SARL News

SARL Open Wheel 2011 Series

2011-03-26T13:07:00.000+02:00

Due to popular demand we have created the SARL Open Wheel 2011 Series which will run over the course of the year with more or less one race per month, loosely following the real Formula 1 calendar.

It is starting this Monday the 28th March, with the first race at Melbourne, so sign-up a.s.a.p. if you intend to participate.

rF 2011 Summer Series - now open for registration

2011-02-16T15:37:00.001+02:00

Details here.
Forum discussion here.

ETCC Series - Summer 2010 Season now open

2010-02-26T16:30:00.000+02:00

Click Me!

NASCAR Series - Summer 2010 Season now open for registration

2010-02-07T20:28:00.000+02:00

Click Me!

Winter 2009 Season - Champions

2010-01-16T13:01:00.000+02:00

Congratulations to the champions of the 2009 Winter Season!

SARL rF Series - Liaan van der Merwe (4 poles and 3 victories from 7 events)
SARL NASCAR Series - Brian Britz (8 poles and 6 victories from 11 events)
SARL LFS Series - Darryn Lobb (8 victories from 31 events)

Nascar Series, Winter 2009 Season - Registration now open

2009-08-17T16:25:00.000+02:00

- Complete Series Information
- Rules
- Registration instructions

Summer Season 2009 - Champions

2009-07-04T20:51:00.000+02:00

Congratulations to the champions of the 2009 Summer Season!

SARL rF Series - Zaahir Essa (9 poles and 8 victories from 10 events)
SARL NASCAR Series - Brian Britz (7 poles and 8 victories from 11 events)
SARL LFS Series - Zaahir Essa (13 victories from 15 events)

Summer Season 2009 - Start Dates

2009-02-18T20:12:00.000+02:00

19 February - SARL Nascar Series
23 February - SARL rF Series
25 February - SARL LFS Series

Here weeeee gooooo!!!

Spring Season 2008 Champions

2009-02-07T14:01:00.003+02:00

Congratulations to all of you who reigned supreme as champions of your respective series over the past season. Well done!

SARL rF Series - Marc van Niekerk
SARL Nascar Series - Brian Britz
SARL LFS Series - Pieter Geldenhuys

Spring is in the air!

2008-08-31T18:24:00.003+02:00

That's right, the 2008 Spring Season is here...

Start dates:
21 August - SARL LFS Series
8 September - SARL rF Series
17 September - SARL Nascar Series

Gentlemen, stop sniffing those daisies and start your engines!

SARL rF Series Champion - Summer 2008

2008-07-09T18:50:00.004+02:00

Reporter: Dewald Batt

Some say his teeth glow in the dark, and that if you tune your radio to 88.4 FM you can actually hear his thoughts. All we know is, he’s called Marc van Niekerk.
Yes folks, The Crocodile finally managed to get his grubby hands on a SARL championship trophy.
Nobody knows how he managed such a feat, but he assures us that no artificial methods were used in the process.

The season started off with a bang as two youngsters in the form of Team McColl decided to trade in their toys and ruffle some feathers amongst the big boys of local sim-racing. At first they had it all their way, but resident crony, Marc van Niekerk had had enough and decided to leave the comfort of the old-age-home to "show these youngsters how it's done".

With 4 impressive victories and consistant podium finishes, he managed to stay one step ahead of the competition and wrap up an impressive season, much to the delight of his regular Thursday night Bingo group.
Second place in the championship belonged to veteran, Dewald Batt, who managed to worm his way into the runner-up spot with a few(rumoured) dubious admin rulings and a near perfect attendance record.
Team McColl didn't go home empty handed however as older half, Ratang managed an impressive 3rd place finish in his debut season.

The season also had it's fair share of new faces stepping onto the grid for the first time, most of them in awe of resident alien, Zaahir Essa's impromptu visits to earth.
Thanks to everyone involved and cya all next season!

SARL LFS Series Champion - Summer 2008

2008-05-23T20:17:00.006+02:00

Reporter: Pieter Kitshoff

A big congratulations Steven Pelser, our 2008 Summer Season champion!

After some great victories and ever consistent podium results, Steven emerged as our deserved champion. It was a hard fought championship with multiple previous champion, Charles Mckowen breathing down his neck all the way through into the last race with all to play for.

Congratulations as well to Team MCS770 (Steven Pelser / Pieter Geldenhuys) for taking the honors in the team championship . Well done guys.

