Wheels_13July2017

July 13, 2017

2017 Renault KWid Demo

Witness

WHEELS

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… NOW YOU’RE MOTORING

For the more luxurious explorer Best test drives of new Discovery await in PMB SIBONELO MYENI LANDROVER Pietermaritzburg is already booking seats in what can only be described as the best test drives for the new Discovery in South Africa, thanks to forest tracks, highway driving and even a race track on the dealer’s door­ step.

The new Discovery retains the stepped roofline, floating front roof and the large glass area around the cabin that has proven so popular, but there are several tweaks that add up to a more dy­ namic look.

Most visible of these are LED headlights with daytime running lights combined with the dia­ mond grille to give vehicle a pres­ ence on the road. At the rear, LED tail lamps and a one­piece tailgate also adds to the feeling of speed.

Traditional Discovery buyers might not warm to the design at first, but the modern Mzansi driv­ er will find the new dynamic de­ sign very appealing.

Four levels of trim are on sale, S, SE, HSE and HSE Lux, with a long list of options designed for buyers to tailor­make their Dis­ covery to their needs. For the col­ lector, 35 First Edition models are also available with a unique de­ sign and features list.

While very pretty on the out­ side, the interior remains big­ button functional. I like that the centre console now has fewer but­ tons, with more operations done via the 8­ or 10­inch touchscreen.

As can be expected in this league where the entry­level model barely squeezes in under amillion rand, all the cladding and surfaces are high quality.

Seven seats have enough leg room for adults, with the rear seats higher than the front in clas­ sic theatre arrangement. Intelli­ gent Seat Fold flips the seats flat to provide up to 2500 litres of configurable cargo capacity.

There is also 45 litres of storage space for essentials and digital de­ vices. What is so intelligent about folding seats? Well, you can con­ trol the positions of the second and or third seats remotely via a smartphone app.

Only two engines are offered at launch, a 3,0­litre turbo diesel and a V6 supercharged petrol, with the more economical 2,0­litre, four­cylinder diesel model will not coming to South Africa.

The diesel makes 190 kW at 3 750 rpm and 600 Nm from 1 750 to 2 250 rpm. The V6 turbo petrol that makes 250 kW at 6 500 rpm and 450 Nm from 3 500 to 5 000 rpm.

Both engines can tow a braked trailer with a total mass of 2,5 tons.

Claimed combined city and open road consumption for the diesel is 7,8/100 and 11,5l/100 km on the petrol.

All models have an eight­speed automatic gearbox. Land Rover claims the new Discovery pro­ vides on­road performance and comfort courtesy of the air sus­

pension with class­leading all­ terrain capability.

Off road technologies that put the new Discovery at the head of its segment include the All Ter­ rain Progress Control and Terrain Response 2 Auto.

A suite of advanced all­terrain technologies ensure the driver can tackle all weather driving conditions, towing with compo­ sure.

Driver convenience and confi­ dence is heightened in the new Discovery with the combination of active safety systems alongside an array of advanced driver assist­ ance features. Advanced Driver Assistance Systems are also of­ fered on all models.

All models come with a three­ year or 100 000 km warranty, a five­year or 100 000 km service plan and a five­year or 100 000 km maintenance plan.

Prices (includes VAT, excludes emmission taxes): S TDV6 R980 000 S SiV6 R1 018 500 SE TDV6 R1 109 250 SE SiV6 R1 126 750 HSE TDV6 R1 223 000 HSE SiV6 R1 240 500 HSE Lux TDV6 R1 314 000 HSE Lux Si6 R1 331 500 First Edition TDV6 R1 440 000 First Edition SiV6 R1 457 500 • Tune in to Sibonelo Myeni on Ukhozi FM every Thursday from 7.45 am.

TEAM KZN CHOSEN

Spectators set up camp on the bank at Mason’s Mill on Saturday to watch the first ever selection of a team of drivers who can informally represent KwaZulu­Natal at Driftkhana and Spinkhana events against provincial teams from other provinces. PHOTO: ALWYNN VIJOEN KWAZULU­Natal’s top spin­ ners and drifters packed out the pit area at the old bus depot at Mason’s Mill on Saturday to compete for a place on Team KZN. The fans who set up their braais and gazebos on the bank

for a full day of spectacular driv­ ing came from all over the prov­ ince, as well as the Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

Co­organiser of the well­run event, Reece Williamson, told Wheels 15 drivers will be selected, as the Driftkhana and Spinkhana

events are self­sponsored com­ petitions, with not all drivers al­ ways able to leave their business­ es to compete elsewhere.

