Formula Vee News

Thrilling racing marks the start of the 2026 Formula Vee championship

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 03:49:02 GMT

Gert van der Berg strikes first blood

The DOE Formula Vee partnered with CIM Lubricants competitors got their 2026 championship off to an action-packed start at Zwartkops Raceway on 6 & 7 March. Gert van den Berg (DOE Quality Parts & StartMyCar Rhema 2) and Brandon Hills (Mangaza Racing – MXTwo Rhema 2) shared the heat wins with the top three in both races separated by less than a second.

Friday’s practice sessions gave some idea of what was to come on Saturday, with defending champion Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Rhema 2) leading the way, but he did not have much of an advantage. MD Bester (Mangaza Racing – MXTwo Rhema 2) was less than five hundredths of a second behind, with another five drivers within half a second.

On Saturday morning, 18 cars took to the track for the first qualifying session of the year. Fifteen minutes later, it was van der Berg on top, just over a tenth quicker than Jansen, with the Hills brothers, Vaughn and Brandon, in third and fourth in their Mangaza Racing – MXTwo Rhema 2 cars. Jaco Schriks (Cube Coatings Rhema 2) showed he had lost none of the speed that took him to multiple championships in his two-year sabbatical when he qualified in fifth place just ahead of Kyle Watt (Mangaza Racing – MXTwo Rhema 2), who was running with a borrowed motor after his own ran bearings on Friday. Theodore Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts & StartMyCar Forza) was battling overheating problems, but still managed seventh place with Marcel Blignaut (CIM Lubricants/ Mangaza Racing – MXTwo Forza) in eighth. Shaun van der Linde and Peter Hills (Mangaza Racing – MXTwo Rhema 2) rounded out the top ten.

There was early drama in the opening race after marshals had to push Vaughn Hills off the grid when a stone got stuck under his accelerator. Once the Rhema 2 had been removed, the lights went out, and the customary multi-car dice at the front of the field began. A five-car train, led by van den Berg, with Jansen, Brandon Hills, Schriks, and Watt in close attendance, pulled a slight gap over Vermaak, who was still working around the overheating problems that had plagued him all weekend. A couple of laps into the race, Jansen moved into the lead, with van den Berg in second, holding off Brandon Hills. Schriks held a watching brief in fourth ahead of Watt, while Peter Hills was slowly working his way up the field. Watt’s car started slowing and would eventually grind to a halt on the final lap, allowing Peter Hills to tag onto the back of the leading quartet. At the front, a last-lap shuffle saw van den Berg go from third to first ahead of Jansen and Brandon Hills, who dropped two places in the final half lap. Schriks was fourth ahead of Peter Hills, the leading five cars covered by just 1.379”. Vermaak brought his Ailing Forza home in sixth place ahead of Blignaut and van der Linde. Anton van der Merwe (VDM Orthotics & Prosthetics HR1) and Mile Stewart (Direction Management Forza) rounded out the top ten.

There was more of the same in the second heat, with the top three in the opening race again fighting for the lead. This time, however, Brandon Hills wasn’t going to let van der Berg and Jansen through on the final lap and held on to take the win. Peter Hills had to settle for fourth, just behind Jansen, but comfortably ahead of Schricks. Vermaak just held off Vaughn Hills, who had to do a lot of work to get through the field from his lowly starting position after not starting the opening race. Van der Linde again finished in eighth, this time ahead of Bester and Blignaut.

When the race times were added to determine the overall positions, van den Berg emerged on top ahead of Brandon Hills and Jansen.

The drivers now have a two-month gap before they head to Red Star Raceway for Round 2 of the championship, which takes place on 15 & 16 May 2026.

What a season: DOE Formula Vee reaching new hights!!

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Sun, 24 Jul 2022 19:31:00 GMT

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!!

Jansen Takes Maximum Points at Aldo Scribante

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 06:49:53 GMT

Lendl Jansen had the ultimate weekend down in Gqeberha. Starting on pole position to taking number 1 spot in both heats and the fastest lap and top step on the podium.

Gqeberha did not see Formula Vee in 2020 due to lock down and it was evident by the good turnout of cars on the grid the drivers missed the track. A full field of 16 cars showed up on the Aldo Scribante race circuit and right out the gate on first practice the drives set quick times. Friday practice with almost perfect conditions made learning the track again all the easier. Lendl Jansen, Gert van den Berg and Peter Hills topping the time sheets in all the sessions.

Saturday morning and the perfect weather from Friday disappeared. Wind gusting and making drivers work for their track positions. A tail wind made things even more interesting down the main straight. Pole position was taken by Lendl Jansen and second place to Gert van den Berg, followed by Peter Hills and Lushen Ramchander. Unfortunately, Henk van den Berg had an incident with David Austin leaving the Liqui Moly driver unable to finish qualifying, Austin however managed to make it back to the pits and tend to a bit of gearbox issues from the incident.

Race 1 15 cars take to the grid with Henk van den Berg still fixing damage to his car. The drag race down to turn one and Gert van den Berg getting the best drive, Lendl Jansen right on his tail and Lushen Ramchander getting the jump on Peter Hills. M.D. Bester and Brandon Hills closely following with Shaun van der Linde and Vaughn Hills putting pressure on the front 6 drivers. Lap one completed and the respective battles settle. Top 6 drivers start to break away. Theodore Vermaak had an early off on lap two turn one taking Marcel Blignaut along with him to the flowers, luckily both drivers came back on track with no damage. Turn one lap three taking more victims in M.D. Bester spinning around leaving Shaun van der Linde tagging his right rear, both recovered and got right back to the action. Further back Roy Douglas, Theodore Vermaak and Shaun van der Linde having a tight battle for 9 ^th place. Ernie Vermaak, David Austin and Marcel Blignaut having their own 3-way battle for 12 ^th place. Albertyn Pienaar had his full share of bad luck, after having a bad start to the race he crashed out in the Chevy sweep turn 7. Lendl Jansen made his move on Gert van Den Berg and went out to take race one victory. Lushen Ramchander made a last-minute dive into Dunlop curve to take 3 ^rd place with Peter Hills running wide leaving Brandon Hills to take 4 ^th place.

Race 2 all 16 cars make it to the grid. Henk van den Berg and his mechanics working hard to get the car on the track. Lights go out and it’s a drag race to turn one again. Lendl Jansen not having the best of starts losing out to Gert van den Berg, Brandon and Peter Hills. Vaughn Hills, Theodore Vermaak, Josef Kotze and Albertyn Pienaar fighting it out early on for 9 ^th position. Roy Douglas and Marcel Blignaut both working together to try and catch up to the fighting mid pack. Gert van den Berg and Lendl Jansen breaking away from the rest of the pack and all through the field respective battles started to emerge. Brandon and Peter Hills, Lushen Ramchander and M.D. Bester for 5 ^th Shaun van der Linde out on his own with the 4-car battle behind him. Ernie Vermaak and Henk van den Berg fighting over 12 ^th place and both giving each other a hard time lap after lap. Lendl Jansen sizing up Gert van den Berg and made his move with 2 laps to go and makes sure he pulls a gap to take home his second victory of the day. Brandon Hills pushing Gert van den Berg to the line closely followed by Peter Hills. Sadly, Henk van den Berg had to pull over on the last lap with gearbox issues.

Formula Vee once again does not disappoint with the best category of the day!

As tradition has it the tire podium comes out and the champagne gets ready to be sprayed over the winners and all the Vee supporters.

1 ^st Race voucher winners

Henk van den Berg

Josef Kotze

Peter Hills

National Championship podium

1 ^st Lendl Jansen

2 ^nd Gert van den Berg

3 ^rd Brandon Hills

Association Championship podium

1 ^st M.D. Bester

2 ^nd Vaughn Hills

3 ^rd Josef Kotze

Written by Theodore Vermaak

Photo credit to kaykes_digital

Tribute to fallen LEGENDS

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 06:29:20 GMT

August brought the next race at Zwartkops Raceway and the Association decided to do a tribute to fallen legend in motorsport and in Formula Vee. In honour of Ben Pienaar and Kevin Jenkins the field was full of 24 cars and amongst those was Albertyn Pienaar and Denver Pienaar.

Race day started with the tribute to Ben Pienaar and awarding his family with his lifetime/honorary membership right before qualifying session took place. The weather was in typical August style cold and windy leaving tricky conditions for qualifying. This however did not stop the top contenders to build up heat into their Bridgestone tires and putting some astonishing times down.

