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.