Thanks must go to all of the drivers who participated this season, I think I can honestly say that it was one of the best so far, with some great racing and great attitudes shown by all.

2008-03-12T21:09:00.003+02:00

New GT season details anounced for 2008

2008-02-17T17:06:00.001+02:00

Click here for all the details.
Registration is now open!

New rF season details anounced for 2008

2008-02-16T14:58:00.002+02:00

Click here for all the details.
Registration will open on 18 February.
The season will start on 25 February.
In the meantime keep an eye on this thread for more info.

New LFS season details anounced for 2008

2008-02-16T14:53:00.003+02:00

Click here for all the details.
Registration is now open!

Bye bye 2007

2008-01-04T08:57:00.000+02:00

A hearty congratulations to each of the following drivers who managed to reign supreme in their respective series' during the last season(2nd half of 2007 except for GP Series, which ran throughout most of the year).

SARL rF Series - Lawrence McKelvin
SARL GP Series - Dewald Batt
SARL LFS Series - Chase Gunther
SARL GT Series (GT) - Karl Strachan
SARL GT Series (nGT) - Arno von Mansberg

So there you have your "Wanted" list for 2008...it's now up to each and every driver to ensure that this band of hooligans are brought to justice in the new season!

SARL GP Series Champion 2007

2007-12-01T02:37:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
9 races, 6 different winners and 7 months in the making saw Dewald Batt take overall championship honours in a highly competitive series. Dewald had to fight hard until the very end to secure the championship and he did just that by winning the last race comfortably. Our worthy champion won 2 and finished 8 of the races, showing his overall skills, consistency and being able to handle the pressure.

Well done!

Runaway Train

2007-12-01T02:33:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
The boys were damn lucky to be able to race at Road Atlanta. The track was reopened just days before the race after a chemical spill caused the tarmac to break up and killing all the trees for 10 square miles. Even the pit buildings and stands had to be bulldozed before the officials could declare the track safe. Apparently it was due to a Green Peace experiment gone wrong.

A small number of racers turned up for the event after Sir Richard finally pulled the plug on the sponsorship deal, but the boys were happy to see old timer Chris Browne back in the paddock and also welcomed Pieter Geldenhuys to the brotherhood on loan from LFS. read more...

Last Man Standing

2007-12-01T02:29:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
Watkins Glen was the last race of a long, competitive and hard season for the GP'79 drivers. To top it off 2 drivers, Marc van Niekerk and Marc Wright, were still in with a chance of catching Dewald Batt in the championship battle.

Being in the good old US of A everyone had to put up with the citizens, fireworks, flyby's, pom-pom girls and what not before the race proper could get underway. Being the final race of the series, most drivers actually enjoyed the distractions, most notably Craig Hume and his Renault. With the Green Piece contingent still stuck at the over-efficient airport security he could show off his ride with pride to all the locals who believes that bigger is always better. read more...

Until the party almost came to an abrupt end when one huge Texan, simply known as Bud wanted to buy Craig's car there and then. Cash. Real Dollars. I kid you not. Even offered an oil well to boot. When it was pointed out to Bud that being yellow does not necessarily mean it's a Chevy and that the 220 fuel tank capacity is measured in litres rather than gallons, he still refused to relent. Only when Ken Hunter illustrated that the rear wing is in fact not a gun rack did Bud back off. Reluctantly.

The pit-lane was eventually cleared and all concerned could start to focus on the business at hand. Zaahir Essa took the customary pole with championship contenders Batt and Wright dishing it out hard for 2nd place on the grid. Van Niekerk opted to take a pass on qualifying after his engineer advised him that his welded together rear suspension would in all probability last 10 laps at the most.

The race turned out to be a typical last race of the season. With the exception of the championship contenders, most guys were focussed on the after party and ended their race prematurely in order to get the best seats at the bar. Essa was leading with Batt staying in touch with Wright for the first part, later overtaking him. Essa showed he was human after all which gave Batt the lead and when Wright suffered connection problems, the championship was all but Dewald's. Except that van Niekerk was still running and in 2nd place. Any slip of concentration by the leader could mean falling at the last hurdle.

Dewald managed to absorb the pressure and kept it all together taking the win and with it a well deserved championship.

And Craig? Well, seems like the mysterious white powder never really got flushed from the system. Intermittent misfiring and 4 pitstops later he managed to bring the Renault home in the final podium spot. Getting the worst spot at the bar and no sale of the century to Bud. But nobody can take away the shiny new trophy in the closet.

It was a great bunch of guys running in a great series. Thanks to all who competed and did their contribution to make it fun. Till next time.