Race 1 - Gert Van Den Berg starting on pole position followed by Lendl Jansen and then Jaco Schriks in 3 ^rd . Lights go our and away goes the 24-car field into turn one with clean driving from all. Gert Van Den Berg getting great drive over Lendl Jansen and Jaco Schriks with M.D. Bester on their heels, Shaun Van Der Linde also getting in on the action. Jeandre Le Roux having a good start making up 3 spots with his move on the outside of turn 2. Flying down the back straight the drivers settle behind each other trying to line up late breaking on top of the hill at turn 5. Sadly, Roy Douglas spinning out in turn 4 leaving him beached in the sand trap causing a full course yellow and safety car. Bringing the field bunched up again with lap 4 and racing resumes, and Gert Van Den Berg gets a good restart pulling away from Jaco Schriks. Lushen Ramchander passing Shaun Van Der Linde and chasing to catch M.D. Bester. Further back Henk Van Den Berg, Theodore Vermaak, Jeandre Le Roux having a battle for 9 ^th place. After starting at the very back of the field Brandon Hills pushing his way forward to 6 ^th place. Vaughn Hills, Lushen Ramchander, Shaun Van Der Linde, Symm Grobler, Brandon Hills fighting it out swapping positions each corner. A spinning Andre Le Roux almost causing some issues at the top of the hill turn 5 luckily all drivers make it through unscathed. Denver Pienaar and Klinton Kane fighting it out in front of the leaders taking the checkered flag. Gert Van Den Berg taking the victory over Jaco Schriks and lonely 3 ^rd place M.D. Bester. Lushen Ramchander taking 4 ^th and Brandon Hills driving his way into 5 ^th . Vaughn Hills followed by Shaun Van Der Linde, Symm Grobler Henk Van Den Berg and Peter Hills in 10 ^th .

Between the race heats the Association had a lucky draw for its members and friends with a set of Bridgestone racing tires up for grabs. Marietjie Pienaar was amongst the guests and got asked to pull the lucky number…and as luck (or irony) would have it she pulled ball number 10 and this number has been the one Ben Pienaar has raced with for the most part of his career. Henk Van Den Berg being the lucky winner! Ben 10 never disappoints.

Race 2 - Missing on the grid was Shaun Van Der Linde and Marcel Blignaut both having mechanical issues. The field rushed through turn 1 and into turn 2 bunched up and fighting to get the best drive down the hill and onto the back straight. Jaco Schriks getting the jump over Gert Van Den Berg and Lendl Jansen short on his tail. Brandon Hills and Albertyn Pienaar both staring at the back of the field again due to some weight infringements after qualifying. Roy Douglas made it safely through turn 4 without spinning. Lap 1 completed, and the top 3 drivers run away from the rest of the field. Lushen Ramchander slowing ever so slightly into the clutches of Brandon Hills and Peter Hills grabbing the opportunity to put a pass on the defending champion. Theodore Vermaak, Symm Grobler and Jeandre Le Roux having a good fight for 9 ^th place and Vermaak feeling the pressure from Grobler and ending up in the tyre barrier. Further back in the field Kyle Watt makes a charge for Symm Grobler after just getting past a tough battle with Jannie Geyser and Albertyn Pienaar. Closely followed by David Austin and Josef Kotze. Sadly, Lushen Ramchander had to retire from the race with mechanical issues. Gert Van Den Berg taking the double victory with Lendl Jansen in 2 ^nd and Jaco Schriks in 3 ^rd .

DOE Formula Vee the best racing of the day once again!!

1 ^st Race voucher winners

Andre Le Roux

Marcel Blignaut

Brandon Hills

National Championship overall results

1 ^st Gert Van Den Berg

2 ^nd Jaco Schriks

3 ^rd M.D. Bester

Association Championship overall results

1 ^st M.D. Bester

2 ^nd Henk Van Den Berg

3 ^rd Jeandre Le Roux

Written by Theodore Vermaak

Photo credit to Maxine Byleveld

Passion for Speed = Double victory!!!

Sun, 27 Jun 2021 16:24:32 GMT

Passion for Speed 2021 gave us some amazing racing! Some crazy over taking and scary moments. DOE Formula Vee was set to take the stage on the second day of the festival with a hefty field of 23 cars entered. There was some unexpected news as some of the drivers had to withdraw on last minute thinning the field down to just 18.

Sunday morning practice had a lot of drivers put new rubber on their cars thanks to Phakisa taking the last bit of life from their first racing set. Sadly, Championship defender Lushen Ramchander suffered engine problems and was forced to retire for the weekend just before qualifying started. Track conditions made things tricky with new rubber and an ice-cold track, gave some fun moments drifting and sliding all over the place. Off we go to qualifying, tires scrubbed in, teammates teaming up (no pun intended) to see if they can help each other out for some fast times. Lendl Jansen taking top honours for pole position followed by Greg Wilson in what is said to be the tightest of margins in Formula Vee history…with just 0.001…between the two drivers. Close on their heels was Gert Van Den Berg and M.D. Bester.

Race 1 and all 17 drivers take to the track, on the out lap saw Vaughn Hills run in to some mechanical troubles. With all the cars lined up he eventually got his car running and started from the back of the grid. Lights out and go! Left Shaun Van Der Linde sleeping on the starting line and lost out several places. Lap one saw the respective battles fan out. Top drivers Lendl Jansen, Gert vd Berg, Greg Wilson, Brandon Hills and M.D Bester followed by Peter Hills and a bit further back Theodore Vermaak. Further back Eric Booyens, Kyle Watt and Roy Douglas go toe to toe followed by Jannie Geyser and recovering Shaun vd Linde, Marcel Blignaut and David Austin. Lap 3 and there is a 5-way battle for 1 ^st place with top 3 drivers swopping and trying to overtake at every possible opportunity Brandon Hills and M.D Bester waiting patiently. Fast forward to lap 7 when Brandon Hills started to go slow with gearshift problems leaving him in 3 ^rd gear. As with Zwartkops it always gives us some great racing and with to very hungry drivers in Lendl Jansen and Greg Wilson lap 8 gave us plenty of drama. Greg Wilson leading and out of turn 3 Lendl Jansen made a move but ran wide on to the grass, tried to bring his car back on track but clipped the rear wheel of Greg going into turn 4 leaving them both in the barriers. Promotion for Gert vd Berg and the patient M.D Bester. With the dust settled and checkered flag out Gert vd Berg, M.D Bester and Peter Hills for the top 3. Followed by Shaun vd Linde, Theodore Vermaak, Brandon Hills. Eric Booyens, Vaughn Hills, Kyle Watt and Marcel Blignaut to close out the top 10. Roy Douglas, David Austin and Jannie Geyser had their battle to the finish line with Ernie Vermaak close behind in 14 ^th place. Greg Wilson managed to get his car back on track to finish the race. Klinton Kane had a steady race and finished 16 ^th .

Race 2…Will we have the same drama as before? Lights out and Gert vd Berg gets the whole shot on Greg Wilson. Everyone gets away cleanly until turn 2 with David Austin having a nice pirouette and losing out on his good start. Lap 3 and all are pushing to be in front of the next. Peter Hills not having the car he had in race 1 slowly falling back but still with good pace with Eric Booyens. Jannie Geyser, Kyle Watt and Roy Douglas fighting each other for that 10 ^th place spot. Gert vd Berg getting the break away from the front pack leaving Lendl Jansen and Greg Wilson fighting for 2 ^nd place. Brandon Hills having a bit of a moment at turn 5 trying to overtake Greg Wilson, locking his wheels up forcing him to the kitty litter and lose out on a few spots. Steady racing up until lap 6 with Kyle Watt having a big moment in turn 1. Running wide and getting airborne with his car shooting back on track and into Jannie Geyser and just missing Roy Douglas. Jannie managed to make it out back on track but sadly Kyle is out watching the rest of his race from the marshal post on turn 2. This made the pack bundle up with double waved yellows into turn one and 2. Theodore Vermaak had to pull off to the side of the track with clutch troubles. Bring in some back markers and there goes Gert vd Berg back into the clutches of Lendl Jansen and Greg Wilson. Fortunately for Gert he was able to fend off the attack from Lendl and took home the second win for the day, closely followed by Greg Wilson in 3 ^rd and M.D Bester in 4 ^th . And to top off the day with some close moments Klinton Kane having a spin in front of the leaders in turn 8. Luckily, all came out of there with no troubles. Hills brothers in 6 ^th and 7 ^th followed by a strong performance from Eric Booyens. Roy Douglas and Marcel Blignaut closing out the top 10. Peter Hills and Ernie Vermaak 11 ^th and 12 ^th followed by a limping Jannie Geyser and David Austin.

