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August 25, 2016

Witness

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Contact Ash 083 786 3377 • Tel: 033 342 4717 / 033 345 1971 Email: ashgani@telkomsa.net •www.ashcarsales.co.za

EDITOR: ALWYN VILJOEN ON 082 458 9332 • ADVERTISING: AVIR THULSIRAM ON 084 278 3447

INSIDE:

See what happens when young designers re­ interpret two very different Maybach cars.

— Page 4 Brian Bassett thinks the new Civic can make Honda drivers feel years younger.

— Page 3

Songbird Lira (pictured) and comedian Loyiso Gola got lost in KZN, and are now getting the most hits on YouTube for the song they made while there. — Page 4

They were terrible around corners but super fast on the straights, and now dustbin fairings are back, for the trendy set.

— Page 7

SA’s littlest bakkie proves it just sips, driving 750 km with 750 kg on R750 of petrol. — Page 6

China’s little ‘rabbit’ on the Moon died, again, but not before inspiring thousands with its never­say­die attitude. — Page 7

Kwanda Moekoena is happy to go to Italy, but sad that he will only to get to watch the karting. — Page 8

Pre-owned

The new Audi Q3. Performs best when cornered.

Visit Audi Centre Pietermaritzburg today for incredible offers on a range of Audi Pre-owned vehicles.

Only while stocks last, terms and conditions apply.

Introducing the new Audi Q3. Greater performance, more features and a more aggressive design make it an SUV to be reckoned with, under any conditions. The new Audi Q3 range, which includes the legendary quattro, is possibly the most stylish SUV to ever become one with the road.

Model

Vehicle Price

Audi Q3 1.4T FSI 110 kW S tronic

R 483 500

Monthly No. of Installments Installments R 5 475

48

Interest Rate Linked/ Variable

Deposit

GFV

Total Cost Incl. Fees and Vat

6.30%

10% (R48 350)

55.70% (R269 310)

R 532 130

Offer calculated on the Audi Q3 1.4T FSI 110 kW S tronic in standard specification over 4 years. *Linked to FNB prime rate, currently 10.50%. R5 475 monthly instalment. Information subject to change without prior notification. All Finance offers are subject to credit approval from Audi Financial Services. Instalment includes initiation and monthly administration fee of R68.40.

Total Retail Price as above at a Guaranteed Future Value based on 80 000 km p.a. Audi Financial Services - a division of Volkswagen Financial Services South Africa (Pty) Ltd. An Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP6635. Terms and Conditions apply.

Ref

Year

Vehicle Description

Colour

Mileage

Special Price

11471

2015

Audi A6 1.8T FSI S tronic

White

26 500

R459 995

11486

2015

Audi A6 1.8T FSI S tronic

White

26 000

R499 995

11495

2014

Audi Q5 2.0 TDI quattro S tronic

White

80 156

R459 995

11501

2014

Audi A3 1.2T FSI 77kW

Red

50 000

R229 995

11504

2013

Audi A4 1.8T FSI 125kW

Grey

86 000

R229 995

11513

2015

Audi RS3 SB 270kW quattro

White

18 000

R699 995

11524

2016

Audi A4 2.0T FSI S tronic

Silver

11 000

R499 995

11525

2016

Audi A4 2.0T FSI S tronic

White

3 000

R419 995

11528

2016

Audi A4 1.4T FSI Sport S tronic

Red

1 000

R479 995

11530

2011

Audi RS5 Coupe quattro

Black

77 620

R499 995

11545

2012

Audi Q3 2.0T FSI quattro S tronic

Silver

76 000

R299 995

11548

2012

Audi A4 1.8T S Avant multitronic

Silver

83 591

R249 995

11551

2016

Audi A4 2.0 TDI SE multitronic

White

23 000

R449 995

Audi Centre Pietermaritzburg Nathi Mncube • Cameron Govender • Imdaad Hoosan • New Vehicle Sales Manager: Prunella Naidoo Mandla Mkhize • Mark van Rijsbergen • Anwar Charfaray • Pre-owned Manager: Riaz Mahomed

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2

WitnessWheels INDUSTRY MOTORING

August 25, 2016

Robot cars as soon as 2021 Cities have to plan their taxes now to avoid far worse traffic when people buy self­driving cars ALWYN VILJOEN FORD and Volvo are the latest compa­ nies to announce their plans to sell cars that can drive themselves in the next five years.

Both companies have co­opted fast­ moving start­up talent to add momen­ tum to the slow process of development that is typical of car companies.

Volvo is working with Uber while Ford has invested in or is collaborating with four start­ups to help deliver on its aim to sell many fully autonomous vehicles by 2021.

Volvo Cars said in a statement that Uber has signed an agreement to estab­ lish a joint project that will develop new base vehicles that will be able to incorpo­ rate the latest developments in AD tech­ nologies, up to and including fully au­ tonomous driverless cars.

The base vehicles will be manufac­ tured by Volvo Cars and then purchased from Volvo by Uber. The new base vehi­ cle will be developed on Volvo Cars’ fully modular Scalable Product Architecture (SPA). SPA has been developed as part of Volvo Cars’ global industrial transfor­ mation programme, which started in 2010, and has been prepared from the outset for the latest autonomous drive technologies as well as next generation electrification and connectivity devel­ opments.

Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief execu­ tive, commented: “Over one million people die in car accidents every year.

These are tragedies that self­driving technology can help solve, but we can’t do this alone.

“That’s why our partnership with a great manufacturer like Volvo is so im­ portant. Volvo is a leader in vehicle de­ velopment and best­in­class when it comes to safety. By combining the capa­ bilities of Uber and Volvo we will get to the future faster, together.”

Cheap robot Fords for all At Ford’s Palo Alto campus, Ford presi­ dent and CEO Mark Fields said the next 10 years will be the decade of the robot car, adding Ford predicts autonomous vehicles will have as big an impact on society as Ford’s moving assembly line did 100 years ago.

And the good news, like Henry Ford’s affordable T­models, the robot Fords will be aimed at everyone’s pockets.

“We’re dedicated to putting on the road an autonomous vehicle that can im­ prove safety and solve social and envi­ ronmental challenges for millions of people — not just those who can afford luxury vehicles.”

To make this dream a reality Ford plan to be a leader in autonomous vehicles, as well as in connectivity, mobility, the customer experience, and data and ana­ lytics. The company already has over a decade of autonomous vehicle research and development, and said its first fully autonomous vehicle will be a Society of Automotive Engineers­rated level 4­ca­ pable vehicle. This means it will be able to steer itself like the little Google car without a steering wheel or fuel and brake pedals.

Ford said this first model was being specifically designed for commercial mobility services, such as ride sharing

and ride hailing, and will be available in high volumes.

To deliver an autonomous vehicle in 2021, Ford announced four key invest­ ments and collaborations that are ex­ panding its strong research in advanced algorithms, 3D mapping, LiDAR, and ra­ dar and camera sensors and is increasing its Silicon Valley operations, creating a dedicated campus in Palo Alto.