The Ring

2007-12-01T02:22:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
We all make mistakes sometimes. We all stuff up from time to time. And then some of us get lost.

After a highly successful GP race at Monza the rFactor boys had the world at their feet Hotel corridors were clammered up with big shots wanting to sign exclusive advertising deals, promotions and even free gifts. Unfortunately the boys had earned themselves a well earned rest and with no racing due the following week everyone went about their own way. And of course missed the deal of a lifetime when Sir Richard signed a deal promising to book the Nordschleife Tourist venue for exclusive use on the following race Monday, provided the boys make exclusive use of Virgin Atlantic for all their travels. read more...

The Italian Job

2007-11-04T05:51:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
The hardcore SARL fly boys were at it again. This time it was Monza. Second last race of the GP '79 championship. Ferrari vs Lotus vs Ligier plus the odd politically incorrect, fuel guzzling, ozone layer damaging Renault to boot. The only thing around running hotter than the Renault was the battle for final championship honours.

During open practice the three main contenders for the championship - Dewald Batt, Marc van Niekerk and Marc Wright played their cards close to the chest by lapping with race setups and not showing their real pace. The electricity in the air could be cut by a knife and the crowd were worked into a frenzy during the qualifying session where Marc W managed to go sub 1min39 in his Ferrari, closely followed by Marc vN in a Lotus and Dewald in another Ferrari. Being the exact opposite of the current standings in the championship, the race could not have been scripted better. Neels Botha did very well to qualify in 4th place.

At the race start, all got way cleanly, but on lap 1 Marc W ran wide and through the gravel trap at Curva del Vialone, dropping down to 4th place and championship leader Dewald, then in 2nd, spun on the entry to Parabolica, loosing his front wing in the process. He had to take a detour via pit-lane and dropped down to 11th and last place.

Dewald immediately set out to claw back as many places as he could, with Marc W determined to try and chase down Marc vN. A softly audible cheer went up from somewhere in the woods when the Renault of Craig Hume expired on lap 12. Reports that the local police escourted a handful of Green Peace protesters away from the track soon afterwards for not having valid entry tickets could not be confirmed at this stage. Suggestions of a mysterious white powder found in one of the protesters pockets were also being brushed aside as hogwash.

Driver of the day, Neels ended up finishing 3rd, showing his good qualifying pace was not a fluke. A driver to watch out for the future. Up front Marc vN held off a late charging Marc W for the win. Dewald managed to work his way up to 5th in the end, behind Andre van Staden.

Although this was not a race to be remembered by the crowd, it had the effect of setting up the final race at Watkins Glen perfectly - already touted as the mother of all races with Dewald clinging on to a slender 3 points lead over Marc vN, followed by Marc W a further 6 points behind. The battle for 4th is also not over yet, with Andre, Ken Hunter and Leon Coxen all in contention.

Stay tuned.

Shark tale

2007-09-13T10:08:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
Osterreichring was the 3rd last race of the GP 1979 series. The track is fast, with flowing corners and an out of place turn 1 chicane with high kerbs, blind turn-in and a bumpy surface. The venue also introduced Craig Hume to the ranks of SARL.

Leon dominated qualifying needing only one flying lap to secure pole. The rest of the drivers all did a second run trying their utmost to force Leon to defend his spot at the top but to no avail. read more...

At the start the field lost both Louan and Justin, but up front it was business as usual. Leon in his Ligier, determined to make amends for his disappointment at Silverstone, lead the way being chased hard by the Ferrari of Marc W. Series leader Dewald was running in 3rd followed by Andre. Marc vN in the Lotus had another slow pull away from the line and slowly started to make his way back into contention.

The difficult turn 1 was waiting to strike with its high kerbs sticking out from the gravel and tarmac like a sharks fin from the water. Neels became the first casualty on lap 4 and found himself beached. The tightly bunched field came thundering down the main straight on the next lap taking the blind rise into turn 1 only to be met by the sight of a beached Ferrari.

Leon played the role of the battering ram slamming hard into the Ferrari and losing a wheel in the process. Marc W threw his Ferrari into a spin to avoid the accident and Marc vN took the option of going for the gap created by the bulldozing Ligier coming to a stop inches from Leon's rear wing. Dewald also took the option to put his Ferrari into a spin.

Once the smoke had cleared and visibility improved, Leon was still leading in his stricken 3 wheeled Ligier, followed by Marc vN, Marc W and Dewald - who also suffered some damage from the incident.