They have already started to make arrangements for the next event, with the aim to host a team from Gauteng.

The new Land Rover Discovery packs luxury with formidable offroad ability, and can tow a 3,5 toj braked trailer. PHOTO: SUPPLIED

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WitnessWheels MOTORING EXPLORE

2

July 13, 2017

The nimble Honda Africa Twin CRF1000 in action.

PHOTO: HONDA

Have wheels, will travel

Honda Quest True Adventure opens ‘Mugwump’ ‘Mugwump’ was a 1930 Austin Burnham saloon that went down and then up Africa.

PHOTO: SUPPLIED

They don’t build cars like this anymore, or road trips either ALWYN VILJOEN IN 1963 a young Roger Freshman convinced three fellow students at Bristol University to drive with him from Bristol, England, across Africa to Cape Town in a car that both he and his daughter would later use as their wedding vehicle.

The motley crew comprised three engineering and one law stu­ dent, the latter chosen because his dad once owned a similar car and he knew a bit of the 1930 Austin Burnham 16/6 they were to travel in.

Their aim was to drive the vin­ tage car across Africa to Cape Town and there challenge four Cape Town university students to make the return journey.

“We gave a name to our ven­ ture: VASTA Expedition, which stood for ‘vintage Austin student trans­Africa’,” said Freshman.

The Cape Town crew rechris­ tened the Austin as “Mugwump”, for “Montague’s university group with unlimited means of propul­ sion”, rather than the original meaning, which is a fence sitter, especially on political issues.

Before departing, Freshman’s crew modified the oil bath, air cleaner and oil filter, and installed an extra fuel tank and an extra leaf to the rear leaf springs. They also fitted a front bumper to protect the radiator, a roof rack and stor­ age bins on the running boards.

Their main sponsor was Lord Montague, who paid £1 000 to advertise his Montague Motor Museum.

“We had many other sponsors of food, medical supplies, camp­ ing equipment, film equipment, spares for the car, as well as finan­ cial,” recalled Freshman.

Long before one could just ask Google, planning such a journey required a huge amount of work to plan the route, obtain visas and collect the donations from their sponsors.

At the end, they had so much “kit” they had to hook up a trailer.

Along the way, they had to field­ stripped the engine to find the source of a “knock”, which disap­ peared on reassembly. “To this day we do not know what caused it,” he said.

In Spain, three burnt exhaust valves had to be replaced. “These had to be ‘lapped in’ so it took a day to complete the repairs in the square of a small village, where we were surrounded by a horde of youngsters who thought it very funny to pick up parts or tools and pretend to run off with them” Freshman said.

The timing chain snapped near the Tunisian border. “This is quite a major job and as a dust storm from the desert was blowing we had to shroud the engine with blankets to keep the dust out while we worked.”

The group were well impressed with the old Roman city of Leptis Magna in Libya. “It was so well preserved, having been covered by sand for centuries, and was still being excavated,” said Freshman.

After Leptis they made rapid progress to Alexandria in Egypt. arriving after a month on the road.

There one of the students was di­ agnosed with acute appendicitis and he was operated on by an American­trained surgeon who

charged no fees as a goodwill ges­ ture to British students. The three remaining students were allowed to climb to the top of the second highest pyramid. “The high blocks made for a hard climb, but it was a wonderful experience,” said Freshman.

When the rest of their kit ar­ rived by container, they did not have enough space to fit every­ thing and instead held an im­ promptu boot sale. Then they learned the route they had planned across Egypt to Sudan was temporarily closed due to the building of the Aswan Dam. This saw Mugwump loaded on a boat down the Red Sea to Port Sudan, then a train flat bed to Khartoum and eventually a Nile ferry that paddled its way to the capital of South Sudan, Juba. “This was a very slow 10­day trip, living third class next to Mugwump, sur­ rounded by the many locals with crying babies, bleating goats etc.”

The ferry was made up of six barges tied together and driven by huge paddles because the reeds in the Nile made the use of props im­ possible.

In Tanzania they visited the Ngorogoro crater and Amboseli game park with its magnificent views of Kilimanjaro. There one of

TELL YOUR TRAVEL STORY THE Midlands has more than its fair share of ex­ traordinary travellers.