A visionary woman’s view Robin Chase, co­founder of Veniam ve­ hicle mesh, as well as co­founder and former CEO of Zipcar, commented in an opinion piece that she did not think five years was too short to start selling robot cars around the world.

She said in an essay first published on Back Channel that a normal person would typically drive less than 965 000 km in their lifetime, but a fleet of self­learning robot cars can drive this distance — learning every centimetre of the way — in a matter of weeks. And the robot cars constantly share their learn­ ing with each other. “They are doing so now, for multiple companies: dozens of cars are now driving all­day shifts in Mountain View, Austin, Ann Arbor, Wu­ hu, China, and Singapore,” wrote Chase.

“In the last few years, a hundred Goo­ gle cars have completed two million miles of on­road travel without injuries or fatalities, and are simulating and learning from three million virtual miles of driving every day. Tesla has 50 000 vehicles, sold to the public, that are driv­ ing autonomously on highways right now, collecting millions of more miles of real world driving experience (albeit

with one fatality).

“This gives companies like Google, Tesla, GM, Ford, Toyota, BMW, and Nis­ san the confidence to promise commer­ cial sales of fully autonomous cars by 2020, less than four years away.

Chase, however, warns city planners that robot cars will not necessarily be a good thing.

“Right now, our ‘congested’ roads and cities are mostly filled by individuals driving alone in their cars (75% of all trips). Just imagine our streets and your frustration when 50% of the cars have no people in them at all.”

Chase warns professional drivers will become unemployed when robot taxis and trucks take over, adding it won’t only be the drivers who lose their jobs.

“As personal car owners switch from owning a vehicle they use just five per­ cent of the time and costs them 18% of their income to being driven for a frac­ tion of that price, we’ll see lay­offs in re­ pairs and maintenance, and car insur­ ance, as well as car design and manufac­ turing and distribution/logistics.”

But she adds city planners are now at a fork in the road where they can fix the broken transport system so that more people can escape the poverty trap by getting to places cheaply, and she said it starts by thinking differently about tax.

“The cost and inaccessibility of trans­ port has been found to be the largest bar­ rier keeping people in poverty.

“Shared AVs have the potential to transform access to opportunities. We’ll also have way fewer traffic deaths and injuries, greener and more livable cities; clean air; reduced CO2 emissions; more

disposable income and more money spent locally. This goes a long way to­ wards compensating for those lost jobs.”

Chase asks if it still made economic sense to tax labour in the new automated world. “It makes much more sense to be taxing the new technical platforms that are generating the profits, and tax­ ing the wealth of the small number of talented and lucky people who founded and financed these new jobless wond­ ers,” she wrote.

‘Our congested roads and cities are mostly filled by individuals driving alone in their cars (75% of all trips).

Just imagine our streets and your frustration when 50% of the cars have no people in them at all.’

Ford and Volvo have announced their plans to have fully autonomous vehicles on the road in the next few years, with the Ford Fusion Hybrid research vehicle (left) already being tested in Michigan, Arizona and California, while Volvo and Uber have announced a partnership to build the next generation of electrified, self­driving cars. PHOTOS: QUICKPIC

3M HELPS SA TAXIS SHINE AT NIGHT THE South African National Taxi Coun­ cil (Santaco) have launched a 3M Taxi Safety Campaign at the Wanderers taxi rank in Johannesburg Central last week.

The visibility campaign aims to re­ duce road accidents by helping road users see taxis in low light conditions.

Santaco spokesperson Zweli Mtuze said the current focus of the cam­ paign was on Gauteng­based taxi ranks.

“However, we do have ambitions to roll out the 3M Taxi Safety Campaign to other parts of the country and we will appreciate support from all our stakeholders to make this dream a re­ ality,” Mtuze said.

Friedah Skhosana, the marketing manager at 3M Traffic Safety Division, has been pleased by the reception from taxi owners and drivers, as well as the leaders within these taxi ranks.

Skhosana explained 3M’s partner­ ship with Santaco will see training programmes for queue marshals take place once the campaign gets under

way in the various taxi ranks.

The launch was attended by repre­ sentatives from the Department of Transport, JPMD, Santaco and other key stakeholders who have endorsed this programme. The campaign also shows the importance of private­pub­ lic partnerships in achieving positive results in the taxi industry.

“The role of 3M and Santaco in this initiative is to ensure social responsi­ ble engagement with the industry, while raising awareness of road acci­ dents and highlighting the negative effects of not adhering to government commercial vehicle regulations.

“We also hope that this kind of in­ dustry education will save as many lives as possible, especially since the festive season and busy road travel are soon approaching once again,” said Skhosana.

All minibus taxis operating commer­ cially in South Africa are required by law to have the conspicuity tape wrapped around the vehicles for in­ creased visibility. — Wheels Reporter.

Plans to sell more cars across Africa ABUJA (Nigeria) — The development and promotion of a cohesive automo­ tive strategy for the African continent is gaining new impetus due to the stra­ tegic vision and guidance of the African Association of Automotive Manufac­ turers (Aaam).

A delegation from Aaam, led by Jeff Nemeth, chairperson of Aaam, who is also the president and CEO of Ford Motor Company Sub­Saharan Africa Region, last week visited Nigeria’s capi­ tal city, Abuja, to engage with govern­ ment and industry leaders.

Aaam was inaugurated on Novem­ ber 25, 2015 by founding members BMW, Ford, General Motors, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen, focusing on key markets of the African continent.

Nemeth explained the aim of Aaam is to build and sell more cars across the African continent.

To do so, Nemeth said the continent first needs to develop an auto sector strategy “that will make new vehicles more affordable, boost the industriali­

sation of the economy and lead to the growth of middle income households, which will be the main driver for new vehicle sales”.

Although Nigeria is recognised as Africa’s largest economy, the automo­ tive sector is relatively small, with an estimated 44 vehicles per 1 000 inhab­ itants, according to Deloitte Africa’s Automotive Insights, published in April 2016.

“This is far below the global average of 180 vehicles per 1 000 inhabitants, and lower than other developing re­ gions such as Latin America (176) and Asia, Oceania and the Middle East (79),” the report indicates.

“One of the biggest challenges we face in Africa is the lack of reliable data on the number of new and second­hand vehicles sold on the continent, as very few countries have formal reporting or legislative structures to monitor the au­ tomotive sector,” Nemeth said.

“This is exacerbated by the large number of second­hand imports, with

only a small proportion of new cars sold due to the high import duties and lack of affordable financing options.”

Aaam’s mandate, thus, is to engage with government, industry bodies and representatives from the motor sector to provide advice on opportunities to formalise, develop and grow all aspects of the local automotive industry.

This includes promoting an inves­ tor­friendly regulatory framework that will support the development and im­ plementation of policies to establish a viable automotive manufacturing in­ dustry on the continent that includes both assemblers and suppliers.