With Leon about to retire the focus shifted to the 2 Marcs racing hard up front. Dewald - having to nurse his car to the finish still 22 laps away, the battle for 3rd between Andre and a relatively inexperienced Rick also started to hot up.

Rick stayed close and studied his adversary and on lap 22 he took advantage of getting better drive out of the shark chicane to take 3rd. He kept a cool head and warded off all attacks and eventually took his first podium by a second from Andre.

Don was quietly running a consistent race and managed to haul in Dewald and pass him on the last lap for a well deserved 5th place. First timer Craig did very well to finish and Gary rounded up the last of the finishers.

Up front Marc W kept Marc vN honest for most of the race, but the Ferrari driver had to back off towards the end in order to conserve fuel giving Lotus their first win of the season.

Next stop is Monza.

No thanks given in Turkey

2007-08-30T09:58:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
Most guys made the trip down to Turkey safely for the first sprint races of the season. The Zonda was built for speed, and speed was what the spectators were going to get. But that was not all...
Early practice saw the usual suspects Zaahir and Lawrence running away from the rest and it came as no surprise when they qualified 1/2 for race 1. read more...

Low Flying at Westhill

2007-08-22T00:23:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Rikus Jordaan

The second stop on the Winter series took the racers to the Westhill circuit. After a very successful first event where the two cars being fielded this season matched up nicely drivers of the slightly slower UFR where noticeably nervous as the circuit was full of high speed corners where the UFR’s agility would perhaps not match the speed of the XFR.

Throughout practice sessions during the week it became apparent that the UFR was at less of a loss than most expected and that competition for top lap times would be stiff. Attendance at practice looked good and expectations were high for another full field come Thursday.. Read More...

On race day drivers arrived early to squeeze in a last bit of practice before qualifying started. After an intense qualifying session Anton Tcholakov took the pole with Rowan Becker taking the remaining front row spot followed closely by Hansie Myburgh. With the two of the three fastest times coming from UFR’s it was clear that fears of a one way battle where proved wrong and the drivers where eager to get underway.

The sprint race got underway with two drivers unfortunately having false starts, which required them to complete a penalty Drive-through. This saw Rowan Becker dropping down from 2nd to 10th position. The first lap saw some intense action with drivers swapping several positions within the space of half a lap. Most notably Anton Tchokalov dropped from pole position to 16th place and Hansie Myburgh dropped from 2nd place to second last. Some skillful driving from these racers saw them work themselves back up the field. Steven Pelser made use of all this confusion to move up 5 places to 2nd position within half a lap and took the lead on the next lap. The race ended with Steven Pelser winning the race followed by Keith Macfarlane and Gary Klinkert. After their unfortunate starts Anton Tchokalov, Rowan Becker and Hansie Myburgh managed to fight there way back into the points.

The main race kicked off with less confusion than the sprint but saw the previous race winner unfortunately dropping to almost the back of the pack. From the get go it was clear that it was going to be an intense race. 24 laps of this long course meant that there was a lot of time to play catch up for the few drivers who slipped up in the sprint race. It also meant a lot of time to try to not slip up for the front runners. The race proceeded with nothing more serious than a few bumps and spins, which cost positions but lucky not the entire race.

The competition was fierce and drivers where pushing their cars to the limit. It seems that everyone was in a battle for position the entire race, with several battles so intense that positions where swapped numerous times per lap. Despite this Rowan Becker managed to secure an early lead and led the race from lap 2 to the finish. Hansie Myburgh started in 6th and quickly made up the positions to lead the pack at the end of the 1st lap. He however slipped back to 6th place but fought his way up again to end the race in 2nd place. Anton Tchokalov started in 4th place, briefly fell back to 6th place, but managed to work his way back up the field to claim the last podium spot. Honorable mention goes to Pieter Kitshoff who, after having his sprint race interrupted, started from the back of the grid and fought his way past 2/3 of the field climbing an amazing 12 places.

A Bumpy Ride

2007-08-19T03:03:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
Sebring International Raceway - one of the oldest race tracks in the USA, started off as a Military airfield where pilots were trained flying B17 bombers. Parts of the track today still use some of the old runways used before 1950. Old concrete slabs taking the brunt of trainee pilots slamming their heavy B-17's down upon them were allowed to live out the rest of their days baking in the sun. Bumpy in places should come as no surprise. Add 22 crazy South African rFactor drivers eager to get the new season underway and one has a recipe of good times ahead.

