Rnd 2 Thriller at Zwartkops
Theodore Vermaak • March 20, 2020
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.
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Despite having to change his motor on Friday night, Lendl Jansen was able to extend his advantage at the top of the championship log.
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Two comfortable wins see Lendl Jansen back on top of the 2026 championship standings.
Can van den Berg hang on to the lead.
Gert van den Berg emerged on top at a hard fought opening round of the 2026 Formula Vee championship.
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!!
