*A case of Déjà vu as a Conti-shod VW Polo-Golf team, in classic livery, takes to the track in Port Elizabeth in the annual 3-Hour Endurance Race. Fifteen years ago local tyre manufacturer, Continental Tyres, made history becoming the only South African tyre manufacturer to manufacture racing slicks for local racing.
 Engen VW Polo Cup was the first series to swop over to the local brand and due to the excellent performance of the locally manufactured tyre, soon other categories of local motor sport followed suit. Bank fin Touring Cars successfully switched to a specially developed Continental slick in 2000, which sadly, was the final year of that series. Soon Formula Vee were also running Contis and the evergreen Clubman Challenge Series, VW Challenge, also migrated to the local slick. As co-sponsor of the Engen Polo Cup series, Continental fielded a team of 2 cars, decked out in their livery , in 1999 and 2000. It will be a case of ‘ deja vu’ for Continental, as they team up with their “old” works driver, Neil Stephen, to field two cars in this year’s 3 Hour Endurance Race to be held at Scribante raceway on 14 November 2015. One of the cars, an actual Polo Cup car from the 2000 season, will be piloted by Conti employee, Ryan Visage, who will share the driving with proprietor of Alex Motors, East London , Dylan Durrant. The second car will be the successful Stephen2Racing Golf, which will be driven by former Continental Racing Team driver, Neil Stephen, and his two sons Jono and Geoff. Both cars will be decked out in the same livery as the original Conti cars were in the 1999 season. This successful combo have won 4 out of the last half-dozen 3 hour races entered, and the team is hopeful of another successful result. Another familiar name from the past will be ex Delta Motorsport ace Mike Brigg s, who will be going for outright victory sharing a Shelby CanAm with Brett and Tanya Watts. The ever-green pairing of John Amm and Eric Solomon will doubtless be challenging for the lead in their genuine, Lotus 23, and in turn will be challenged by previous winners, Hennie Trollip and Jimmy Dunn in their quick Lotus 7. Local boys Chassen Bright, fresh off a successful karting season, will be sharing another Lotus 7 with another karter, Bryn High both hoping to spoil the party. There will also be a large Historic contingent where Mark Schulpert in the immaculately prepared Goodwrench Alfa Berlina will team up with locals Raine Berry and Johan da Souza in the hope to pull off another win on Index of Performance . They will be chased all the way by Johan Coetzee in a Porsche 911. All in all it promises to be a cracker of an event, with a full days racing with qualifying starting at 10H00 and sprint races starting at 11H45 on Saturday morning, and the historic PE 200 bike Endurance race starting at 16H30 The final event, the 3 hour endurance race, will start at 18h 00 and run through to 21h00. The last hour will be run in the dark, which traditionally is a spectacular stage of the race, where brake discs glow in the dark and exhausts bark out blue flames on the downshift at the end of the straight.. |