“To unlock this market potential will require greater government and private sector partnerships to develop a formal legislative environment that is condu­ cive to longer­term growth.

“It needs a more robust automotive strategy that promotes a sustainable and stable environment in support of local manufacturing operations,” Nem­ eth said. — Wheels Reporter.

MOTORING WitnessWheels

August 25, 2016

3

Honda Civic rejuvenation BRIAN BASSETT feels the years drop away in the edgy new Civic HONDA are known for their finely­ crafted cars and SUVs to which adjec­ tives like durable, reliable and practi­ cal are often applied.

These are the very qualities that appeal to older car owners and worldwide Honda drivers are usually mature.

Such is Honda’s popularity in gated communities in the Howick ar­ ea, for example, that Honda Fury in the city provides a free service, which collects and delivers Hondas requir­ ing servicing. Honda’s reputation as a car for older drivers is a mixed bless­ ing.

On the one hand Honda cars have a stable market and much repeat business.

On the other hand the brand, with the exception of the Civic Type R, does not really appeal to younger buyers.

It must certainly have posed a co­ nundrum for the newly appointed president of Honda SA, Toshiaki Konaka, and he has every reason to be grateful for the new Civic, a car seemingly designed to lower the av­ erage Honda ownership age.

We recently drove the new Honda Civic 1.5T Sport CVT courtesy of Des­Marie Victor, new car sales man­ ager at Honda Fury in Pietermaritz­ burg, for which we thank her.

Styling The new 10th generation Honda Civ­ ic comes to South Africa fresh from winning the North American Car of the Year title.

It has a sleek, fastback design and a steeply­raked front window.

The Honda designers have also ditched the somewhat frumpy front quarter windows on the previous model, enhancing the sporty appear­ ance of the car.

The front fender feature bulges over the wheel arches and the body is sculpted.

The distinctive headlamps, the C­shaped taillights and tapering windows, make this a highly styled automobile.

It appears that after some years of sleepy aesthetics, Honda designers are now wide awake and have pro­ duced a car that makes a distinctive and powerful statement.

The car has also grown larger and projects an imposing presence un­ derlined by its modern, 17­inch alloys.

Interior The interior is a big improvement over the previous model.

It is both more modern and more intimate. The finishes are in rich, soft­touch plastics, with all seats cov­ ered in a high quality leather. The driver’s seat is fully adjustable.

Unfortunately the somewhat low front passenger’s seat has no height adjustment, although both front seats are heated.

The interior itself has grown sub­ stantially and is now almost as large as that of the Accord.

The leather­trimmed, multi­func­ tion steering wheel is pleasing to handle and has a tilt­and­telescopic adjustment.

The steering is also the operating base for the audio system, Bluetooth and speed control functions and, if you have a smart phone with GPS function, it is possible to pair the phone to the centrally­placed seven­ inch touch screen, which becomes a built in GPS system.

There are also the usual plugs and USB port for your electronic toys.

The dashboard, when switched on, behaves like a computer game and

the brightly lighted, colourful instru­ ment panel features a digital speed­ ometer within an analogue rev coun­ ter. The tall, two­tier centre console cossets front passengers and con­ tains audio and air­conditioning controls.

The car seats five adults comforta­ bly and has family accommodation for both short and long journeys.

The boot is generous with 430 li­ tres of luggage space on offer and this almost doubles if the rear seats are folded down. Rear seat release levers are mounted in the boot and are sim­ ple to operate.

Safety and security The new Civic is packed with safety features besides the usual ABS with EBD, six front side and curtain air­ bags, child seat anchors and seatbelts for all.

I found the Hill Start Assist most useful. There are also parking sensors and a rear view camera. Vehicle Sta­ bility Assist, Lane Departure and For­ ward Collision Warning, as well as an electric parking brake. The car has the usual central locking and alarm system.

For those who enjoy toys, the car can be started from the outside by depressing a button on the electronic key and, while you are saying your goodbyes, the air­conditioning sys­ tem will either cool or warm the car to a temperature of your choice.

Performance and handling The Civic we drove comes with a 1,5­litre, turbocharged, four­cylinder, VTEC engine, that powers the two top models.

Feisty outputs of 127 kW/220 Nm are good for a claimed 0­100 km sprint in 8,2 seconds making it com­ petitive with turbo­charged rivals like the Opel Astra, Ford Focus and VW Jetta.

Fuel consumption also appears to have improved with a claimed 5,9 li­ tres per 100 km for the 1,5T engines.

The old 1,8 litre engine used in the two entry­level models puts out 104 kW/174 Nm and it is claimed de­ livers 6,2 litres per 100 km.

The Civic is an enthusiastic per­ former and an easy cruiser.

The ride quality is excellent and roads are reduced to an academic quantity, as the car glides over pot­ holes and ruts.

Acceleration is immediate and whether in town or the open road you feel that you have the power required to move out of danger.

On D Roads the Civic is stable at speed and I felt I could trust the vehi­ cle, which moves through corners ef­ ficiently, backed by its variable­ratio electric power steering , which is well weighted.

In town parking is easy and the rear camera is a great help, while the vehicle’s ability to manoeuvre in traf­ fic made me feel safe, even in the late afternoon rush hour, punctuated by traffic light tramps and sunglass sell­ ers.

Costs and the competition The Civic, despite having the largest cabin in its class has a high price tag.

The entry 1.8 Comfort CVT costs R330 000 and the range­topping 1.5T Executive CVT R460 000.

The 1.5T Sport CVT we drove costs R430 000 and comes with a five­year/200 000 km warranty and a five­year/90 000 km service plan.

Also look at VW Jetta/Passat, Sub­ aru Legacy, Lexus CT, as well as the Opel Astra 1.6T and the Ford Focus 1.5T.

After some years of sleepy aesthetics, Honda designers are now wide awake and have produced a Civic that makes a distinctive and powerful statement. It drives very well too. PHOTO: QUICKPIC

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These include 19-inch 7-split spoke alloy wheels in high gloss dark grey, and a grey Graphite finish to the fender vents and grille.

Model Retail Price (incl VAT, Incl CO2) Principle Debt Deposit (20%) Period Monthly Instalment Rate Balloon Payment (30%) Total Cost of Finance

Discovery 3.0 SDV6 R1 091 240 R874 189 R218 248 72 months R11 999 8.05% R327 372 R1 179 332

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Advertised monthly payment includes initiation fee of R1197.00 and R68.40 monthly service fee. Terms and conditions apply and while stocks last. Land Rover Financial Services, a product of WesBank. WesBank is a division of FirstRand Bank Limited. An Authorised Financial Services and Credit Provider. NCRCP20.

