The Investchem South African Formula 1600 Championship takes the next step on the Road to Indy as it heads to Cape Town for the second round of the Extreme Festival at the Killarney International Raceway Saturday 21 April with an eager field of drivers with one aim in mind — to beat Stuart White. Bloemfontein lad White got off to a perfect start when he dominated the season opener at Kyalami in March to move into pole position for the series’ Grand Prize of a shot at the Mazda Road to Indy shootout in December.
Principal among Fantastic Racing driver White’s pursuers will be Kyalami runner-up Alex Gillespie (ERP Trucking) from Midrand, Harmen Van Beek (Maisels) who made a strong Formula 1600 return at Kyalami, Midrand Formula 1600 stalwart Andrew Schofield (Investchem) and Namibian rookie Formula Vee graduate Siyabonga Mankonkwa (Cervina Investments), who was another driver to impress at the opening race.
Bedfordview youngster Cameron O’Connor (Universal Health) has been testing in the US since the last race and he can be expected to be right on the pace again following a fine day at Kyalami, while Linden lad Nicholas van Weely (Magnificent Paints) was another driver to show great pace at Kyalami. All of the above go to Killarney with very good reasons to put one over White.
There is local interest for Cape race fans too and Killarney’s faithful will be rooting for local lads, Rondebosch rookie Andrew Rackstraw (Investchem RDSA), who enjoyed a positive outing at Killarney and Joshua Dolinschek (Makita Power Tools) who had a difficult start to the season.
Another Cape driver is Franschhoek-based Formula 1600 boss Ian Schofield (Investchem) who will tussle over Class B with winner last time out, Bryanston driver David Jermy (Lime Chilli Fantastic Racing), both of whom have less than ideal starts to their seasons and also have points to prove at Killarney. Kyalami Class B runner-up Allen Meyer will miss Cape Town due to matrimonial duties elsewhere.
Another class B driver, Port Elizabeth’s Garth de Villiers (Durrant) was one of several drivers to endure tough starts to their seasons, including class A runners, Randpark Ridge racer Brendan Tracey (Investchem), Parkview’s Andrew Horne (Investchem Venpine Xena) and young Tiago Rebelo (TRM) from Dainfern; all of whom will be keen on a strong weekend in the Cape.
The Investchem Formula 1600s switched to a new 5-speed sequential gearbox for the 2018 season, but the major novelty this year remains that the champion will win an all expenses paid trip to the Mazda Road to Indy Shootout in Phoenix, Arizona USA in December to fight it out for a full USF2000 drive as part of the Road to Indy program that ultimately could lead to a future IndyCar drive and a shot at the Indianapolis 500.
So its game on at Killarney’s Extreme Festival races – diarise Saturday 21 April now!