“AMTEC Midvaal stages another blockbuster with a facelift to greet the fans 

After just over a month since the last round in June , AMTEC Midvaal again hosts the EV Dynamics Inland Championship on 7 July which this time will partner with the Historic Tour, to bring spectators yet another jam packed day of action. Following a commendable voluntary effort by officials and competitors, the circuit and its facilities have been given a facelift and spectators are bound to enjoy the improved look as they take in another bumper day’s program.

The Motul MPC brigade will see some changes with Ismael Peck now driving the ex Jeff Langeveldt Honda CRX and in a position to challenge Keegan Pottas’ EV Dynamics CRX. Shane Kroon is also in a race against time trying to finish a turbo conversion on his Golf and he too should challenge Pottas. A fourh contender in Class A of Motul MPC could be George Economides if he finishes rebuilding his turbo VW Golf. In Class B the usual suspects will do battle. Dirk Lawrence (JDM Tuning Ballade) will line up against Roan Ehlers (FEC Paul van Niekerk and Paul Saayman, amongst others while in Class C Giles Darroch will cross swords with Paul Verios and Ian Ehlers. Class D is all about Franco di Matteo (Deltec Ford), who also heads the championship overall, but he will face stiff competition from Don Mackay (EV Dynamics Golf), Ebrahim Peck (Geardown Gearbox and Diff), Michael Frade and Kenny Darroch (EV Dynamics Golf). Nicholas Cleary, Duane Brown (Brown’s Auto Fiesta) and Wayne Pereira are the leading trio in Class E. The time based format of the Motul MPC races has seen the field grow as drivers go quicker to stay ahead of the competition and move up classes. The inverted grid by class applied at each round for race 2 also brings another dynamic to the evolution of races.  The Motul Super Saloons entries will race in the Motul MPC  field and one or two could challenge for top honours, namely  Richard Cooley, Dawie Fourie and Richard Berner.

The Liqui Moly Inex Legends will again most likely be one of the most fiercely contested categories on the day, if the last round in June is anything to go by. Richard van Heerde, Gerhard and Charl Roux are all Masters taking on Justin Robertson and Johan van der Venter, while Jason Loosemore and Richard Upton, who may be back for a third time this year, head the Pro Class. Ian Upton, Chris Hoy, Steven Levine and brothers Giles and Sean Moore will also bring much to the mid field while  Dane van Heerde and Young Lion Jagger Robertson are the two youngsters whose age belies their aggression and ability to mix it with the big boys.

The hugely popular Midvaal Historic Car Club series returns home, and will again remind local enthusiasts of the good ol’ days when a slew of Datsuns, Fords and Jettas battle it out for line honours. Peder, Travis and Franz Jensen headline Class F, while in Class G Johan Swanepoel and Franz Draper are the front runners. In Class E Ken Price Brendon Parker and Gavin Lundin should  be at each other’s throats, while Seef Fourie rules the roost in Class D. In the Alfa Trofeo Challenge Club, which runs with the Midvaal Historics, Jose de Cravalho leads Mario Rossi and Corrie Tolmay in the standings, with Henry Fourie and Lourens van Zyl not far behind.

In the Formula Libre Club Championship, Louis van der Merwe heads the championship log with Mac Odendaal in second place and John Maurien in third spot. Knocking on the podium spots are Sean Harrington, Carel van Heerden and Tony Beecher. Odendaal was a double winner in June at Midvaal, and van der Merwe will try and put one over his rival this time around.  Lady racer Karen Geldenhuys will try show the boys a clean pair of heels in the Formula M category, and her closest challengers should be George Geldenhuys and Gary Eveleigh.

The Hankook Formula Vees delivered two blistering races last time out at Midvaal, and this time should be no exception. Jaco Schriks and Lushen Ramshander  top the championship log, with just 2 points between them, with Gert van den Berg and Peter Hills next up. Lendl Jansen Peter Hills and Ross Rugheimer are 3 other names whose presence should add much competitiveness to 2 closely fought races.

The Formula Ford Kent Regional will form part of the day’s programme on July 7, and Andrew Horne leads the log from David Jermy and Dean Venter. Jonathan Nash, Alex Vos and Jeff Gable round out the top 6.