4

WitnessWheels MOTORING

August 25, 2016

Delivering Mzansi heritage Celebs meet challenge to show their best talents and the abilities of new Mercedes­Benz SUVs THE Chinese zodiac has 2015 as the year of the horse, which is quite fitting as this was also the year when Mercedes­Benz completed its SUV range with all­new additions — the popular GLA, the luxu­ rious GLC, the luxurious GLE and two coupé versions of the GLC and the GLE. Wheels drove the sport utility vehicles over Namibia’s roughest terrain, from rocky ravines to the steep dunes where the latest (and some would say best ever) Mad Max was filmed, so we know they can do 4x4.

We also diced a plane from Oribi Air­ port in Pietermaritzburg to Pretoria North, to prove that for journeys under 500 km, the car is always faster, even with a burning truck blocking all but one lane on Van Reenen’s Pass. Learning about the kilometres­long queue of parked trucks on the N3TC’s Twitter ac­ count, we turned off to Ladysmith and aimed the GLC down the fantastic new tar road that now comprises most of De Beers Pass and enjoyed the traction on the smooth dirt sections.

To show the abilities of these vehicles on any type of South African terrain, Mercedes­Benz SA also sent several ce­ lebrities to far­flung places.

Singers, comedians, fashion design­ ers, chefs, musicians and more went to very unfamiliar terrain and were chal­ lenged to do what they do best in 48 hours. The resulting films are upload­ ed on YouTube and Merc informed Wheels the YouTube clip from these ad­ ventures with the most downloads is that made by songbird Lira and comedi­ an Loyiso Gola.

They toured to northern KwaZulu­ Natal in a GLE Coupé a year ago, where they beautifully re­imagined a tradition­ al Zulu song. Lira first recorded children in the Myeni community singing, but the perfectionist producer wanted more

Just a little lost: Lerato Molapo, aka Lira, and comedian Loyiso Gola remade a traditional Zulu song in northern KwaZulu­Natal as part of a Mercedes­Benz campaign to show the abilities of its range of sport utility vehicles.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED texture for the song.

With the clock ticking towards the 48­ hour mark, Gola drove about all over northern KZN’s steep hills in the GLE with Lira looking for the missing ingre­ dients that would make the song ex­ traordinary. When they passed a church on the road, Loyiso found Eric Ngcobo, a guitarist, inside, who was happy to back Lira on his guitar.

Next Lira needed a backing beat to make the old rural song more contempo­

rary. She called her producer, Robin Kohl, for help. In the meantime, she lis­ tened to the song again and realised the local kids’ voices were not clear. Gola phoned Justice from the Myeni commu­ nity. “[Could] the kids who helped in­ spire the song join them for another re­ cording?”

Justice suggested they meet in the Mkuze forest. With only 30 minutes left, and the backing track mixed with the guitar track arriving by e­mail, the duo

listened to the mix on the GLE Coupé’s sound system.

In the forest, the children’s voices car­ ried over the trees. Gola recorded the sounds as the final seconds ran out, but they considered they had produced the best song they could in 48 hours using the resources available to them.

“It was a big challenge but I am very proud of myself and Loyiso. We did it!

We have an awesome song and I can’t wait to share it with you all,” Lira said.

When futuristic designers remake the Maybach legend

Making its debut at Monterey Car Week last weekend was the exclusive Vision Mercedes­Maybach 6, a sensational all­electric luxury­class coupé. The 2+2­seater is futuristic but also a practical interpretation of the aero coupés from the 1920s to 1930s. The two­seater is almost six metres long but the space under the hood is mostly empty, with Tesla­style underfloor 85 kWh batteries powering motors on the wheels with a combined total of 550 kW over 500 kilometres. The Vision’s party piece is how quickly it recharges to a range of about 100 km — only five minutes! PHOTO: QUICKPIC

For some R20,4 million, Scaldarsi will sell you its remake of a Merc­Maybach S600, called the Scaldarsi Emperor 1. While the Scaldarsi Mercedes infotainment system and displays look unchanged, the rest of the design philosophy is a polar opposite of the Vision above. Under the hood of the Emperor 1 is a f**k­the­forests, fuel­guzzling twin­turbocharged 6,3­litre V12 from the Brabus Rocket 900. The dashboard can be trimmed in the skins of any endangered animal of your choice, seen here is a dashboard in crocodile­pattern leather, the seats are finished in their own unique leather pattern, and rose gold has been used to replace the chrome you’d find in a regular S­Class. The party piece? The Rolex on the dash can match the owner’s. But for us scooter­riding tree­huggers at Wheels, it is interesting to note that despite peak power of 662 kW, the Emperor 1 hits 100 km/h from a standing start in just under four seconds, which is the same time as the electric Vision above takes on this sprint. PHOTO: SCALDARSI

In Namibia, world­renowned fashion designer Craig Jacobs and actress Lerato Kganyago, driving in luxury in their GLC, drew inspiration from the dunes of the Namib Desert to create bespoke African couture.

Cricket legend Mark Boucher and chef extraordinaire Marthinus Ferreira journeyed to the Wild Coast in the GLE to prepare a signature three­course meal. And when the legendary G Class brought photographer Adrian Steirn and lion whisperer Kevin Richardson to­ gether, they captured what could sadly be the future of our continent’s magnifi­ cent wild lions. Their haunting image has been featured in media the world over.

The most recent episode has iconic trumpeter Hugh Masekela and MiCasa frontman J’Something talking the lan­ guage of music as they drove along the Garden Route in the new GLS. Their task was to record an original song, which resulted in Heaven in You with its haunting lyrics that tell of Hugh’s love for his homeland despite his exile during the country’s troubled past.

“These films celebrate our culture and diversity, and also showcase our vehi­ cles’ capabilities,” said Selvin Govender, marketing director, Mercedes­Benz Cars.

“We’re highlighting our country’s en­ compassing beauty and bringing home what South Africans love about their country while we position Mercedes­ Benz SUVs as luxury vehicles for the South African journey.”

Govender added that the genes from the iconic G­Class are carried into each of the current Mercedes­Benz SUVs, making them the best on every terrain.

The final #EveryTerrain video will be released for tomorrow’s Heritage Day. — Wheels Reporter.

NEW AUDIS CAN TALK TO TRAFFIC LIGHTS LIKE Audi’s trend­setting LED head­ lights, its latest V2X technology is set to be adopted by other brands.

V2X is shorthand for vehicle­to­ object communication and it enables cars to communicate with surrounding infrastructure, like traf­ fic lights.

V2X is a fundamental element towards the implementation of the fully autonomous cars discussed on page 2.

The Audi A4, A4 Allroad and Q7 already feature V2X that communi­ cates with the traffic lights ahead to gather information on when the lights are due to switch from red to green. A countdown is displayed in the instrument cluster or, when fitted, in the head­up display.

Note, V2X does not monitor the traffic light like a human, but “talks” to it using radio waves. The feature will therefore not yet work in South Africa’s cities, where councils still struggle to grasp the concept of ye olde timing device to activate traffic lights to peak hour traffic flows, turning them into flashing yield signs at night when there are virtually no cars on the road.