As tradition will have it in Formula Vee our tyre podium was up next after a great day racing National championship podium 1 ^st Gert vd Berg, 2 ^nd M.D Bester and 3 ^rd Shaun vd Linde. Association championship podium 1 ^st M.D Bester, 2 ^nd Vaughn Hills and 3 ^rd Eric Booyens. And some prizes were up for grabs as well. A travel voucher valued at R10 000 was won by Lendl Jansen. With 1 ^st race apart of Formula Vee there was vouchers for M.D Bester putting on the fastest lap of the weekend, Roy Douglas for coming out of ‘retirement’, Klinton Kane for driving with the correct tires wrongly fitted to his car and he got another one from a lucky draw, Shaun vd Linde for entering the event with incorrect details on his entry form, and Vaughn Hills for a lucky draw.

We had an amazing day of racing; the Formula Vee spirit is strong again this year within the Vee family!

Written by: Theodore Vermaak

Photo credit: Maxine Byleveld & Michiel Horn

DOE Formula Vee Round 2 – Extreme Festival Phakisa 200

Mon, 24 May 2021 10:12:01 GMT

Formula Vee never disappoints…

Our annual trip to Phakisa Freeway was a weekend to remember with stunning driving from every driver. A full field of 19 cars were lined up for the spectacle. With a few updates to some of the cars and teams like the Mangaza Racing Team showing off their new 4 car line-up liveries, Lendl Jansen also sporting a new black and chrome bull livery and Gert Van Den Berg having a new paint job as well with his StartMyCar & DOE Quality Parts sponsored car. A new rookie came to join in the action at Phakisa which saw Andre Le Roux join in on the fun.

Friday morning saw a chill in the air and most drivers prepping to go out for the first heat. Times sheets being led by the likes of Greg Wilson, Lendl Jansen, Shaun Van Der Linde, and Peter Hills. Some troubles crept into the Liqui Moly camp with rookie driver Andre Le Roux having engine troubles having to drive back home to Pretoria to retrieve his spare motor and burning oil into the late night to get the car ready for qualifying the next morning.

Saturday morning and the drivers are up early to go out first on the track for qualifying. The front runners not leaving any room for error, using each other to get some slipstreaming going giving some amazing close times. With Gert Van Den Berg taking pole position in race 1 with a time of 1m49.4 and Lendl Jansen starting in 2 ^nd place with a 1m49.5. The rest of the field are within 1 – 2 seconds off the pace.

RACE 1 – Lights went out and blinding good starts from mid pack Shaun Van Der Linde moving up 2 places from 5 ^th to 3 ^rd after turn one and Theodore Vermaak shooting from 12 ^th to 9 ^th . Gert Van Den Berg taking his pole lead into the first corner with Lendl Jansen right on his tail both breaking free from the rest of the pack Greg Wilson, Brandon Hills, Shaun Van Der Linde, Peter Hills all battle for 3 ^rd place passing each other corner for corner. As the race progresses the pack scatters into their respective battles with the two front runner’s swoping positions in Lendl Jansen taking the lead onto the back straight, 3 ^rd to 5 ^th Greg Wilson, Brandon Hills, Peter Hills. 6 ^th to 10 ^th Shaun Van der Linde, M.D. Bester, Richard Carr, Vaughn Hills, Theodore Vermaak. Further back Jannie Geyser, Jeandre Le Roux, Eric Booyens, and Kyle Watt going about their own to finish 11 ^th – 14 ^th . David Austin having a lonely race in 15th Marcel Blignaut who had to start from the pit lane came to finish in 16 ^th with Klinton Kane and Andre Le Roux closing out the field.

RACE 2 – All cars but 2 going out to the grid sadly Peter Hills having gearbox troubles upon lining up resulting in him being unable to make the start along with Josef Kotze also not being able to make it out with his engine problems from race 1. Grid positions swopped with Lendl Jansen starting on pole from Gert Van Den Berg. From the start Gert Van Den Berg got the whole shot into turn one and made headway to break free from Lendl Jansen. The field settling into their battles after lap one, Greg Wilson, Brandon Hills and Richard Carr creating their own race battling for 3 ^rd place with Richard and Brandon trying everything to get in front of Greg but to no avail even with late braking attempts by Brandon into turn one. The best place to be in the mid pack with M.D. Bester, Shaun Van Der Linde, Vaughn Hills, and Theodore Vermaak entertaining the crowds right up to the last corner, sadly on lap 7 saw Hills fall out with engine troubles leaving Vermaak and Van Der Linde on the tail of Bester. Last minute attempt saw Vermaak run wide on the second to last corner giving Van Der Linde the momentum to get his nose in front over the line with M.D. Bester claiming 6 ^th place. Further back saw a just as entertaining battle between Jannie Geyser, Jeandre Le Roux, Kyle Watt, and Eric Booyens, unfortunately Kyle Watt also making a slight mistake giving way for Jeandre Le Roux to break free from him. Jannie Geyser teaching the young guns how to drive and coming out on top of their battle for 9 ^th place. An unfortunate turn of events saw Marcel Blignaut spin on lap 2 turn 2 and beached in the kitty litter unable to finish the race. Further back having David Austin and Klinton Kane both having solid performances and finishing inside the points.

Phakisa saw a great event come to an end with the private Vee trophy ceremony, makeshift tire podiums and (alcohol free) champagne for the celebrations.

Rookie trophy going to Andre Le Roux.

National Championship podium 1 ^st Gert Van Den Berg, 2 ^nd Lendl Jansen, 3 ^rd Greg Wilson.

Association Championship podium 1 ^st M.D. Bester, 2 ^nd Richard Carr, 3 ^rd Theodore Vermaak.

Written by Theodore Vermaak

Photo Credit to Maxine Byleveld

SAT 13 MARCH | Regional Extreme Festival

Thu, 18 Mar 2021 06:20:35 GMT

The first racing of the 2021 DOE Formula Vee season took place at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday the 13th of March as part of the Regional Extreme Festival.

Many thanks to our sponsors DOE Quality Parts and StartMyCar for making it possible as well as 1 ^st Race and Bridgestone. Not everyone could be at the track for the practice sessions on Friday, but those who were there were busy working getting their cars prepared and enjoying track time. Drivers spent every lap they could utilize during practice to set up their cars for Saturday morning early qualifying session.

The full 21 car field lined up in the pre-race paddock to go out for qualifying. All drivers/teams made their plans to build together and use each other for some slipstreaming and create clean lines through the session. Unfortunately, 2020 Rookie of the year had a run in with a gate pole on pit exit leaving him stranded with rear suspension damage. Fastes lap in qualifying went to defending champion Lushen Ramchander, unfortunately due to a technical issue on Friday this meant that he had a 5-place grid penalty for race 1, giving Lendl Jansen the top starting position followed by Brandon Hill and Greg Wilson. After qualifying saw Hills racing rebuild Booyens broken suspension to get all 21 cars on the grid for race 1.

RACE 1 : The race was exciting, from the start Lendl Jansen grabbed first position and held onto it Brandon Hills giving him some competition during the early laps however Lendl kept and increased his lead with every lap. A struggle developed between Hills, Wilson and van den Berg which was not much upset when Hills ran wide and caught some gravel. Lushen Ramchander did not have a good race and slowly dropped back as the race went on, finishing 11th. Great battles formed throughout the field leaving the top 6 drivers battling for 2 ^nd position behind Jansen. Midpack saw Peter Hills, MD Bester, Jeandre le Roux and Vaughn Hills fight to finish out the top 10 positions. During the latter parts race Kyle Watt was slowed by a spin and Theodore Vermaak retired due to steering issues on lap 4. The race was won by Lendl Jansen, followed in by Greg Wilson and Gert van den Berg. Henk van den Berg, Jannie Geyser, Josef Kotze, Blane De Meillon all battled in the rear of the pack from start to finish!

During the break mechanics got to fixing Luschen Ramchander’s car but was not able to be sorted leaving him not being able to start the next heat. Vermaak’s car was fixed and left him with confidence to start race 2. Usual after race prep gets mechanics and drivers to work on their cars relooking wheel alighnment and tire pressures, some suspension changes the get more out of the cars in the next heat.

Race 2 : Once again Lendl Jansen grabbed and held the lead. He was followed by Greg Wilson and Gert van den Berg. MD Bester disturbed the field a little when he got a touch by Jannie Geyser spinning him a perfect 360 and a broken nosecone. Fuming Bester charged from his recovery catching up with incredible pace. The racing for second, third, fourth and fifth place was again exciting but stayed fairly constant for most of the race until van den Berg made a bit of a mistake allowing Brandon and Peter Hills as well as Richard Carr to slip past him. Lendl was followed to the flag by Brandon Hills, Peter Hills and Richard Carr. Mid pack saw Van der Linde, le Roux, Vermaak and Vaughn Hills fight for top ten honours, Bester caught up to them finishing in 9 ^th place. Battle of the rookies saw all of them finishing and having great battles of their own. Henk van den Berg, Jannie Geyser and Josef Kotze had some position changes throughout the race leaving David Austin, Blane De Meillon and Klinton Kane finishing off the rear of the field. The day’s racing ended with Lendl Jansen leading the charts, Greg Wilson taking second place and Brandon Hills in third place.