Some cycled far, like John Kassner, co­owner of the Jays B ’n B in Clarendon, or Bridget Gonzalez, author of Blonde on a Bike and now co­ordinator of the Wessa/ WWF Eco­Schools Pro­ gramme in Howick.

Others take the 4x4 and explore Africa, like the Shah family are doing in their battered old Unimog.

Some fix old cars and drive across Europe and Af­ rica, as did Hilton’s Mike Hallowes in a 1925 Morris Oxford, or the other way around, as did Jethro Bron­ ner more recently in a 1973 Alfa Romeo GTV. Wheels celebrates these nomads by telling their sto­ ries. To get your adventure recorded in Africa’s oldest continuously published newspaper, contact alwyn.viljoen @witness.co.za.

the crew had jaundice and had to fly home. Now a month behind schedule the remaining two stu­ dents drove on south to then Rho­ desia, where they were welcomed by the mayor of Salisbury.

They continued south to Preto­ ria on South Africa’s good tar roads, where they swung east to Pietermaritzburg to travel through the Transkei and along the Garden Route to Cape Town.

“A cavalcade of vintage cars came out to escort us to Cape Town hall, where the mayor had a welcoming reception and we met the four students from the university who had volunteered to drive Mugwump back to Bristol.

It was now just under four months and 19 000 km that it had taken us, and Mugwump was running like a dream.

“The two of us went back to the UK on a free passage on separate Safmarine cargo vessels.

“The Cape Town students took a similar route to ours, but crossed the Med from Egypt to Italy and thence to Bristol. They had no ma­ jor breakdowns, but suffered from 34 punctures, due to new, ill­fit­ ting tyres that were sponsored in Cape Town.

“Mugwump came back to South Africa when I emigrated there in 1964 and was the only car I drove for three years.

“She was my wedding car when I was married in Rhodesia and my youngest daughter’s wedding car in Cape Town,” he said.

Mugwump, now owned by a member of the Crankhandle Club, is used often for vintage ral­ lies and is still going strong having had no major engine work since her epic two­way trip from Bristol to Cape Town and back.

The only repairs not noted above included a broken shock ab­ sorber arm, a worn distributor drive gear, a burnt­out inlet valve, and a worn prop shaft fibre cou­ pling. “We had 11 punctures and the radiator only boiled once, in Morocco,” said Freshman.

ADVENTURE riders can now enter Honda’s Quest True Ad­ venture 2017 — billed as “the ultimate adventure motorcycle competition on the ultimate adventure motorcycle”.

Riders can enter at their nearest Honda dealer, there to complete an entry form, or on­ line at www.quest­trueadven­ ture.com.

It will be tough Organiser Jaco Kirsten warns the quest demands true adven­ ture riders of Southern Africa — “men and women who don’t shy away from physical and mental challenges, who are cu­ rious, can take the initiative and function as part of a team”.

He said it’s not a race nor a rally. “Quest is first and fore­ most an extremely tough ad­ venture expedition.

“However, it will include ele­ ments of competition where participating teams will be test­ ed on their adventure motorcy­ cle riding and mechanical skills, as well as their endurance, cour­ age and resilience against what Africa has to offer.”

The main aim of Quest will be to test human endurance and adaptability, combined with the continent­crossing abilities of the Honda

CRF1000 L Africa Twin.

What happens next?

After receipt of the entries, Honda Motorcycles South Af­ rica and Specialised Adven­ tures, organisers of Quest True Adventure, will select 40 appli­ cants to attend Quest Boot Camp at the beginning of Au­ gust.

Here the instructors will se­ lect the final 20 participants, who will then be flown to Nami­ bia at the beginning of Septem­ ber where they will undertake a challenging 12­day, 2 500 km off­road expedition in the northern parts of Namibia.

Costs and logistics Participation in Quest is free.

However, if you are selected for Boot Camp you will need to travel to Cape Town.

If you are selected as one of the 20 finalists for Quest, the organisers will provide trans­ port there and back.

Bear in mind that you’ll need to put in leave: Boot Camp will require two days of leave.

The Quest itself will require 14 days of leave.

The prize The winning teams will each win the Honda Africa Twin CRF1000 L that they used dur­ ing the Quest event. — WR,

FOR THE MATURE EXPLORER ROB RATHGEBER WHILE taking a leisurely drive on the Midlands Meander, I was asked by Wheels to see what the more senior gentlemen of that area considered the most desirable motor car for a retiree.