Modern traffic lights talk to V2X systems using Traffic Technology Services which then route it to an Audi database. This database then sends the information to the vehi­ cle, all in real time. In some cities, V2X and V2V (vehicle­to­vehicle) systems could even lead to inter­ sections where cars no longer need to stop, predicted Audi. — WR.

August 25, 2016

MOTORING WitnessWheels TRANSPORT

5

No fuss with this Fuso

NEW MODELS

FJ 16­230 takes cost­of­ownership fight to Hino, UD, Isuzu, FAW and Tata ALWYN VILJOEN

‘The Fuso FJ 16­230 is set to be one of the safest trucks on the roads.’

PHOTO: SUPPLIED was the truck’s low running costs.

Naeem Hassim, head of Fuso Trucks Southern Africa, said the Fuso FJ under­ went rigorous testing and was assessed under strenuous driving conditions to ensure maximum reliability cost.

A 6,37­litre, water cooled, direct injec­ tion and turbocharged diesel engine makes 170 kW at 2 200 rpm and 810 Nm between 1 200 rpm and 1 600 rpm. A dry­single plate, hydraulic­actuated clutch, made 3,5 mm thick for extra dura­ bility, is paired with a robust six­speed manual transmission. Hassim told

Wheels an auto shifter is under develop­ ment, and will land in SA sometime next year at less than R80 000.

On the inside, the engineers have de­ signed a more comfortable cabin that re­ duces driver fatigue, using three­way ad­ justable driver seat and a tilt­and­tele­ scoping steering wheel which allows the driver to choose an optimum driving po­ sition. The cabin is fitted with standard air­conditioning and rear windows that allow maximum ventilation.

Driver aids include a variable green band indicator that shows the driver the

correct gear and speed required to mini­ mise fuel consumption, and an intelli­ gent instrument cluster ensures all vital information is always easily visible. The trip mileage indicator displays the dis­ tance travelled, average speed and fuel consumption.

“The Fuso FJ 16­230 is set to be one of the safest trucks on the roads, as it is fitted with front standard anti­roll bars for greater safety and to improve road grip and vehicle stability, especially when cornering or changing lanes at high speed,” said Makitla.

Ready for the monsoon, Mahindra’s new Scorpio has auto­everything, including wipers, lights, a six­inch touchscreen display, integrated satellite navigation, and Intellipark reverse assistance.

Prices for the two 4x4 models are R283 995 for Scorpio S10 and R299 995 for the eight seat­ er. All models are covered by a three­year/100 000 km warranty, and a three­year/60 000 km ser­ vice plan. PHOTOS: QUICKPIC

To celebrate its 75th anniversary in 2016, Jeep has created four limited­edition, 75th Anniversary Edition models — the Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Renegade and Wrangler. These limited edition models pay homage to the history of the legendary Jeep brand. The party continues with Jeep also offering 75 days of special offers at dealers until October 20.

11 3 0 / 4 5 6 1 4 A D M A K E R S . C O M

FUSO has put the cat among the pigeons with a rigid truck that aims to take the cost­of­ownership fight to Hino, UD, Is­ uzu, FAW and Tata.

Launching the Fuso FJ 16­230 truck at the Zwartkops Race Track in Pretoria yesterday, product manager for Fuso South Africa, Harry Makitla, said the 16,6­ton payload, low running costs and optional guaranteed buy­back were among the main factors that set this rig­ id truck apart among the formidable competitors.

At a price of R630 000 for the short wheel base and RR640 000 for the long wheel base, these competitors still have a price advantage, but Makitla said good finance and insurance packages coupled to maintenance contracts added up to much lower ownership costs over the lifetime of the truck. Garden City Com­ mercial in Pietermaritzburg confirmed the trucks can already be ordered.

“This truck will make money for you, that is our mission at Fuso,” said nation­ al sales manager Ziyad Gaba.

It is the second Fuso to be fully im­ ported from Daimler’s new plant in Chennai, India, and Makitla said next year will see more new models from this plant, following customers’ buy­in to the Fuso FA9 model.

Gaba said the Fuso FJ 16­230 was built to handle the toughest operating condi­ tions experienced around the world, but what had to date impressed the very price­sensitive clients in India the most

Errors & Omissions excepted.

6

WitnessWheels TRANSPORT MOTORING

August 25, 2016

Super sippy Super Carry Suzuki delivers a donated goods to Sheppy’s Hospice and proves consumption of their bakkie THE challenge — drive 750 km with a load of 750 kg on R750 worth of fuel with a Suzuki Super Carry.

This challenge, dubbed the #Super­ Carry750 challenge, was conceived when the team at Suzuki Auto South Af­ rica decided to test their newest work­ horse and help someone in need at the same time.

After some deliberation, the staff at Suzuki decided to help the Hospice in Port Shepstone and the call went out for anyone to contribute.

Soon a large load, including a couple of dishwashers and fresh paint, stood ready to be taken to the coastal town.

“We decided that this would be a great test for our new Super Carry work­ horse and challenged our team with the following: take the load, now weighing in at exactly 750 kg, to Port Shepstone using only R750 worth of fuel,” ex­ plained Charl Grobler, national market­ ing and product planning manager at Suzuki South Africa.

To make the challenge more fun, the team mapped a route of exactly 750 km from their head office and parts ware­ house in Johannesburg to the Hospice in Port Shepstone.

They then handed the keys to a Super Carry to Brendon Carpenter, the assist­

Suzuki South Africa delivered a 750 kg payload over 750 km away using only R750 of petrol, getting an average of 14 km/l.

PHOTO: ALWYN VILJOEN

ant manager of sales training and devel­ opment, the volunteering driver, and co­ driver Nicole Glover, and they were on their way.

On Wednesday, August 17, the dona­ tion left Johannesburg and was delivered by the team that same afternoon.

After the delivery Super Carry covered

another 156,2 km on the fuel that the team had bought in Johannesburg for R750, before they decided to refuel.

“The Super Carry was the true hero

of this challenge,” says Carpenter.

“It soldiered on well beyond the 750 km target and didn’t chicken out at the very last minute like we did.

“The risk of running out of fuel in the dark on the N2 between Amanzimtoti and who­knows­where didn’t appeal to us.

“Still, even after we cut the total dis­ tance short, the Super Carry managed to achieve an average fuel consumption figure of just 6,7 l/100 km (14 km/l) for the entire trip, with most of the trip completed with a full load.

The new Suzuki Super Carry is equipped with a 1,2 litre, four­cylinder petrol engine that delivers 54 kW and 101 Nm to its rear wheels through a five­ speed manual gearbox.

With a very affordable price, a 1,49 m wide and 2,183 m long load bay and a load carrying capability of 750 kg, the Super Carry is an everyday sight in coun­ tries such as Japan and India.

In South Africa, this cab­over work­ horse is available at a suggested retail price of R129 900, but only until the end of the month.