The day ended with prize giving with Lendl Jansen taking first for the National Championship, Second going to Greg Wilson and third to Brandon Hills.

In the Association Championship, first prize was awarded to Richard Carr, followed by Jeandre le Roux in second and M.D. Bester in third.

Rookie trophies were given to Henk van den Berg, Klinton Kane, Kyle Watt and Marcel Blignaut.

Shaun van der Linde received the Lucky Loser Trophy.

Obviously, Lendl Jansen won the Exceptional Driver of the Day award, while Rookie of The Day went to Henk van den Berg, the Lucky Draw went to Brandon Hills.

We look forward to the next race which takes place on the 14th and 15th of May at Phakisa.

- FINISH -

Written by Gerhard Rissik from CARtourque and Theodore Vermaak

Photo credit by Gerhard Rissik and Len Jansen

RACE GALLERY

New Champion Crowned!

Fri, 13 Nov 2020 10:59:49 GMT

55 ^th Anniversary year champion crowned

The Hankook National Formula Vee Championship crowned a new champion at the season finale at Zwartkops this past weekend.

The racing was fast and furious and in the end the championship leader going into the round managed the pressure and came out tops. Going into the weekend, Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) was leading the championship by 11 points from Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2).

Qualifying on Saturday morning was a close affair with the top eleven cars split by less than one second. During quali, Ramchander made his intensions clear by setting the fastest laptime of 1min08,907seconds. This put him in pole ahead of surprise Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 2) and then Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza). In fourth was Van den Berg after having clutch failure during the session. Behind them, Greg Wilson (Forza) rounded out the top five to put three Forza chassis in the top five. Peter Hills (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 2) performed remarkably in a brand new car that turned its first wheel less than 24hours before qualifying. Visiting driver Rico Wentworth (Rhema 1,5) qualified twelfth in his first race weekend using Brandon Hills’ car and Albertyn Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) was seventeenth in his first outing in dad Ben Pienaars car.

Between qualifying and the race, Van den Berg swopped clutch assemblies and Roy Douglas (Forza) swopped gearboxes as he had an issue in qualifying as well.

At the start of Race 1, Ramchander made great getaway and pulled a small lead from a chasing Brandon Hills and Jansen who had Van den Berg on their tail. The second position was taken by Van den Berg with the idea and seemingly the pace to reel in Ramchander, only to have the gearbox starting to give problems. He dropped down behind Hills, Jansen, Wilson and Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2). All the while Ramchander was now managing his lead and ensuring he takes an easy victory. In the end Hills made a small mistake chasing Ramchander and ran off track to lose some places. This let Jansen through to grab second with van den Berg fighting to third to keep the championship undecided until the final heat. Behind him Wilson beat out Schriks. Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg Rhema 2) was just behind this duo and kept a recovering Brandon Hills behind him. MD Bester (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 2) was just ahead of Peter Hills with Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) rounding out the top ten. Wentworth finished a credible eleventh while Jeandre Le Roux (Liqui Moly Stealth) showed pace, but had to retire after a R10 switch broke.

After the race, Van den Berg had to make a plan and the gearbox was removed for the second time during the day. The spare gearbox was installed and they were out on track without even checking the wheel alignment.

The race 2 start delivered a surprise when Brandon Hills took the lead of the race from Ramchander before turn 2. Hills led out and the top eight cars were eventually fighting for the lead. It was the perfect scenario for Van den Berg, however, the gearbox replacement was not the answer and the gear selection issues returned and worsened. The top eight battle, became seven. Meanwhile, Ramchander showed why he was leading the championship and went to the front of the pack. He then proceeded to stretch his legs and took the victory when the six cars behind him fought about second. Second to seventh crossed the line within 1,6seconds. This was a close finish with Wilson taking second and Jansen rounding out the podium. Brandon Hills was fourth with a fighting drive from Le Roux to grab fifth and Peter Hills a remarkable sixth in the cars first race. Schriks was seventh. Van den Berg fell off the back of this pack and Bester and Van der Linde passed him on the last corners to take eighth and ninth with Van den Berg tenth.

The championship came down to the last race of the season, but in the end, Ramchander did what was needed and took the win fairly easy. He makes history for the Forza chassis as well as Liqui Moly by winning the national Championship in its 55 ^th year of running.

In the end Van den Berg held onto second in the championship with Jansen rounding out the podium.

2020, although short, was a great year for Hankook Formula Vee and 2021 promises to be even better. With 9 races planned for a bumper 2021 and about 5 new cars on the grid for 2021, the grid is growing and promising the continuation of the best racing in the country on a National Championship level!

Hankook Formula Vee Championship Close

Fri, 30 Oct 2020 09:23:59 GMT

The Hankook National Formula Vee Championship had its fourth round at Phakisa on 12 September 2020.

With the top contenders sitting on equal points, it was all to play for at Phakisa. During qualifying the weather caused extreme slippery conditions, from dry, drizzle, wet, dry and then rain. The nature of Phakisa means the surface dried extremely quickly and thus conditions changed lap by lap. Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2) grabbed pole with surprise package being Shaun van der Linde (Boksburg Truck City Rhema 2) on second for race 1 and grabbing pole for race 2! Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) was third and Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) fourth. Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) lined up in fifth. Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) struggled with a misfire during the session and qualified at the back.

In Race 1, the front five cars pulled clear of the rest, eventually Schriks and van der Linde fell of the back of Ramchander, Jansen and Van den Berg. After numerous position and lead changes, Ramchander took the victory closely followed by Jansen and Van den Berg. Behind them Van der Linde was fourth with Schriks, Greg Wilson (Forza), Brandon Hills (Mangaza Rhema 1.5) and Peter Hills (Liqui Moly Lantis) covered by less than a second. MD Bester (Mangaza Rhema 2) was ninth, just ahead of a recovering Vaughn Hills in tenth. Newcomer, Josef Kotze (Top Products Sting) had a good showing as well with Ashley Padayachee (Catalyst Technology Solutions Lantis) finishing his first race after problems at Zwartkops previously.

In Race 2, the race was much simpler. Ramchander and Jansen stretched their legs and the newer tyres showed. No one could keep up with them and they pulled clear of Van den Berg and Schriks. Wilson and Peter Hills had a brilliant dice for fifth. The two Hills brothers had a dice with Brandon winning out, but Vaughn was the quicker of the two. Behind them, pole sitter Van der Linde spun on lap 1 and had a fight coming through the field to ninth after a good battle with Bester. The two DOE Quality Parts sponsored cars of Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) and Theo Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision) had a good dice. In the end Roy Douglas (Forza) had issues and finished 3 laps down.

After the race the top four cars were stripped for technical checks by the technical committee. This all happened in the spirit of Formula Vee and all cars were found compliant to the rules. The positions was validated and confirmed.

With only the finale at Zwartkops, it looks like the 11 point advantage of Ramchander has him with one hand on the title. Zwartkops on 7 November 2020 promises to be close and tight, but if Ramchander plays his cards right, he can take the National title to add to his Formula GTI title of some years back.

Racing will be live streamed, so keep an eye out on our social media pages to follow the best racing by far!

Championship on a knife-edge after Round 3!

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Wed, 16 Sep 2020 12:43:33 GMT

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.

Rnd 2 Thriller at Zwartkops

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Fri, 20 Mar 2020 05:26:59 GMT

Hankook Formula Vee delivers thriller!

Round 2 of the Hankook National Formula Vee Championship took place at Zwartkops Raceway on 14 March 2020 as part of the National Extreme Festival.

The racing promised to be action packed as 5 time champion, Alan Holm (IRA Contractors Rhema 2) made a once off appearance. Added to this, two youngsters in the form of Eric Booysens (Rhema 2) and visiting Malte Poulsen (Wind n Solar Rhema 2) joining for their first event and it was bound to be a cracker. A 20 car entry meant that racing was always going to be quick around the short Zwartkops Raceway. Friday proved that Alan was close to the pace of joint championship leaders Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) and Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2). Brandon Hills (Mangaza Racing Rhema 1.5) had numerous gearbox issues and Blane de Meillon (Fire Break SA Sting) also struggled with gear selection issues.

