought the podium proceedings with Vaughn Hills taking first place, Henk van den Berg in second place and Roy Douglas having a solid weekend finishing in third place. Race 2 – Zwartkops brought some more interesting things happen in both championships. Sadly, Vaughn Hills has since relocated overseas but we will still have him over for racing towards the end of the year. Eric Booyens starting his 2022 campaign due to missing out the first event. Eric took over the luck from Vaughn in the first event with the Bridgestone grid scramble handing Eric second place on the grid. Racing was as tight as ever between the association drivers so when it came to the trophy ceremony Eric took the first place followed by Josef Kotze and then Theodore Vermaak in third. Race 3 – Down to Aldo Scribante we go and 3 heats giving the association drivers credit in earning points and 3 heats for that additional extra push in points. Between the 15 drivers down for the event 8 of them are fighting for the association title. 3 Drivers however made a full run away from the rest of the pack. Josef Kotze, Kyle Watt and Theodore Vermaak all three fighting it out in all three heats. Josef taking it top position over Kyle Watt and Theodore Vermaak in third. Race 4 – Red Star being a long-awaited race it gave some good battles yet again. Although Eric Booyens leaving all the association drivers in his dust; the rest of them had some serious fights on their hands. Kyle Watt, Josef Kotze and Theodore Vermaak fighting for the rest of the podium not leaving Henk van den Berg and Michael Kernick not to fall off their tails. Eric took first place with Kyle Watt in Second and Josef Kotze in third. 2022 Has been a good year to the Formula Vee Association thus far. Securing new sponsors and keeping those from the previous year. The field has grown tremendously with 27 active drivers. Midway through the season there is 5 new members signing up, and some drivers who have not yet raced this season will be joining the action later in the year. DOE Formula Vee will be joining the National tour again next month and for the first time in 7 years back at East London!!