The price includes a three­year or 100 000 km warranty and roadside as­ sistance plan and a six­year anti­corro­ sion warranty. — WR.

Scania testing hydrogen trucks with Asko shops

China’s Yutu rover leaving the lander and making its first foray on the Moon, which proved to be a harsh mistress.

PHOTO: CHINA NATIONAL SPACE ADMINISTRATION

The little Chinese Moon buggy that could ALWYN VILJOEN AFTER China announced its little six­ wheeled lunar rover “Yutu” had stopped working on August 3, this time for real, most of its 377 000 followers on Weibo had a moment of silence, but others re­ fused to accept its second “death”.

China’s State Administration for Sci­ ence, Technology, and Industry for Na­ tional Defence, said the solar­powered Yutu rover had stopped operating after more than two years of probing the Moon’s surface. The little rover was de­ signed to function for only three months.

China is the third nation, after the U.S. and Russia, to have overcome the complex challenges of landing a vehicle on the Moon and Yutu posts soon ap­ peared on Weibo, reportedly made by a few devoted fans with close links to the rover’s engineers. But Yutu would have remained just a hero among a few space nerds, had it not frozen to digital death and then struggled back to life after the particularly cold lunar “night” of Febru­ ary 2014. It takes 28,5 Earth day­nights for the Moon to rotate the same side to

Sun again, making a Moon day and night as long as a lunar month on Earth.

When Yutu’s sensors finally managed to flicker back on after a few days of sun­ light, the little rover could no longer move its wheels, but it could still send data to Earth, and continued to do so for 29 months longer than its makers at Shanghai Aerospace System Engineer­ ing Institute and Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering thought their sensitive equipment would last.

Bear in mind the high radiation on the Moon requires hardened electronics to avoid electromagnetic malfunctions, then there’s extreme temperature range, up to a baking 130°C during the month­ long lunar “day” and down to ­170°C during the lunar night.

The sensitive equipment that sur­ vived the Moon’s harsh conditions ranged from a ground­penetrating radar to six cameras to a robotic arm, would remain operational on the Moon. They continued to send data, including the first images of the Moon’s surprisingly complex geological layers nine metres deep, for almost two years and ensured that China’s Moon buggy now holds the

record for the longest operating lunar rover, a record that was held earlier by Russia’s 1970 lunar rover, Lunokhod.

The little machine’s story sounds like it came from the same muse that in­ spired The Little Engine That Could, but all boys will agree the video and radio signals from a six­eyed, six­wheeled little lunar rover is so much cooler than a talk­ ing steam train with a dopey grin.

The Chinese, who named the rover Yutu, for Jade Rabbit after the pet Chi­ nese Moon goddess in a public poll, cer­ tainly thought so and loved “their” plucky little machine. The last entry on the social media site Weibo received over 100 000 shares.

It read: “Hi! This could be the last greeting from me! The Moon says it has prepared a long, long dream for me, and I’m wondering what the dream would be like — would I be a Mars explorer, or be sent back to Earth?”

One of the Yutu followers posted back: “I don’t know why I am so heart­ broken. It’s just a machine, after all.”

At Wheels, we understand why — some machines do have souls, after all.

• alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

THE Norwegian government, Scania and Norway’s largest convenience goods wholesaler Asko are testing elec­ tric trucks powered by hydrogen fuel cells over distances of almost 500 km.

Asko aims to make its fleet of 600 trucks climate­neutral, running its trucks on bio­diesel and hydrogen and in the longer term completely on elec­ tricity.

The Norwegian government is pay­ ing for the pilot project while Scania is supplying three trucks with a gross weight of 27 tons. Instead of a diesel engine, an electric motor gets electrici­ ty from fuel cells and hydrogen gas on board the vehicle.

Like jet­turbine power, hydrogen cells hold the promise of overcoming the limits posed by batteries.

The rest of the powertrains in the three trucks are composed of the same

standard components used in the hy­ brid trucks and buses that Scania al­ ready delivers. Three trucks will form part of the research project, with an option for one further vehicle.

Various internal combustion en­ gines are part of Scania’s modular component range, which in hybrid drives are combined with powerful electrical propulsion. With sufficient electrical energy in batteries, the vehi­ cle is fully electrically powered for short periods.

Scania is also participating in Swed­ ish research to power trucks and buses with overhead powerlines like old trol­ ley buses, or wirelessly via the roadway or from special charging stations. Such systems will free up transport on set routes from the current range limits of batteries.

— Wheels Reporter.

The exhaust pipe of this hydrogen truck from Scania emits only water.

PHOTO: SCANIA

U.S. STILL DESPERATE FOR DRIVERS IN the U.S., the Federal Motor Carri­ er Safety Administration is testing a pilot programme to allow truckers under the age of 21 to cross state lines to solve its driver shortage.

The U.S. transport industry needs some 30 000 drivers every summer, which shortage used to be met by expat drivers from South Africa and Mexico working on Home­to­Home visas. But to stimulate local jobs,

the U.S. changed the rules so that only residents can apply for a com­ mercial driver’s licence (CDL) in the U.S., causing fleet operators to scramble for drivers every year.

The proposed three­year pilot pro­ gramme is limited to military reserv­ ists and veterans who drove trucks in military service, who at the mo­ ment often go on to drive trucks outside the U.S. — Wheels Reporter.

MOTORING BIKING WitnessWheels

August 25, 2016

7

Euro’s top scambler now faster A smooth new ‘organic’ shape gives the rider ultimate freedom to move OVER the last eight years the CRF450R has been honed into one of the most complete race­ ready rides. Now for 2017, revo­ lution has replaced evolution.

Europe’s favourite open­class moto­crosser is effectively brand new, wielding a major power boost from its new engine, plus increased grip and drive from a redrawn chassis.

It looks different, feels differ­ ent and delivers a whole new ex­ perience trackside. In plain and simple terms, it’s faster. Much faster.

The 2017 CRF450R has been developed — with direct input from Honda’s AMA and MX GP teams — to be first out of the gate, first into turn one and to punch a blistering lap time.

With a new engine packing an 11% increase in peak power matched to a chassis that can truly make full use of it, the 2017 CRF450R is stronger, sharper and more focused. And as MX1­ class machines are all about competition, both 16YM and 17YM machines were raced back­ to­back by HRC in a series of start simulations.

The power and drive of the new bike saw it gain a significant advantage. Zero to 10 metres took 1,53 seconds, 6,4% less

Vanguard Moto Guzzi V8: dustbin fairings were never known for their cornering abilities, but nothing could catch them on a straight line.

PHOTO: VANGUARD CLOTHING

Dustbin fairings in vogue again LOZ BLAIN

The lighter, more powerful Honda CRF450R is set to continue the bike’s position as Europe’s favourite open­ class MotoX bike. PHOTO: HONDA time than the outgoing machine.