Saturday morning in qualifying, the first four places was split with 0,4s. Current champion, Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2) was struggling with carburettor setup and could only manage 5th. Ramchander stole the pole from Holm with Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) grabbing third from Van den Berg. Behind him Schriks had fifth with a returning Greg Wilson (Forza) ending sixth , managing a lap time under the 1min10s bracket. Behind him Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) and rookie Booysens rounded out the top eight. From Wilson in sixth to Brandon Hills in an unusual fifteenth due to gearbox problems, was covered by less than a second in qualifying.

Race one started clean, with positions remaining pretty much the same. Ramchander and Holm immediately started fighting which kept Jansen, Vd Berg, Schriks and Wilson in close pursuit. Van den Berg passed Jansen for third and stayed close to the front battle. The lead was almost swapping every lap. Holm and Ramchander had a clean race and in the end Holm got the better of Ramchander to win by 0,2s. The first four was covered by 1,3s with Schriks being the fourth car across the line. Behind the front batch, Jansen and Wilson had a great dice, with Jansen beating Wilson to the line. Eric Booysens made a mistake on lap 1 into turn 5 and spun dropping him to the back of the field. Jannie Geyser, Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) and Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis) had a race long battle. It unfortunately ended in tears as Geyser and Hills tried a pass on each other into turn 5 with Geyser missing a gear and Hills and le Roux having nowhere to go, bumping into each other. Unfortunately, Hills retired and Geyser and le Roux finished out of position. Brandon Hills had a much better race, having to drive with one hand as the other was keeping the car from jumping out of 3rd gear. He finished in seventh ahead of father Peter Hills who was driving Dave Austin’s DA Racing Rhema 2. Theodore Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts/Forza Racing Vision) finished ninth, fending off a struggling Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg Rhema 2) as his engine was at its end. Rookie Poulsen and Roy Douglas (Forza) had a good dice to finish eleventh and twelfth. Booysens and Haydn Ellwood (Yellow Capital Sting), who only arrived from London just before the start of race 1, was next up. MD Bester (Mangaza Racing Rhema 2) was a non finisher of race 1 as his car gave electrical problems., forcing him to retire and Blane de Meillon couldn't get the gearbox issues resolved for the races.

Race two had even more action in the front. Holm started in pole and the battle continued with Ramchander. In turn two, Brandon Hills starting 12th, bumped brother Vaughn who started in 8th after Brandon got a demon start. He then had to retire after one lap due to a damaged kill switch. Booysens again had a spin and fell to the back of the pack. On lap 6, Ramchander ran Holm off the track when a overtaking manoeuvre went a little wrong. Holm fell back to fourth before fighting back to take the lead on the last lap. Behind him Ramchander fended off Vd Berg who developed a slight misfire on the last two laps and he finished ahead of Jansen and Schriks. Wilson finished behind them and Vaughn Hills just beat Jannie Geyser after their race one battle continued with a much better result this time around. MD Bester finished in ninth to make up for the race one problem with Peter Hills beating Theo Vermaak by 0,05s. Poulsen beat Ellwood and Douglas finished behind them. Booysens was 15th with Craig Forbes (Hankook Sting) finished in 16th.

Holm took the top step of the podium, but with Ramchander finishing 2nd and Vd Berg 3rd, it was Ramchander who opened up a 5 point margin at the top of the Championship log. This is the first time he has been clear at the top of the championship.

With round three on 17 April 2020 at Killarney in Cape town in jeopardy due to the COVID-19, Lushen's lead might be critical come the end of the season.

Stay informed as we will share info on our website and facebook page regarding the next round.

Exciting opener for Formula Vee’s 55th anniversary season!

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Thu, 27 Feb 2020 09:32:39 GMT

The South African National Formula Vee series celebrates its 55th season of close racing in 2020. The series started on 15 May 1965 with three Formula Vee’s lining up on the Kyalami grid. Since then the series has carried National Championship status for the majority of its 55 year existence, with champions like Dave Charlton, John Love, Judy Charlton (Witter), Ettienne van der Linde and Scott Temple to name a few. The series has always attracted new talent and the racing has always been extremely close and competitive with a family atmosphere where competitors have become friends.

The series, sponsored by Hankook and DOE Quality Parts, kicked off the 2020 season, with the customary close and exciting racing. The first round was held at Redstar Raceway near Delmas in Mpumalanga on Saturday 22 February.

With the race in February being quite early in the year, getting 16 cars to the grid was an awesome effort by all members and a sure sign of the committee’s commitment. The condition of the cars was also quite impressive with various new paint jobs making the grid look splendid. Friday, official practise was spent sorting out some teething issues on some rebuilt cars and running in some engines. One of the major improvers of the day must have been Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg Rhema 2). Shaun showed great pace and finished the day in fourth. For the remainder, the usual contenders was up there with Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) showing 2020 intent by setting the fastest lap time on Friday.

Saturday morning during qualifying, Lushen looked like the man to beat until a small mistake cost him some time. Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) then had the fastest lap until Lushen came back on the last lap to snatch pole position. So the grid was Lushen, Gert, Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2), Lendle Jansen (Bull Security Forza) with Shaun van der Line in an impressive fifth. Further down, Brandon Hills (Mangaza Trading Rhema 1,5) took sixth with brother Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) just behind him. Next up was a returning Greg Wilson (Forza) in a new chassis with Peter Hills (Liqui Moly Stealth) standing in for Jeandre le Roux in the newly built Stealth. Peter was assisting team Liqui Moly with development as Jeandre was out of country. At the back, Haydn Ellwood (Yellow Capital Sting) and Craig Forbes (Forbes Africa Holdings Sting) was on the grid in the two arrive-and-drive option cars. This was a brand new initiative by the committee and car owners to get new people into cars and testing the water before committing.

Race one started with Gert van den Berg getting the jump on Lushen Ramchander, with Jaco Schriks in close pursuit. Lushen then passed Gert on lap 3 and led until the end. He crossed the line 0,087seconds ahead of Van den Berg and they were less than a second ahead of Jaco. Lendle had a lonely race after touching Brandon Hills into turn one. He finished in fourth with Brandon and Vaughn Hills having a close battle till the end. Shaun van der Linde made mistake on lap one and fell back to tenth, but recovered well to seventh. Greg Wilson also had issues, having to come from last on the first lap to recover to an eventual eighth place. In the dice with these two was MD Bester (Mangaza Trading Rhema 2), Theo Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision), Peter Hills and Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2). This was a four car battle with Shaun and Greg having some fun while passing the fighting pack. At the back, Dave Austin (DA Racing Rhema 2) and Craig Forbes had a close dice with Dave winning out at the end.

Race two, saw Gert taking the lead again, but this time he stayed ahead until Lushen made a small mistake allowing him to get away. Jaco passed Lushen for second, only to relinquish it on the last lap to Lushen again. Behind them, Lendle finished fourth with Brandon and Vaughn in fifth and sixth. Shaun was seventh after losing some places initially, but showing promise with the lap times. Greg fought with Brandon and Vaughn early on, but fell back to an eventual eighth. Behind him Peter Hills gave the Stealth a ninth in only its second race while MD Bester and Theo Vermaak had an almighty tussle for tenth and eleventh. Jannie Geyser and Roy Douglas (Forza) had a race long battle and they showed that you will always have a great battle on track in the Hankook Formula Vee’s!

Overall results for the day was Gert, Lushen and Jaco with Lushen and Gert tied at the top of the championship. The next round at Zwartkops is around the corner on 14 March. The Hankook Formula Vee Championship joins the National Extreme Festival for a bumper day at Zwartkops Raceway. Come join in the fun and meet the drivers in the pits.

The Hankook Formula Vee Championship is proudly brought to you by Hankook and DOE Quality Parts.

Thriller delivers record setting championship winner!

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 13:17:46 GMT

The Grand Finale of the Extreme Festival held at Zwartkops, promised to deliver close battles. The Hankook Formula Vee National Championship was setup to go down to the wire. Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Racing Rhema 2) had a 7 point lead going into the event and could barely afford any mishaps. Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) had his work cut out, but both could easily be upset by the new winners that emerged during the season. Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) and Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Rhema 1.5) could play a role, as could Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza), Peter Hills (Lube Fusion Rhema 2) and Richard Carr (Lucky Star Rhema 2). These were just some of the front runners. Then you add “Mr Zwartkops” Symm Grobler (Rhema 2) and things could get hairy for either of the two contenders.

During Friday, Schriks proved he was going to be hard to beat. Having spent the previous two Wednesdays testing and determining whether his cars problems was resolved or whether he had to use an alternate car, he was constantly fastest in all the practise sessions. Carr and Ramchander showed they would be the closest on track challengers as Van den Berg struggled with minor brake problems.