I took a quick detour into the various Amber precincts out­ side Howick and quickly con­ firmed that the marque of choice, by a long way, was the Honda, and the Honda of choice was the new CR­V. And it is not just at the Am­ bers where this big Japanese hatch is popular. The Detroit Auto News states the Honda CR­V has been the best­selling SUV in North America for 21 years running due to its stylish car­like design.

Inside I found many little touches that set this compact crossover apart in a tough seg­

For more information on Witness Wheels advertising Contact Avir on 033 355 1152 or 084 278 3447 Avir@witness.co.za The Honda CR­V — ‘the wheels of choice for retired gentlemen’.

PHOTO: HONDA

ment. Built on the Civic plat­ form, it handles well for my speed (and that of the younger fellows at the paper) with all the active and dynamic safety fea­ tures you expect at this price.

The powered tailgate makes loading that much easier and I am happy to say the old wheel­ chair fitted easily into the back.

The leather­trimmed seats offer memorised settings for the driver and the power adjust­ able steering ensure all bodies fit. Modern, muscular curves; beautiful colours and sexy edg­ es complete the package.

Prices range from just under R400 000 to R600 000 for the 4x4 exclusive. My view?

Spend your pensions and enjoy your pleasure.

• When not chatting up ladies in the Ambers, Dr Rob Rathgeber makes sure pilots are fit to fly in the Durban area.

MOTORING WitnessWheels

July 13, 2017

Lightyear to sell solar cars Dutch students to build their proven sun­powered cars by 2019 ALWYN VILJOEN HAVING reported extensively on the solar­powered cars built by Dutch students in Eindhoven, Wheels is happy to report they have now taken the next step — to create a solar car for sale to the public.

Five Solar Team Eindhoven alum­ ni founded Lightyear, including Qur­ ein Biewenga, who did his high school at Waterkloof Hoërskool in Pretoria and now heads finance and operations in the young company.

Co­founder Martijn Lammers ex­ plains they proved their concept in Solar Team Eindhoven by building the revolutionary solar cars Stella and Stella Lux. Both are four­seaters, road legal, solar­powered and winners of two World Solar Challenge world cham­ pionships.

Their next mission is to have a so­ lar car drive one light year in total distance.

“Currently, all cars of the world combined drive one light year, every year. That is 9,5 billion kilometres.

Every year, powered by fossil fuels.

“Our goal is to accelerate the adoption of electric cars so that by 2030, one light year will have been driven electric,” said Lammers.

Lightyear has not yet revealed their new car, but based on what worked in the three iterations in the

Stella solar cars, the Lightyear One willl have hub motors in mountain bike wheels, a lithium­ion battery pack, a wide, low, light body, a 5 m² “roof” to house the solar panels and computer­controlled torque (read “slow”) to save power going uphill.

“Light”, “low” and “slow” are not words that South Africa’s big bakkie buyers want to hear, and Wheels con­ fidently predicts that even the prospect of not paying for fuel ever again will not stop the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux from being the two most sold vehicles locally for many years to come.

But the intrepid engineers at Lightyear are not too perturbed by our current preferences. Lammers said since their solar­powered vehicle does not need a charging infrastruc­ ture, it will be “extremely scalable” in developing countries.

Depending on the battery config­ uration, the group’s current technol­ ogy offers 400 to 800 km of range­ buffered per battery.

Joining these elite young guns in their mission will not be cheap.

The group are currently crowd­ funding the car and are asking a re­ fundable payment of €19 000 (R327 400). This gets investors a res­ ervation on the first 10 Lightyear One cars to be built during 2019, with the next 100 cars expected in 2020.

• alwyn.viljoen@witness.co.za

The Ox has many practical features for rural Africa, like a tailgate that doubles as a ramp.

PHOTO: OXGVT

Ox bakkie for Africa asks the crowd to help fund it DURBAN­BORN supercar designer Gordon Murray, the Norman Trust and the Global Vehicle Trust are running a not­for­profit crowdfund­ ing campaign to build the Ox. Conceived by Sir Torquil Norman, his trust has spent some £3 mil­ lion to bring the Ox project to its current stage, but to get the ro­ bust bakkie that Murray designed for Africa, they now look to philan­ thropists worldwide to contribute to this major humanitarian project.