The new power unit uses in­ novative engineering on both in­ take and exhaust side. On the intake, straight passageways re­ duce air resistance significantly for improved combustion effi­ ciency.

On the exhaust side, the twin pipes divide close to the engine, facilitating the increase in com­ pression ratio from 12,5 to 13,5, a key element in the greater pow­ er output. A 49 mm Showa USD fork — steel sprung and devel­ oped from a race­ready factory

item supplied to MX race teams in the Japanese championship — replaces the KYB air fork.

Brand new plastics create ul­ tra­efficient aerodynamic per­ formance, and a smooth, “or­ ganic” shape to give the rider ul­ timate freedom to move.

They also feature film insert graphics, which deliver sharp vi­ suals and a durable finish. For the first time, electric start is now available as an option.

The CFF 450R is on sale for R107 000.

— Wheels Reporter.

THE 1950s­era of GP racing brings one thing to mind over everything else: the dustbin fairing. Until it was outlawed in 1957, many race bike designers used these huge, awkward look­ ing fairings to get maximum speed out of their bikes.

Of course, they had their problems — they could have treacherous handling issues in a crosswind, for example — but the fact remains, in a straight line these were probably the most aerodynamically efficient GP bikes ever built.

Moto Guzzi’s V8 was more than just another dustbinned

racer when it came out in 1955.

The sheer audacity of making a V8 engine in an era of singles and twins stunned the world up­ on its release, and with just 58 kW, it managed a top speed of 277 km/h thanks to its vast, racing green­coloured dustbin fairing.

In racing terms, it was a disas­ ter. Pronounced unrideable by the ballsiest racers of the day, it was retired from racing after just two seasons, but it made an in­ delible mark in the hearts of bike lovers. The crackling roar of its eight megaphone exhausts will raise the hairs on the back of your neck to this day.

It is without doubt an iconic

bike and if there’s one thing hip­ ster clothing companies love, it’s an iconic vintage motorcycle. So, since only two original Guzzi V8s remain, and even a replica is now fetching around $300 000 (R4,05 million) at auction, Van­ guard Clothing chose to com­ mission a milder custom bike in the style of the V8, without the fabled mechanical complexity.

Design was handled by Gannet Design’s Ulfert Janssen, and the build was handled by Amster­ dam’s Numbnut Motorcycles.

Under that dustbin, the Van­ guard bike is basically a custom Guzzi California Eldorado shaft­ drive cruiser with a 1 400 cc V­twin. — NewAtlas.

AUTOMATIC START/STOP SYSTEM FOR SCOOTERS LOZ BLAIN THE latest piece of car tech to cross over into the motorcycle world, it seems, will be the au­ tomatic start/stop system.

Honda pioneered the tech on its PCX125 scoot back in 2010, and now Yamaha has in­ troduced a fuel­saving stop/ start system on its new Janus scooter, a 125 cc, slightly retro

scoot weighing 97 kg and tar­ geted at female riders in the Vietnamese market, where a massive 2,85 million motorcy­ cles and scoots are sold per year. The fuel­saving feature will roll out on the Deluxe and Premium models, but not the Standard. The Premium model also gets a smart key.

With the BMW C650GT now starting to integrate blind spot

warning lights, it’s interesting to think what other tech from the car world we’ll be seeing on two wheels.

Automatic braking would be a death sentence for riders, but other car tech could prove useful. Maybe laser headlights like Audi and BMW are doing?

Gesture control? Electric tur­ bocharging? … Maybe not.

— Newatlas.com

100’s Riders’ show to help SPCA Seen here is Meryl Thomas, who is in her 60s and a member of the safest riders in the Midlands, 100’s Riders. The club invites all riders to bring their bikes to a display day on September 10, to be hosted at the Vintage Sports Car Club at 120 Oribi Road in Pietermaritzburg from 11 am. Organiser Minesh Harrichand said entry is free but the club would appreciate any donations of pet food for the SPCA. Food for humans will also be on sale, including the hottest chilli sauce in town, all part of the club’s aim to get more bikers to ride only with high­visibility jackets to promote their own safety.

Contact Harrichand at 083 701 6762 to enter your bike.

PHOTO: 100S RIDERS

2016 Toyota Aygo Silver, 16 500 km

R139 900

2014 Toyota Corolla 1.6 Quest Silver, 39 500 km

R159 900

2007 Toyota Fortuner 3.0 2015 Hyundai ix35 2.0 Premium D$D 4 x 4 White, 43 500 km White, 287 000 km

R179 900

R289 900

79 VICTORIA ROAD Also at 47 Main Street Howick Craig Pickering: 082 781 7740 Charmaine Els: 082 325 3323 Thembeka Hlela: 073 030 4325 Grenville Manton, Dealer Principal Tel: 033 345 0982 • Cell: 082 492 6666 • Email grenville@fedauto.co.za

8

WitnessWheels MOTORING RACING

August 25, 2016

A dust and punctures race Maritzburg racers in the fightback of their careers at Malelane, where the least stops will win CHARMAINE FORTUNE ALL eyes will be on the Class T category of the 2016 Donaldson Cross Country Championship when the fifth round of the season kicks into gear at the Nkoma­ zi 450 in Malalane tomorrow.

For Pietermaritzburg’s Neil Wool­ ridge Motorsport (NWM) Ford Per­ formance team, it’s a crucial opportunity to fight back for the championship lead relinquished at the previous race in Lich­ tenburg during July.

Despite suffering a huge fire that gut­ ted parts of its workshop and destroyed its two race cars a mere week before the race, the team made it to the event with a loaned NWM­built Ford Ranger, which Chris Visser and Ward Huxtable used to great effect by setting a potentially race­winning pace during qualifying.

Unfortunately for Gareth Woolridge and Boyd Dreyer, their hopes of scoring solid points in the second NWM Ford Performance Ranger went up in flames too, as their car was badly damaged in the fire. Accordingly, it’s unclear if the young duo will be able to stage a come­ back this season.

Although Visser and Huxtable looked set for a dream outing in the face of ad­ versity, technical issues and several punctures hampered their challenge in Lichtenburg, which saw them finish fifth in Class T. This dropped the pair to sec­ ond in the championship, 17 points be­ hind Jason Venter and Vince van Alle­ man (Toyota Hilux).

With a 35­point margin to third­ placed Johan van Staden/Mike Lawren­ son (Nissan Navara), it’s all to play for at the top of the points table with three events remaining, and there’s no doubt

erview Preparatory School, with plenty of spectator points near or alongside the N4 highway.

According to the organisers, around 60% of the route will traverse new spon­ sor RCL Foods’ property, along with 40% virgin territory.

From the start at Riverview the route travels under the N4 and traverses Rad­ ley and Malalane Estates to Jeppes Reef.

The competitors then take on the area around Malalane Brick and the rocky outcrop to Kaalrug before crossing into the hills in the Stentor and Lebuyle re­ gions.