During Saturday’s qualifying, the gloves were off and Schriks put in a blistering couple of laps to claim pole position for both races. He beat out Carr, Ramchander and Grobler. The first eight cars were covered by 0,8 seconds. Van den Berg had a carburettor issue and only managed seventh for both heats. With pole position and the bonus point, the championship dynamic shifted, and Schriks could afford to finish second in both races. But that is not what any potential champion wants to do. Further back there were some guests. Blane de Meillon (Firebreak Sting) joined the class for a race from the Monoposto field and Haydn Ellwood (Mangaza Sting) flew up from Cape Town to join the group in anticipation of a possible season to be spent in the National category in 2020.

Race one delivered on the promise. Into turn two, Grobler and Peter Hills made slight contact which forced them wide. With Van den Berg starting from seventh, he had to win to stand a chance. On lap two, Schriks had a one second lead from Ramchander and Carr. Schriks then outbraked himself at turn five and rejoined making contact with Carr. He then joined behind Jansen in fifth. Title contender Van den Berg already made his way to third and things looked ominous for Schriks. He quickly got past Jansen and set off chasing Van den Berg. Schriks got past Van den Berg, who then threw it to the inside of Schriks in turn two to retake the position. It was a close move, but with the two respecting each other, there was no touching. Things then changed as Ramchander had Carr going down the inside of turn one. The two touched and Carr got stuck in the gravel trap. Van den Berg found himself in the lead, with the safety car being deployed. At the restart, Schriks had the better pace and passed Van den Berg to pull away to a comfortable lead. Van den Berg grabbed second with Peter Hills finishing third ahead of Grobler and Brandon Hills after a close fought battle. Behind them Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg / Len Schoen Estates Rhema 2) and Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) finished ahead of Michael Kernick (MJ Art & Design / Track SA Tasman 95) who recovered well after some qualifying difficulties. MD Bester (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Rhema 2) just beat out Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis). They also had a great dice throughout the race. Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) rejoined after having been spun around by Theo Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision) earlier in the race. He finished just ahead of Vaughn Hills (Hankook Sting) who also had to recover from a spin while avoiding Geyser. The race definitely lived up to expectation, but with Schriks finishing ahead of Van den Berg, his championship lead was now 11 points.

In race two, the battles were just as hectic, however by the time the racing got underway the nerves were a little more relaxed. Schriks had an easier race and also stayed on the track to pull out a clear lead. Van den Berg again had to come from seventh and fought through to come home second. He was however chased to the line by Ramchander. Behind him Grobler just beat out Jansen. Peter Hills finished a lonely race ahead of Brandon Hills while Carr finished just behind Brandon Hills after recovering from an earlier mistake. Shaun van der Linde was also chasing them across the line for a strong ninth. Ben Pienaar had a proper battle with Jannie Geyser and just pipped him to the line and Michael Kernick completed the points scoring positions. Interestingly, all finishers finished on the lead lap and that was a true testament to the close racing seen on track. Haydn Elwood and Blane de Meillon had an excellent dice with Dave Austin, with all of them improving their lap times over the weekend significantly.

Jaco Schriks won the championship with 15 points and thus sealed his record equalling fifth national championship. The formula has grown and with new energy brought in by new drivers, cars, sponsors, the class is going from strength to strength. With 2020 being the 55th anniversary year of Formula Vee in South Africa, stay tuned to see the growth and fun had by each and everyone in this formula.

The Championship Comes Alive!

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Thu, 31 Oct 2019 05:27:47 GMT

Round 7

Photography: Kevin Jenkins

Round 7 of the Hankook Formula Vee Championship, at Redstar Raceway, promised to be a critical race for the championship contenders. Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Racing Rhema 2) had a 19 point lead going into the event and could potentially seal the championship, should the results go his way against Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2). However, Schriks knew that this was Van den Berg’s home track and he would have a difficult task ahead of him.

Saturday mornings qualifying took place on a soaked track and both championship contenders took it calm to ensure the cars made it to the end of the session in one piece. They were however surprised by the pace of Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza). He took pole by almost two seconds from “Rainmaster” Peter Hills (Lube Fusion Rhema 2). Behind them it was Richard Carr (Lucky Star Rhema 2) with Schriks in fourth and Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) rounding out the top five. Lushen was setting the pace on Friday and it seems like Van den Berg was out of it at this stage. He could only manage sixth with Theo Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision) following him with Michael Kernick (MJ Art & Design / Track SA Tasman 95), Shaun Van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg / Len Schoen Estates Rhema 2) and Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) rounding out the top ten. Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Rhema 1.5) could only manage eleventh, with MD Bester (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Rhema 2) in a newly bought car and his car in the hands of Gerhard du Preez (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Sting). Du Preez had a baptism of fire with the wet qualifying, but did well to keep the car on the black stuff. Ernie Vermaak also had the privilege to join sun Theo on the grid in the second Liqui Moly backed car of jeandre le Roux. Le Roux had a hand injury and could not race.

Race one was a dry affair, after light drizzle fell shortly before the race. Peter Hills took the lead but was in fourth position crossing the line at the end of lap one. Crucially for Van den Berg, he passed Schriks before the end of lap one as well. Behind them there was an awesome climb through the ranks by Brandon Hills, Jannie Geyser and Shaun van der Linde. By lap 7, van den Berg had taken the lead from Ramchander, after Jansen’s gearbox started giving problems. Behind them, Brandon Hills got up to third, only to spin and also holding up dad Peter in the process. This gave Schriks a break who could hold on for fourth after Carr, also recovering from a spin, passed him on the last lap. This meant, the championship gap was closer than before. Further down the field, Brandon Hills had to retire after the spin and Michael Kernick also had to retire with a broken rear suspension. MD Bester was starting to adapt to the new car and Gerhard du Preez was also doing well to almost stay on the lead lap.

Race two was an even closer fought affair. At the start, Jansen got the jump and maintained the lead of the race. Ramchander was trying to chase him down, but could just not reach him for the first couple of laps. Peter Hills and Richard Carr had a phenomenal dice, until Van den Berg passed Hills when he made a small mistake and then passed Carr. He then set about chasing the two leaders. Behind him Schriks was struggling with an ailing engine and was extremely slow in a straight line. He was passed by a rapidly rising Brandon Hills coming from twelfth on the grid. Van der Linde, Kernick, Geyser, Pienaar and Theo Vermaak had an amazing tussle. Positions were changed at about every second corner.

This all changed when a strong looking Ramchander fell to the wayside on lap six. A broken throttle cable was another of his bad luck stories of the year. With the new Liqui Moly sponsor he looked strong the whole weekend.

In the end, Van den Berg could not close the 4 second gap to Jansen. Lendl Jansen won his first Formula Vee race by 0,031 seconds with Van den Berg second and Carr third. Peter Hills grabbed fourth and Brandon Hills pipped Schriks to the line. Further down Van der Linde beat out Kernick, Geyser, Pienaar and Theo Vermaak, while MD Bester completed the points positions.

Jansen has proven that he, as well as Brandon Hills are new winners to be reckoned with. Both also used different chassis, which shows the versatility at the top and also shows that with a little work, you can also compete at the top!

Van den Berg took overall honours at Redstar with Carr second and Schriks third. Schriks has one hand on the trophy, but after a difficult weekend, he knows he cannot relax. Van den Berg is trailing him by 7 points and a bad weekend at Zwartkops will mean Van den Berg can snatch the title away.

The last race will take place next weekend 9 November at Zwartkops with the Grand Finale Event.

Who will be victorious? Will Schriks seal title number five to join Alan Holm with the same amount, or will Van den Berg be able to add to his championship count?

Action packed Formula Vee has a new Hills on top!

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Tue, 08 Oct 2019 05:58:22 GMT

Image Credits: Elroy Vice

Round 6 of the Hankook Formula Vee Championship was held at the Aldo Scribante Raceway in Port Elizabeth on 21 September 2019.

This was the first return since 2015 and the lap record was set to fall after the track was resurfaced. A proper grid of 15 cars made the trip down to the racetrack. This also included Cape Town lad and old timer Byron Mitchel (Dolphin Engineering Forza) and Cyril Somerville (Dolphin Engineering Sting).

Friday had its fair share of action. Most notably Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Racing Rhema 2) had to replace a clutch, Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Rhema 1.5) had to replace a gearbox and then Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) hit the tyre barriers after running wide onto the grass at turn 6. Luckily for van den Berg, the damage was repairable with the car being ready for Saturday mornings qualifying session.

During qualifying, Richard Carr (Lucky Star Rhema 2) was the man to beat setting the fastest time for pole position just ahead of Van den Berg and Schriks. Lushen Ramchander (TRA / D&B Industrial Forza) was in fourth with Brandon Hills and Peter Hills (Lube Fusion Rhema 2) rounding out fifth and sixth.