“Even though 15% of the world’s population lives in Africa, there has never been a vehicle specifically designed and manufactured in vol­ ume to meet the rigours of the continent,” they said.

The Ox is the exception.

Murray designed the bakkie so that several units and their drive­ trains can be flat­packed and shipped in containers, and assem­ bled by a competent mechanic.

The three Ox models built to date show these 4x2 bakkies can scale obstacles designed to chal­ lenge heavy 4x4s. To test the Ox in Africa, they are next hoping to raise £900 000 with support from the crowd.

“This will enable us to continue the journey of the Ox to make a huge impact on the lives of mil­ lions of people around the world,” said Norman.

• More info at http://Oxgvt.com.

3

LOVE OR HATE IT, THE I­PACE IS WHERE THE FUTURE IS GOING ALWYN VILJOEN MINE has been a week of Jag­ uar extremes.

On one side there is the slow schlepp of transferring owner­ ship of a rebuilt 1966 Mark II, as thirsty a fuel guzzler as ever came out of this stable. On the other there is this fast I­Pace.

Jaguar’s all­electric SUV that can be recharged using solar power.

The advent of the I­Pace is being studiously ignored by most of the gnarled members of the local Jaguar club, despite the combined output of almost 300 kW and 700 Nm (sic) gen­ erated by lightweight electric motors at the front and rear ax­ les.

Powered by a 90kWh lithi­ um­ion battery, the I­Pace will be able to accelerate from 0­60 km/h in around four sec­ onds, with a targeted range of more than 500 km.

Charging, says Jaguar, will also be quick — an 80% charge can be achieved in 90 minutes and 100% charge achieved in

‘It’s electric, like my washing machine’ was one reaction by a gnarled member of the local Jaguar club upon news of this futuristic new I­Pace. PHOTO: JAGUAR MEDIA just two hours using 50kW DC fast charging.

The problem for the Jag members, I suspect, is the lack of fire up front. For if we are honest about it, the internal combustion engine gave us cave men the ultimate control over fire and as Mugabe and

Who says you can’t always get what you want?

With the Jaguar XF you get outstanding handling and the dynamic agility of a sports car, paired with the luxurious comfort and style of a sedan.

And when you consider the new 4 cylinder Ingenium Diesel engine delivering 132kW, and the state-of-the-art infotainment system offering advanced connectivity, it’s plain to see XF compromises nothing to give you everything.

Book your test-drive today.

033 897 8860

Zuma know, control is very hard to let go.

The I­Pace goes on sale in the second half of 2018, and will cost over a million rand, but I suspect the gnarled mem­ bers will then be busy adjusting the carburettors of their “real’ Jaguars. As more European cit­

ies ban fuel engines, they may, however, just be onto a new tourism niche in SA, attracting tourists who want to drive in fu­ el burning cars, much like hap­ pened with steam trains.

I certainly hope so, for that will be when the schlepp with the Mk II finally pays off.

WitnessWheels MOTORING RACING

4

July 13, 2017

Ladies show how Cetinich and Lanz hold off three national champs at iDube STUART JOHNSTON THE Idube karting circuit near Ashburton hosted a his­ toric triumph for women driv­ ers on Saturday.

Young Pretoria law student Ivana Cetinich scored a dra­ matic win in Race Two of the fastest and most competitive karting class in kart racing.

She was followed home by fel­ low lady­driver Fabienne Lanz, ahead of three multiple kart­ ing and main circuit National champions.

“It was simply amazing”, said Cetinich after becoming the first female driver to win a DD2 Gearbox race at Na­ tional Championship level.

What made the victory even sweeter was that this was her first win in karting of any de­ scription since she began competing just a few years ago.

Lanz said the 15­lap race felt like “it was 10 laps too long”, a nod to the pressure she had behind, from the likes of Lee­ roy Poulter, Bradley Lieben­ berg and Michael Stephen.

“I really pushed Ivana for the lead at the end and she in fact made a slight mistake on the last lap, but she saved it and held on to win. Well done to her!”

Ed Murray, importer of Ro­ tax karts to this country and the founder of the Rotax series here, said he believes the Rotax National Karting Champion­ ship is the most competitive form of any motorsport cur­ rently being conducted in South Africa.

“Ivana’s win was a real treat, and doubly so when you see the quality of drivers she and Fabienne had behind them — three National Champions in third, fourth and fifth, in the form of Leeroy Poulter, Brad­ ley Liebenberg and Michael Stephen.