After navigating through the sugar­ cane fields towards Kaapsehoop, a zigag route takes the crews back towards Mala­ lane and the finish at the school.

The qualifying action starts at 11.30 am tomorrow, with Saturday’s main race setting off at 8.30 am.

Chris Visser and Ward Huxtable will be making up for lost time and fire damage in a borrowed Ford Performance Ranger at the Nkomazi 450 in Malalane tomorrow and Saturday. PHOTO: QUICKPIC that the top teams will be going all­out for victory at the Nkomazi 450.

“We saw in Lichtenburg that our old­ er NWM­built Ranger is still very com­ petitive, and the work done on the car leading up to Malalane has definitely made it better,” said team principal Neil Woolridge.

“Unfortunately it’s not our car so we can’t do any radical alterations, but

we’ve changed the gear ratios, sorted out the mapping and done some work on the suspension.”

The competitors will encounter yet another new route this season, compris­ ing mainly sugarcane fields and natural bushveld through this scenic part of Mpumalanga.

“I expect the race to be fast and tech­ nical with exciting rally­type roads,”

Woolridge added.

“We’re not doing the tricky mountain section that saw the demise of lots of cars in previous years, but as always dust and punctures are the two main factors that will play a huge role in the final re­ sults. It’s important that we get a good qualifying position, and have a clean run.”

As before, the race is based at the Riv­

‘We saw in Lichtenburg that our older NWM­ built Ranger is still very competitive, and the work done on the car leading up to Malalane has definitely made it better’ — team principal Neil Woolridge

VW Driver Search calling for black racers between 15 and 25 VOLKSWAGEN South Africa (VWSA) and Motorsport South Africa (MSA) have partnered in a programme to find the next exciting (African, Indian or col­ oured) racing talent to follow in Gugu Zulu’s illustrious footsteps.

The programme, to be called VW Driver Search will be part funded by the FIA (international controlling body for four­wheeled motorsport) and will be administered by MSA’s subcontracted

training partner, Motorsport Training Africa (MTA).

VW Driver Search will see 16 candi­ dates, roughly between the ages of 15 and 25 and with at least some motorsport­re­ lated experience, being selected to take part in a programme during October 2016 to hone their all­round skills as rac­ ing drivers.

In addition, the two best performing candidates will benefit from a Volkswag­

Duminy hunts fourth spot BALLITO­BASED Daniel Duminy re­ turns to Killarney keen to elevate himself from fourth position in the 2016 WP high school Junior Max championship chase on Saturday.

The 15­year­old Duminy is also in the middle of a hectic few weeks’ racing fol­ lowing Engen Polo Cup action at Zwart­ kops two weeks ago, the African Karting Open last week and now its back to Kil­ larney.

“I’m looking forward to a new week­ end at Killarney,” Daniel said.

“I just hope that no one takes me out again — the Cape Junior Max series is so competitive, so we often end up bang­ ing and barging — I just want a clean race to chase those points.”

Daniel sits fourth in the WP title chase behind Jason Coetzee, Dario Busi and Sebastian Boyd, with Andrew Rackstraw and Aidan Strydom close behind.

Last weekend at Zwartkops, the weather gods were just a little too late to help hand Duminy an unlikely high school age African Junior Max 125cc Open win. Daniel was in a fighting fifth when light rain rolled the dice late in the final, catching two of the karts ahead out

en drive in an appropriate regional rac­ ing series. The driver who impresses most earns a Volkswagen factory drive in the 2017 Engen Volkswagen Cup na­ tional championship racing series.

Entry to VW Driver Search will be by invitation but, if you or someone you know, meets the criteria, please feel free to forward the relevant details to ma­ ria@motorsport.co.za by no later than tomorrow to ensure that he or she is tak­

en into consideration and not perhaps accidentally overlooked.

VW Driver Search will be conducted along similar lines to MSA’s recent Mo­ torsport Development Academy (MDA), with the addition of a “Clutch and Gears” module to assist any young karters who may be selected with learn­ ing these vital skills. The candidates will then be put through the same MDA process of fitness assessment, practical

and theoretical training at the University of Pretoria’s High Performance Centre and at the Gerotek Test Facility.

VW Driver Search will then move into a knockout phase, from which the top eight drivers will return to attend a race­ track “shootout”.

The shootout process will whittle the field down to four and then two drivers, who will then each take part in a few re­ gional races. — Wheels Reporter.

MOKOENA GETS A SEAT ON THE SIDELINES AT ITALY KWANDA Mokoena has won the 2016 African Maxterino Karting Open, win­ ning himself a ticket to watch the Rotax Max World Finals in Italy and in a small way redeeming his missing out on double 2016 South African national karting titles by the closest of margins imaginable.

The 12­year­old Kyalami kart star Mokoena drove a canny race to take the primary school Maxterino 60 cc

final and came home sixth in his de­ but in the under­14 Mini Max final.

“I’m still sad that I lost the SA Maxterino Championship the way we did — we were only notified that certain regional races were to count to our national score after we had missed two of those races, so losing that title by a quarter of a point was a bitter pill to swallow on top of ending up second by just a point in

the SA Mini Rok title,” Kwanda said.

After the weekend’s racing he thanked his parents for their support, Thabs his mechanic, his Squadra Corse team boss Eli, Ettiene from RKT and “my number one fan, my sister Keanda”.

“Karting is a team sport and I could never be here on my own,” said Kwanda.

— Motorsport Media.

TEASDALE RIDES A GOOD SECOND TO CHAMPION YOUNG

Daniel Duminy.

PHOTO: MOTORSPORT MEDIA and playing the slippery track into his hands.

Duminy closed a four­second gap down to mere half a second behind the winner, Mozambican Karl Pitzer, in three laps, with fellow KZN driver Dominic Lincoln in second by the flag.

— Motorsport Media.

ROUND three of the South African National Enduro championship, which was held at Bulwer in KwaZulu­Natal on August 12 and 13, saw Pieterma­ ritzburg’s Travis Teasdale settling for a good second place after a hard­rid­ ing battle with SA’s top rider, Wade Young, on the Sherco 300 SE­R. Young, who clinched a third place in the Red Bull Romaniacs Extreme Enduro Rally in Romania in July, is the current South African National Enduro champion and the youngest rider to win the Roof of Africa yet.

Teasdale, who rides for the Brother

Leader Tread KTM team, had gone into the race leading the E2 champi­ onship, and had opted for the newly launched 2017 KTM 300 XC­W. Riders had to complete five laps of a 38 km loop that included a very tight 1,4 km MX test. which was raced from lap one, a 2,5 km Ex­ treme test and a seven­kilometre En­ duro test, which were both timed from lap two.

Teasdale battled to get into a rhythm racing the MX special, which cost the talented Pietermaritzburg youngster the win. He finished a few

seconds off first­placed Young.

Brother Leader Tread KTM’s Kirsten Landman finished the Silver class in second place. She still leads the Sil­ ver class. — Wheels Reporter.

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