Race one got off to a flyer with a spinner in the esses being MD Bester (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Sting) with Sommerville bumping into him and damaging the 2nd radiator on Besters car. The race was red flagged and at the restart, Shaun Van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg / Len Schoen Estates Rhema 2) spun going through hanger. The first three, Carr, Schriks and van den Berg, was pulling away from the others with Brandon held up by a struggling Ramchander after he still had gearbox issues. On the last lap, van den Berg spun in hanger, copying Shaun van der Linde’s move and dropping back to seventh, but that was only after setting the new lap record of 1m06.486s bettering a long time record held by Schriks.

In the end, Schriks won from Carr, with Ramchander beating Jnr Hills. Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) just beat out Peter Hills for fifth with Van den Berg, then Byron Mitchell followig in tow. Van der Linde recovered to ninth with Theo Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision), Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) and Jeandre Le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis) scoring the last championship points on offer. This was also the first championship points for the newcomer showing constant improvement.

Race two resulted in even further drama. This time the three leaders almost got away, but Brandon Hills and Ramchander tangled which sent Ramchander spinning and set Hills free. He started chasing the leaders and caught up, only to see Carr out braking himself into turn one with three laps to go. The battle was now on to try and see who could take the win. With Van den Berg leading over the line at the start of the last lap, Schriks got a good slipstream and tried to pass him on the outside into turn one. In the braking zone, they touched and Brandon got past unscathed to take his first checkered flag, and with that the overall victory for the day. Behind him, Schriks re-joined in second and Van den Berg in third. Perter Hills beat a recovering Carr. Van der Linde and Le Roux got their best finishes of the season. Pienaar beat out a recovering Ramchander and Mitchell. Vermaak finished in eleventh with Roy Douglas (Forza) rounding out the point scoring positions.

It was an entertaining weekend with some small incidents which created a lot of attention and also showed how hard these racers are pushing.

Brandon Hills took the top step of the podium after showing real winning pace the whole weekend with Schriks and Carr rounding out the podium.

As a result, Schriks extended his championship lead and now looks like it will be tough to be catch up to.

Hankook Formula Vee racing heads to Red Star Raceway on 26 October, so join us for a thrilling battle as Van den Berg and Jnr Hills will throw everything and the kitchen sink at Schriks to try and take more victories.

Vintage Motorsport Magazine Article | "Vees Like a Swarm of Bumble Bees"

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Wed, 11 Sep 2019 08:38:15 GMT

Page 18 - Vintage Motorsport Magazine

All rights belong to Vintage Motorsport - http://www.vintagemotorsport.com

Zwartkops packed Formula Vee field

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 11:05:25 GMT

The Hankook Formula Vee Championship headed for Zwartkops Raceway on 17 August for the Extreme Festival – Celebrating Womens Month event.

Image Credits | Tony Alves Media - Zander Swart - Skycatcher

The event led to the second largest Formula Vee field in recent times. Twenty one entries and only one failing to make the start of the first heat. There was some drama during Friday practise. Championship leader, Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Racing Rhema 2), had persistent brake issues and had to swap out his car for Alan Holm’s car. Peter Hills (Lube Fusion Rhema 2), Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) and Theodore Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision) had engine failures. This necessitated emergency repairs with three engines successfully changed in the evening to get the cars on the grid and competitive for Saturdays racing. This was done with the usual camaraderie and team spirit within the Vee family.

During qualifying, it was Schriks who took the bonus point for pole from Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) by 0,2seconds. These two were quite a bit faster than the rest of the chasers. They were followed by “Mr Zwartkops”, Symm Grobler (Rhema 2) with the youngest of the Hills racing mafia, Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Rhema 1.5) following closely. Vaughn Hills (Hankook Sting) and Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) surprised with fifth and sixth. Behind them, Richard Carr (Lucky Star Rhema 2) and Lushen Ramchander (TRA / D&B Industrial) was on row four. Ramchander was struggling with gearbox issues, as was Peter Hills (Lube Fusion Rhema 2) who was in ninth with Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) rounding out the top ten. Third to tenth was covered by 0,7seconds during qualifying. The biggest upset, was however when Ashley Padyachee (Catalyst Technology Solutions Lazer) went off on the inside of turn one and crashed heavily into the wall on the inside, causing immediate retirement. Luckily the driver was ok and he will be back.

During the first race, Schriks and Van den Berg diced it out for the lead, with Grobler staying in close pursuit. In the end Van den Berg, Schriks and Grobler finished 0,4seconds apart after Van den Berg passed Schriks on the last lap. Behind them Ramchander came through from eight to fourth to salvage valuable championship points. Brandon Hills finished a lonely fifth, with Peter Hills recovering from his qualifying troubles to sixth, by narrowly beating Geyser across the line after a race long battle. Carr finished behind them after he had an off track excursion at turn five. Vaughn Hills beat out Michael Kernick (Northern Bolt & Tool /Tack SA Tasman 95) who were both struggling with various issues and had an awesome dice with Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg / Len Schoen Estates Rhema 2), until Van der Linde spun into turn four. Pienaar and Geoff Tugwell (Solar Utility Vmax) rounded out the points finishers after racing closely. Jansen had to retire due to overheating issues on the borrowed spare engine and withdrew from the rest of the day.

Race two was more difficult with oil covering turn two and three. This closed down the overtaking line into turn two significantly. Van den Berg got passed on the line by Brandon Hills, only to get past him at turn four. Van den Berg and Hills then pursued Schriks with Van den Berg passing Schriks on lap three. The order remained the same as Schriks’s overtaking opportunity was cancelled due to yellow flags into turn four on the penultimate lap. Roy Douglas (Forza) spun while dicing with Vermaak. During an overtaking move, Vermaak squeezed him to the inside and taking avoiding action he spun and beached onto the inside kerb. Brandon Hills lost a little touch with the first two after the fourth lap and got passed by Ramchander who took third and Grobler who stole fourth. Carr finished just behind Hills with Peter Hills and Geyser in close proximity. Kernick beat out van der Linde and Vaughn Hills after a race long battle. These guys were up and over the kerbs on the last two laps with a ferocious battle raging. Pienaar closed out the points scoring positions with MD Bester (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Sting) and Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis) battling throughout. Vermaak, Austin and Tugwell all retired on the last lap, but was still classified as finishers.

In the Championship, Schriks lead was cut to 9 points over Van den Berg with Ramchander losing out on valuable points after the qualifying gearbox problems.

The championship is now becoming a close affair after it looked like Schriks would have it easy earlier in the year.

Hankook Formula Vee racing heads to the coast for the second time this season. Racing continues on 21 September at the Extreme Festival at Aldo Scribante in Port Elizabeth. Formula Vee has not been here in the last three years, but previously it has also been a Schriks stronghold. Can the rest of the field catch up to the two in the front?

Redstar Action Delivered Lap Records

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Wed, 24 Jul 2019 08:17:32 GMT

Hankook Formula Vee Championship leader Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2) expected a battle and that was what Redstar Raceway delivered on 20 July 2019.

During qualifying, it was Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) who set the pace and lived up to Schriks’s expectation. He was on pole for both heats and with that grabbed a bonus point. Lushen Ramchander (TRA / D&B Industrial Forza) grabbed second for heat one and third for heat two. Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) slotted into third and second for the two races. Schriks who struggled with persisting brake issues on Friday, had to jump into Alan Holms ex-championship winning car for qualifying. Luckily the car was race ready, as was proven during the previous event, when Schriks also used it. At Redstar though it was only good enough for two fourth place starts. Behind them Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting / Just Water Rhema 1.5) and Richard Carr (Rhema 2) swapped starting positions for heat one and two. Michael Kernick (Northern Bolt & Tool / Tack så mycket Tasmin) lined up in seventh for both races with Peter Hills (Lube Fusion Rhema 2) in eighth for both heats. Vaughn Hills (Hankook Sting) and Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) rounded out the top ten. The Liqui Moly guys was out in full force with the two new cars and consistently showed improvements.

At the start of race 1 Van den Berg had clutch issues on the grid. As the lights went out he was slow off the line and dropped behind Ramchander. Schriks passed Jansen into turn one and was now chasing after Van den Berg. At the end of the back straight, Van den Berg got past Ramchander and Schriks followed a lap later. In the process Ramchander spun and dropped down the field. Schriks could not hold onto the pace Van den Berg was setting and in the end Van den Berg won by a comfortable margin. Behind him, Ramchander had a torrid race and while recovering from the first spin, spun again to finish in eighth. Jansen rounded out the podium ahead of Carr and Peter Hills who had a hard dice on his least favourite track (something to do with lots of turns). Brandon Hills had a great race, only to drop down the field due to loss of brakes in the last laps. Kernick finished in seventh with Ramchander behind him. Geyser beat out Vaughn Hills by 0,099s with Theodore Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision) and Roy Douglas (Forza) rounding out the points. Behind them the brand new Liqui Moly Lantis’s completed the race successfully with MD Bester (Magaza Consulting Sting) in between them.