Leeroy has competed at Da­ kar and has won the SA off road championships and won National rally championships.

Bradley is a front runner in the GTC2 class in main track rac­ ing, and Michael is a multiple National Touring Car Cham­ pion.

“You can see how competi­ tive our series is by our results in the Rotax World Champi­ onship, where 60 countries take part. We have won 13 world titles there, in the past 17 years.”

The fact that Cetinich and

Spectators will be treated to a bumper weekend of cross­country racing in Harrismith at month end. PHOTO: AWIE VAN DER BERG

Harrismith will be tricky

Above: Maxterino (ages eight to 11) winner Jordan Brooks.

Left: Ivana Cetinich. PHOTO: SPORTSPICS Lanz started on the front row for Race Two was the result of a ruling that sees the grids for races two and three decided by fastest lap time in the prece­ ding race, rather than race re­ sults (Race One grids are de­ cided by individual qualifying laps run before the day’s racing begins.)

Senior winners Poulter was the overall win­ ner of Round Three of the four­round 2017 South Afri­ can Rotax Max Challenge Na­ tional Karting Champion­ ship, after he had two third places and a second.

Benjamin Habig placed sec­ ond overall, followed by Brad Liebenberg.

Habig’s win in the final DD2 race was highly popular, after a difficult weekend on his “home” circuit.

Fourth in the masters for the day was KZN’s Jonathan Pieterse.

Senior Max Challenge, the top non­gearbox class, ended up being a triumph for Cape Town’s Luke Herring. The very experienced former champion driver was the class of the field all weekend, and he logged two straight wins in the opening two races, before hav­ ing to settle for third place in Race Three.

The other race winner in this very competitive field was Jo’burg’s Cameron O’Con­ nor, who endured some diffi­ cult skirmishes in races one and two before finally coming good in the final race.

Cape Town’s Dino Stermin arrived at Idube as the favour­ ite but things didn’t go com­ pletely his way either. He nev­ ertheless survived a 360 de­

gree spin in the final Max Challenge race of the day to just hold off Herring for sec­ ond.

Overall, Herring won the day from returnee Clinton Bezuidenhout, the KZN driver back after a three­year layoff from karting.

Junior racers The field for drivers aged 12 to 15 again proved ultra fast and furious, but KZN’s Dominic Lincoln used his homeground advantage to grab his first win.

Lincoln is coached by former World 250cc karting champion Wade Nelson, a long­time KZN resident.

In the other two races Lin­ coln had to give best to Sebas­ tian Boyd, who scored two fine wins and a third place to head the day’s standings, while in third place Cape Town’s Charl Visser showed super­quick pace and determination.

Mini racers Among the drivers aged 10 to 13 Leyton Fourie had a field day, but he had to work very hard for every win, despite leading just about every lap at Idube.

Second for the day was the ever­improving Daniel de Pai­ va, enjoying a fine season, and he engaged in some great dog­ fights with Kai van Zyl in third place.

Micro Max The class with the youngest racers, Micro Max, allows drivers aged seven to 11.

Here the overall winner was Joshua de Paiva who had some almighty scraps with Mandla Mlangeni, a relative newcom­ er to this level of racing, and a talent to watch.

Mandla finished second for

FIRST FOR DURBAN’S HYMAN FOUR Mzansi racers stood on podiums in Europe this past weekend.

Durban­born Raoul Hyman (21) delivered a masterful performance to win the sec­ ond GP3 race at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix meeting.

Cape Town’s Jonathan Ab­ erdein (19) had his best re­ sult yet, with a second place in the German ADAC Formu­ la 4 season. Endurance racer Nick Adcock and the Ginetta team claimed second spot despite several mishaps in a sweltering Misano, Italy.

In Canada, Cape Town’s

Stephen Simpson was sec­ ond in the Sportscar Grand Prix on Sunday.

Born in Durban, Hyman’s motorsport career started fairly late at the age of 12, but he made up for it on Saturday, claiming pole posi­ tion for the reverse grid race with a strong drive to eighth in the opening race, and then had himself a lights­to­ flag race at Spielberg’s Red Bull Ring. “My first win in my fourth race in GP3 is huge for me but I could never do that without the team that I have around me, so it’s huge

the day, ahead of the more ex­ perienced, but very quick Mu­ hammed Wally, Jayden Goos­ en and Mohammed Moerat.