The new season also introduced a policy change in that drivers now would be allowed to run the full distance without having a pitstop enforced. This was mainly due to the fact that the Panoz offers 5 different tire compounds, giving the drivers to come up with some pretty ballsy strategies and in future hopefully with some inspired ones too. read more...

Zaahir Essa showed during practice that he meant business and smoked the field with a blistering 2:04. Qualifying saw more of the same with Lawrence finishing second and MarcW in 3rd.

Race time would be all about keeping the cars out of the walls, coping with the bumps and pit stategies With Essa having the pace to stop as many times as he liked, it was up to the rest to decide on running either pedal to the metal on grippy rubber, or sacrificing speed and grip, but saving up to 40 seconds in not having to pit.

Essa cleared off in the distance when the lights went green, followed by MarcW, Dewald and Shayne. Lawrence suffered from pc issues and had to pull off the track for a short while hoping the problem would sort itself out. The first non-stopper, MarcvN was running in 5th being harassed by Craig 'Frosty' Hattingh.

Kim had a fun scrap with Marius and Kevin, swapping places a couple of times, while Dean received a stop/go penalty. Rick nearly blew his engine trying to pull away in neutral, but recovered to finish in 9th eventually, while Steve had an unfortunate race incident which ended his race rather prematurely.

Lawrence was on the come back trail and started to make up places from 15th at the end of lap 1. Up front Essa was having his own way while Dewald had to fight hard to keep Shayne at bay.

Most guys opted for a 1 stop strategy and once the pitstops were done for the day, the only change up front was that MarcvN had moved up to 2nd. MarcW immediately set his sights on getting 2nd place back and the battle between Dewald and Shayne continued.

MarcW started to gain and on the last lap managed to squeeze by MarcvN - who by that time was running on his rims. The battle for 4th was decided by 0.1 of a second, Dewald pipping Shayne to the post. Lawrence finished a credible 6th after having to fight his way through the field, followed by Frosty. Charl was 8th and in another tight battle, Rick finished less than 2 seconds ahead of both Leon and Marius.

I case anyone wondered, Essa took the win by a country mile.

Which strategy was the best? The jury is still out, but Mosport will maybe help in finding the answers. Who will stick to their guns and their strategy, or will the 1 stoppers all opt for non stopping and vice versa? The answers will have to wait a while - next stop is Istanbul for some Zonda sprints.

Battle of Britain

2007-08-04T05:31:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
Silverstone - built originally as an airfield in 1943, after the Battle of Britain - it was the scene of camaraderie, brotherhood and honour, but it also had its fair share of heartache and loss.

Fast forward to 2007 - a mild summer afternoon in July and the Ghosts of Silverstone were awakened by the roar of vintage 1979 engines. The SARL (fly)boys were here!
read more...

Early practice was dominated by Lawrence in a Lotus, but qualifying saw Leon in a Ligier take pole by 0.1 of a second from Lawrence and the Ferrari of MarcW in 3rd.

Scramble! The lights for the race start went green at 14:00 sharp, and what a race it turned out to be. Leon and Lawrence had an all out battle for the honour of leading, which went to the Lotus driver a couple of corners later.

The real dogfight was for 3rd place, where MarcW, MarcvN, Andre, Dewald and Chris were flying in tight formation trying to outwit each other. Positions during the first quater of the race were won and lost continuously - sometimes one would make up a place during a lap, only to loose it again a few corners later on the same lap. Although the guys were going hammer and tongs, side by side, nose to tail, sometimes with only inches of separation, the result report has shown no contact what so ever occurred during the initial mad dash for position. Feather in the cap for all concerned.

All good things must come to and end sometime and Silverstone was no exception. Up front Lawrence was still under pressure from Leon when a misunderstanding between Lawrence and a straggler saw the Lotus loose a front wheel - back in the dogfight the initial rush of adrenaline had seen off Chris and MarcW. Andre had moved into the 2nd position vacated once Lawrence had to call it a day, closely followed by Dewald and MarcvN.

As the laps started to tick away, Dewald missed a waypoint somewhere and Leon was comfortably cruising to a well deserved win - or was he?

At the start of the 34th and final lap, Leon had a 20 second lead over Andre, but with the knowledge that not all was well in the cockpit. The ground crew had inexplicably miscalculated the fuel needed and coming down Farm Straight the Ligier engine started to splutter, cough and eventually died. One corner and a small straight to go and Leon was driving dead stick. Wingman Rick was close by and as Leon's speed started to bleed off, he tried to push his teammate across the finish line.