Race two was a much closer affair. Van den Berg again won the race, but this time Schriks made him work for it. He tried everything to try and close the 1s gap. In the end, the winning margin was only 0,738s. The pressure from Schriks did not yield a mistake from van den Berg and he went on to set a new lap record in the process. Behind them Ramchander held onto a lonely third with Carr beating out Jansen for fourth by only 0,001s with Peter Hills in close pursuit. Kernick had a lonely race after being held up initially, but finished in a solid seventh after the troubles of previous races was hiding his true potential. Vaughn Hills beat out brother Brandon when he had continued brake problems with Geyser, Vermaak and Douglas rounding out the points positions. The newcomers, Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis) and Bester has a race long battle, even though it was for thirteenth. Robbie Thompson in the second Liqui Moly Lantis finished the race and all of them improved their lap times significantly during the races.

The day delivered good racing on a tight and twisty track with Van den Berg taking the bonus point for fastest lap and in the process setting a new lap record of 2min04,431s around the Redstar Raceway.

In the Championship, Schriks lead was cut to 13 points over Van den Berg with Ramchander losing out on valuable points after the race one problems.

The championship is now gathering momentum and with the battle at the front heating up. Will Schriks be able to hang onto his lead at the next race, or will Van den Berg maintain the momentum at Schriks’s home track?

Hankook Formula Vee racing returns to Zwartkops for the Extreme Festival on 17 August. Join us for more spectacular action at Zwartkops.

Zwartkops Delivers Thrilling Action

Fri, 05 Jul 2019 08:17:32 GMT

Zwartkops Raceway hosted the Winter Challenge as the third round of the Hankook Formula Vee National Championship on Saturday 29 June 2019.

During qualifying, it was Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) who stole the pole from Jaco Schriks (Cubed Coatings Rhema 2) by 0.04seconds. They had a decent gap to Lushen Ramchander (TRA / D&B Industrial Forza) with Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) in fourth. Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 1.5) pipped dad Peter Hills (Lube Fushion Rhema 2) as they lined up on fifth and sixth. The Liqui Moly Team with Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis) and Robbie Thompson (Liqui Moly Lantis) was out in full force. Jeandre had to retire due to illness and Robbie was struggling with carburettor setup. Dave Austin (DA Racing Rhema 2) had to retire after a bolt caused the timing belt to break, causing some damage to the cylinder head. Michale Kernick (Northern Bolt and Tool Tasman) had a scare after the rear gearbox housing broke, sending him into the kitty litter on the fast turn four.

At the start of race 1 Van den Berg looked like he might be able to make a break from Schriks with a great start. Into turn two, there was action already as Brandon Hills lost his nosecone on the back of Lushen’s Forza. At the table top, Van den Berg then outbraked himself on a very slippery circuit and almost ran off track which allowed Schriks to close the gap. From here the two had a colossal dice with Van den Berg leading until lap nine. During the race, Brandon also outbraked himself going into turn five and spun Lushen into the gravel trap. Lushen had to rejoin and come back from the back and Brandon was struggling for the remainder of the race with minimal brakes. Peter Hills was set for a good battle with Symm Grobler (Rhema 2), but he spun going into turn five on lap two. Richard Carr (Lucky Star Rhema 2) also had a horrible race with misfiring issues due to a faulty distributor. The recovering Peter then had a good scare coming around turn one with Theo Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision) in the middle of a spin. Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) and Vaughn Hills (Hankook Sting) had a race long battle with Geyser just beating Hills across the line. In the end, Schriks beat Van den Berg across the line by 0,18seconds. Behind them Jansen beat Grober with Brandon Hills just behind them in fifth. Peter Hills recovered to sixth with Lushen to seventh just ahead of Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) and Shaun van der Linde (Len Schoen Estates Rhema 2). Jannie took tenth with Vaughn just behind him and a recovering Theo just behind them in the last point scoring position. Kernick continued to struggle with a misfire and retired.

In Race 2, Ramchander joined the front battle. Schriks passed Van den Berg on lap five and led until the checkered flag. This was after Van den berg tried numerous overtaking manoeuvres (some on the grass), only to allow Ramchander to take second off him on the last corner. Behind them Peter Hills recovered to fourth after coming through the field and passed Jansen and Brandon Hills when the two of them tangled and Brandon spun. Behind Jansen, Grobler and Carr had a good dice with numerous passes taking place and they finished sixth and seventh. Pienaar and Van der Linde also had a good dice with the recovering Brandon passing them late in the race. Jannie Geyser then pipped Theo Vermaak for the eleventh and twelfth place. Michael Kernick and MD Bester completed their torrid weekends with a continuation of misfiring and gearbox issues. The new Liqui Moly sponsored cars looked amazing, but as expected there were still some teething issues and once these are sorted they will have awesome racing with a well-supported outfit.

Overall results for the day put Jaco in 1st, Gert in 2nd and Lendl in 3rd. In the Championship battle, the points looks as follows: Schriks 89 points, Van den Berg 68 points and Ramchander 65 points.

The real interesting fact is that the total race time of 1h25min for all six heats leaves Schriks only 2,55seconds ahead of Van den Berg. This is a clear indication that the racing is extremely close and as exciting as it’s been for a while!

The fourth round will take place on 20 July at Redstar Raceway near Delmas.

Coldish Phakisa Thrills The Crowd

formulaveersa@gmail.com (Theodore Vermaak) — Thu, 20 Jun 2019 08:17:32 GMT

Phakisa Freeway in the chilly Free State hosted the second round of the Hankook Formula Vee National Championship on Saturday 8 June 2019.06.18

After the excitement of Killarney, Phakisa played host to a similarly intriguing battles. The formula boasted 17 entries which was significantly up on previous years.

During qualifying, it was championship leader Jaco Schriks (Cubed Coatings Rhema 2) who took pole position with a laptime equalling an average speed of 139km/h around the 4,14km track. Lendl Jansen

(Bull Security Forza) grabbed second while third and fourth went to Lushen Ramchander (TRA / D&B Industrial Forza) and Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2). Behind them, Symm Grobler (Rhema 2) and Peter Hills (Lube Fushion Rhema 2) slotted into fifth and sixth. There were various newcomers on the grid with some on the grid for the first time and some going to Phakisa for the first time. These included 2019 rookies MD Bester (Mangaza Consulting Sting), Ashley Padyachee (Catalyst Technology Solutions Sting) and Jeandre Le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis). Of these, Bester was on Killarney and had decent pace after hitting the wall in the first practise. This time around went much better for him. Padyachee and Le Roux were on track for their first time. Both struggled with car issues and unfortunately after the qualifying, Le Roux had to withdraw due to overheating issues. Over the weekend, Padyachee improved as his car issued were resolved in stepwise fashion.

Race 1 saw a typical Formula Vee race with Schriks, Ramchander, Jansen and Vd Berg pulling away from Peter Hills and Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 1.5) a little. On the start line there was drama as it seemed Ramchander jumped the start, but it was not noted and he luckily formed part of a four way battle. The four car battle raged until 2 laps to go when Jansen ran out of fuel due to a calculation error. Up to this stage, Jansen looked poised to upset the applecart and was racing very well within the group. Positions changed constantly with the climax being when Ramchander, Schiks and Jansen entered the sweep after the back straight side by side. Jansen was the bravest and passed the other two on the outside with Vd Berg holding the fort in fourth, waiting for something to happen. But as usual, the guys raced with utmost respect for each other and while wheels were in close company, the racing was incident free! Behind them Peter Hills passed Brandon and maintained the watching eye on the frontrunners till the end. This became fourth once Jansen grinded to a halt. Behind them there was a good battle between Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg / Len Schoen Estates Rhema 2) and Theodore Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision), with Roy Douglas (Forza) and MD Bester having an awesome race for the lower positions. This was exciting to watch as the newcomers held nothing back in their race and ensured good spectating all the way through the field. In the end, Schriks took he win from Ramchander, Vd Berg, Peter Hills and Brandon Hills. Behind them Richard Carr (Lucky Star Rhema 2) just passed Symm Grobler and Vermaak beat Van der Linde. Douglas was the winner of the battle with Bester with Dave Austin (DA Racing Rhema 2) grabbing the last point after Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) suffered terminal engine failure while running in the battle with Van der Linde and Vermaak