Maxterino 60 The Maxterino 60cc class for ages eight to 11 saw less than one second separating the top six driver at the end of Race One and that pretty much set the scene from there on in.

Aqil Alibhai won that first race, but it was Jordan Brooks who won races two and three, with Aqil second on both oc­ casions. So Jordan took the win for the day.

Third overall was Tate Bish­ op. Sixth placed Troy Dolin­ schek was particularly unlucky to be involved in a tangle in Race Three, after placing in the top three in Race Two and contending for the lead on oc­ casion.

The fourth and final round of the 2017 South African Ro­ tax Max Challenge National Karting Championship takes place at the Zwartkop Kart Raceway on September 23.

The winners of the DD2, DD2 masters, Max Challenge, Junior Max, Mini Max and Mi­ cro Max championships will each receive a sponsored invi­ tation to compete in the 2017 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal in Novem­ ber, where champions from 60 countries will take part.

NEW events on the calendar always ramp up interest and the Harrismith 400 on July 28 to 29, fourth round of the South African Cross Country Series (SACCS), will be no different.

The event will be based at the Ee­ ram Farmers Complex on the out­ skirts of the bustling agricultural ar­ ea of Harrismith in the eastern Free State, and will start the second half of the season for crews in the Auto and Moto championships.

The event will bring with it typical Highveld terrain with fast, flowing and undulating sandy tracks and close championship battles add to the air of expectation that surrounds the event.

“There has been incredible sup­ port from the local community and businessman and former cross­ country competitor Kobus van Ton­ der,” said route director Adri Roets.

“At this time of year conditions will be dry and dusty, but the route has a few surprises that will test com­ petitors.”

There will be an early start for the

Moto brigade on Friday, July 28.

The Moto and Auto routes also of­ fer numerous vantage points for spectators, public entry to these are­ as is free of charge and there will also be an invitation race for Northern Re­ gions and KwaZulu­Natal regional competitors.

The main race starts at 8 am on Saturday, July 29, with the local Vroue Landbou Unie and farmers supplying meals, snacks and bevera­ ges throughout the weekend.

Cross­country enthusiasts can al­ so follow the fortunes of their favour­ ite teams at home or in the office on the RallySafe App, which can be downloaded free of charge, for iOS or Android systems. The app is user friendly and enthusiasts can follow the race via maps that chart the progress of each car with split and overall times.

Local cross­country heroes Jac­ ques van Tonder and Charan Moore will both be eying this event in their home province as a chance for im­ provement on their standings.

EAST COAST

ENGINE IMPORTS

QUALITY USED LOW MILEAGE ENGINES AND GEABOXES

WE OFFER DELIVERY INTO DURBAN AND PMB ON ENGINE AND GEARBOX PURCHASES

Brand New Turbos for most makes of vehicles

FOR THE LEXUS V8 ENTHUSIASTS WE OFFER • Pre-Wired Lexus V8 1UZ VVTI complete with automatic gearbox • Pre-Wired Lexus V8 3UZ VVTI complete with automatic gearbox • Brand new and second hand original spares and service parts • Our pre-wired original OEM mnagement is ready for installation with only 6 wires to connect • All units are bench tested

• Top Quality used low mileage engines and gearboxes for most makes and models of cars and light delivery vehicles • Heads • Turbos • Diffs • Lexus spares • New and Second hand • We stock local stock as well

Raoul Hyman delivered a masterful performance to win the second GP3 race at Sunday’s Austrian Grand Prix meeting. His next race is the British Grand Prix, which is to be held at Silverstone on Sunday.

PHOTOS: MOTOR SPORT MEDIA

CV Joint speCialists

thanks to Adrian and the entire Campos team and to my dad and my manage­ ment team,” he said.

for CV joints, ball joints, tie rod ends, wheel bearings.

341 GReYlinG stReet Pmb. 033 342 9174/75

Our friend dly sales s team m is s equip pped to de eal with h all en nqu uiries and ha ave a weallth of know wledg ge in the moto orin ng field d. We pride e ou ursellves in n deliveriing exception nal serv rviice and d products to o our clie ents and thereforre have a stringent ality check process s in plac ce to make sure that every produc ct complies s with qua our requirem ments an nd is in to op order.

Tel: Cell:

035 789 0464 53 Bullion Boulevard 035 789 0754 Richards Bay CBD 084 357 1082 Richards Bay eastcoastengines@gmail.com