Andre came thundering down the straight realising too late that the Ligier combination in the front of his windscreen were going very slow and 20 meters short of the finish line 3 Ligiers combined as one, parts flying every where. When the dust had settled and the video was reviewed, the win was given to Andre by a mere .2 of a second. MarcvN - with debris also bouncing of his Lotus finished 1.3 seconds behind Leon. Dewald finished 4th and Ken in 5th.

Just another day in the lives of the rfactor pilots. As the stunned crowd slowly made their way the the exits, one could see the Ghosts of Silverstone quietly nodding their approval. These boys have what it takes.

Thunder in the Wood

2007-07-30T07:00:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Rikus Jordaan
Amid the smells of exhaust fumes and burnt rubber the 2007 SARL LFS Series got underway last Thursday at the ever popular Blackwood GP Racecourse. The new season introduces a new racing format where drivers had to choose between the powerful XF GTR and the more nimble UF GTR for the entire season. The choice was a difficult one where drivers had to examine their own driving style‘s strengths and weaknesses and would undoubtedly lead to some very entertaining racing!
After almost having to postpone the Winter Series due to sponsors nearly backing out drivers were eager to hit the track. A very encouraging test session a week earlier meant that the cars were primed and very little tuning was needed with drivers spending most of their practice sessions working on refining their lines. This was reflected by some impressive lap times during practice. The new season sees some new drivers joining the Series, their lap times showing exceptional promise. read more...

At the start of qualifying the atmosphere was mostly subdued with drivers focusing on getting every bit of speed they could from their chosen weapon, honed to the extreme during long practice sessions. The lap times began to tumble as drivers found their rhythm. Halfway through the qualifying eyebrows began to rise at the noted absence of the previous season’s champion, Charles McKowen. Qualifying ended with Willem Horak taking a well deserved Pole Position and McKowen still nowhere to be seen.

Bare seconds after the lights turned green McKowen appeared at the end of the grid, seemingly out of nowhere, to join the race. Turn 1 came and went without major incident and drivers sped down the Blackwood back straight to begin their quest for points. The Sprint race continued without major incident, with the top ten drivers getting into a nice rhythm and finishing within half a lap of each other, attesting to how equal the two cars could be this season. Horak led the race from start to finish and took the checkered flag with a comfortable lead of 8 seconds over his team mate Pieter Kitshoff with Hansie Myburgh from Team BP-SA taking third place.

It was in the Main race the battle began in earnest. Never has this reporter witnessed a more entertaining race. Overtaking was the order of the day with positions being swapped several times per lap. Horak again led the race from lap one summoning an immense turn of speed from his UF GTR. McKowen drove an inspiring race, starting from 13th position only to take second position during lap 3. His race met an untimely end during lap 23 when he unsettled and rolled his car. Fortunately he escaped unscathed. Keith Macfarlane, after having some difficulties at the start, took up second position after McKowen crashed himself out of the race. Hansie Myburgh, whose car was suffering strange steering difficulties his team was struggling to correct and who was in third position most of the race, ran out of fuel within sight of the finish line, and had to settle for 6th place. This reporter questioned Myburgh in the pits after the race; he merely smiled and stated “that’s racing for you…” Third place on the podium went to Gary Klinkert, who fought his way from 16th position gaining an incredible 13 positions during the race! Truly inspired driving from Klinkert. An honorable mention must go out to Pieter Geldenhuys, one of the new drivers this season, who started virtually at the back of the field and gained 10 positions to finish in the top ten.

On a more alarming note, controversy seems to have come early to this season. Shortly following the race SARL officials received two anonymous tip-offs regarding possible cheating by drivers. The names of the accused have not yet been released, but this reporter has managed acquire some information regarding the accusations. Apparently one or more of the driver may be “Extra-Terrestrials”. This reporter is unsure exactly what is meant by this, but endeavors to keep digging until the truth is revealed. The other tip-off is regarding the possible use of unsanctioned additives in the fuel. It is rumored the driver may have made use of an Avgas mixture to gain an advantage over the other drivers. This reporter contacted SARL for comment who only stated that the matters are being investigated.

What will become of these accusations? Does this set the mood for the rest of the season? Only time will tell. One thing is sure; it’s going to be an interesting season….

SARL LFS Series "Winter 2007" registration open

2007-07-12T10:11:00.001+02:00

Yup, that's right.
Registrations are open for the new season, so hurry up and check/discuss the details here.

Interviews with Charles McKowen and Philip Woodhouse

2007-06-24T01:28:00.000+02:00

Our intrepid reporters tracked down two of our recently crowned champions, Charles McKowen (LFS Series) and Philip Woodhouse (V8 Series). You can read Charles' full interview here and Phil's one here. Stay tuned for more interviews as the rest of the champions are crowned.

California Crunch

2007-06-19T10:55:00.000+02:00

Reporter: Marc van Niekerk
The GP 1979 boys flew off to some hot sunny weather, golden beaches and even hotter company for the 4th race of the series. Practice time was put on hold until the very last opportunity for most. Everyone was in for a rude awakening when confronted with the track conditions on race day. Low grip street course surrounded by car killing walls made all wish they had spent less time on the beach for this 40 lap race.

Qualifying saw Marc vN take pole, with Andre second and comfortable series leader Dewald, in 3rd.

At the start Andre and Dewald got away fast leaving the rest of the field to squabble and try to settle down for a long afternoon. The attrition rate was high as expected and by lap 10, Long Beach had claimed half the field with only 7 drivers still circulating. Up front Andre had been under pressure from Dewald and Marc was slowly making his way up to Dewald's rear wing after getting by Leon.A small slip-up saw Andre in a Ligier - who had settled into a consistent pace - slowly escaping the grasp of Dewald who suddenly had to contend with Marc. The battle for 2nd place between the Ferrari and the Lotus became a battle of wills - both drivers pushing hard, yet mindful of the fact that the smallest lapse of concentration or miscalculation on a difficult track would end their race. As the lap counter slowly ticked down to zero, Andre drove the perfect race - fast and consistent. He ended up being the well deserved winner by 8 seconds - leading all 40 laps.

Dewald never wilted under the pressure and finished 2nd with Marc taking the last podium spot. Newcomer Leon had a quiet race for most of the afternoon and took 4th place, showing that he has what it takes by managing to finish yet another race. Ken finished in a credible 5th place after suffering an accident late in the race.

The next race in Dijon marks the halfway spot for the season. Do not miss this one!

French Resistance

2007-06-03T01:54:00.000+02:00

The Touring Cars were at Magny-Cours this week and the drivers put on a show not to be forgotten. In qualifying Dave showed his double win at Monza was no fluke by blitzing the field, but 2nd to 6th were separated by less than 0.2. A technical issue saw the qualifying results scrapped and the first race started with random grid positions.

Dave got his customary great start and immediately started to open a gap. Behind him Chris managed to slot into 2nd followed by Kim, Shayne and Andre. Shayne and Andre mugged Kim early on and all 3 closed down Chris to start an intense battle for 2nd place using all the road and abusing the tyres. Shayne managed a great pass in T2 to take the place, but Chris and Andre were right back in the fight with a layer of paint separating the 3 cars. Chris finally managed to get back into 2nd then put his Accord into the wall exiting the last turn taking him out of the fight. Shayne, Andre and Kim, all in similar SEAT Leons carried on the fun until the end of the race, which was won by Dave with Shayne 2nd and Andre 3rd.

Race 2 was a different story with Arno getting his Peugeot 407 into T1 in the lead from pole, followed by Chris and Dave. Chris made a move into the Adelaide hairpin for the lead but before 2nd could be sorted Shayne arrived with locked wheels and collided with Andre who then slid into Arno. This let Chris and Dave followed by Kim get away from the pack early on. Chris was driving a defensive race, using the low speed advantage of his Accord to counter the slight power advantage of Daves BMW. Dave made 3 attempts to get past at Adelaide, finally making the 3rd one stick and was then able to open a small gap - it looked as if he was going to be able to cruise to a 4th successive victory until an uncharacteristic spin at 180 allowed Chris to close right up. Chris could smell a win and tried everything to get past, but Dave held it together until the end to take a well deserved win ahead of Chris and Kim.

There is now a 2 week break before the drivers again meet, at the classic Touring Car track Brands Hatch - an event not to be missed!

Close shave at Imola

2007-06-02T00:53:00.000+02:00

With a field full of nGT Porsches, the single Ferrari of Pedre and solitary support class Gillet Vertigo of Chris looked very much under German assault. Roger showed strong pace early on and led the nGT field away on their hour long battle around the Imola circuit. As the crew stormed into turn 1, Kim seemed to be suffering from a fit of some sorts and proceeded to hop uncontrollably over the inside of the corner into oncoming traffic. Contact was made, but not enough to hamper anyone's chances...except for Kim himself who fell to the back of the field.
Roger led the way early on, followed closely by Charl, Arno and Dewald. Unfortunately for the "Mooning" leader, lap 6 saw him fall out of the lead into 4th and in subsequent efforts to make up for lost time, he eventually retired from the race on lap 16 with suspension failure. Just before the round of pitstops, Arno conceded 2nd position to Dewald, but managed to retake his position by leapfrogging him in the pits. Charl made the best of his stop and exited with a lead of about 10 seconds, as Arno and Dewald started to launch a dual effort to reel in the flying Smit. Although Charl maintained a solid pace, the pace of the chasing duo was enough to render his lead non-existent with only a couple of laps to go. Dewald passed Arno on the penultimate lap and shot into 2nd with hopes of snatching the lead in similar fashion. In one of the closest finishes in recent times, Charl managed to barely hold on to his victory(his first race back after extended holiday) with a winning margin of 0.1 seconds over Dewald in 2nd, who in turn held off Arno...resulting in the top 3 drivers finishing wihtin 1 second of each other. Such a close finish over a hour long race says much for the competitive nature of this series.

BMW Dominates at Monza

2007-05-27T05:50:00.000+02:00

After a rocky start with technical issues the Touring Car series got underway. A little late and a driver short, the drivers were faced with their first hurdle - wet qualifying. Despite being new territory for most of the drivers Chris mangaged to secure pole by just 0.055 from Dave.

Race 1 started with Dave getting a great start and he led into turn 1 from Chris and Craig. Andre and Shayne were locked in a great battle for 4th (despite Shayne only taking delivery of his car that day). At the front a hard-charging Chris managed to spin out of 2nd but rejoined just in front of Andre and managed to hold 3rd to the flag. Dave won the race in his E90 320Si, followed by Craig in his similar car.

Race 2 started with newcomer Dean thrust into Pole Position in the older model Alfa GTA, Dave had an amazing start and took full advantage of the RWD BMW to pass everyone before turn 1, but Shayne was having none of it and immediately attacked back - a small slide in the middle of the Lesmos saw Shayne drop back to 4th but Chris took up the chase in his similar Accord. Shayne them found himself under pressure from Andre in the newer Alfa 156 and they had another great battle until a mistake took Shayne out of the running. At the front Chris ran into tyre trouble and had to back of, but then started off after Dave again. Craig meanwhile set the fastest lap of the race and got right on Chris' tail as his tyres overheated again resulting in a tense drag race to the line. Dave won again, this time followed home by Chris with Craig only 0.098 secs behind!

With more drivers due to take part at Magny Cours it looks like being a great season.

SARL V8 Series Champion - Summer 2007

2007-05-26T06:38:00.000+02:00

In a season that saw 7 different drivers taking victories, it was always gonna be a tight and hard fought championship.
With consistent performances and regular trips to the podium(4 wins), it was Philip Woodhouse who took a well deserved championship victory ahead of teammate Marc Wright.

As a result of their good individual performances, they also managed to secure the team championship for Pin Point Racing.
The team couldn't have asked for a more perfect season, taking the spoils in both championship categories on offer.

GTR2 Fun Races

2007-05-24T08:01:00.001+02:00

Last night saw most of the GT series drivers gather for some fun races at Dubai, Monza, Anderstorp, Oschersleben and Barcelona, on the shorter versions of the tracks. Everyone drove 350Z's, and it was action packed with none of the drivers having car or track knowledge and only 15 mins per venue to learn the track and set a qualifying time.

Paul showed what was probably the best overall pace for the evening, but he didn't have it all his own way, and there were a few surprises too, such as a superb last minute pole time from Marius.

All in all there was a lot of fun had, and more than 1 broken car.

SARL Touring Car Series kicks off this weekend.

2007-05-23T10:04:00.000+02:00

The drivers head for Monza for round 1 of the Touring Car series - with such closely matched cars the action should be fast and furious over the course of the two 9 lap races.

SARL LFS Series Champion - Summer 2007

2007-05-22T01:56:00.000+02:00

What can you say about one driver's dominating performance throughout the season ensuring him 19 podium positions and a total of 18 victories from the allotted 24 races.
Congratulations, Charles McKowen...new...sorry...still champion of the SARL LFS Series.
He truly layed the smack down this season, setting the bar for the local LFS community as he did last season.

The team championship, went to Vuvuzela Racing with drivers Pieter Kitshoff and Willem Horak putting in fast and consistent performances throughout the season highlighted by solitary wins by each.