Jefferies impresses in France

In sweltering conditions in the south of France and after having difficulties with finding a good set-up on his F2 race car, for the temperatures which were 38 degree Celsius and track temperatures of over 50 degrees; Jefferies could only manage to qualify 11th on Sunday morning.
However, that did not get the determined youngster down as the lights went off for the start of the race.
According to reports from France, the 18-year-old Zimbabwean got a great start and just as he has done in the last two races, made a brave dive into the first corner to pass British driver Daniel McKenzie.
He then set off after the other British driver Hector Hurst, and within two laps caught and passed him with a clean and mature move.
German pole man Markus Pommer got away cleanly as the lights went out to lead from Swiss driver Tuscher, with Polish driver Kevin Mirocha getting ahead of Zanella to take third and Bacheta and Mihai Marinescu of Romania both getting the jump on Italian Dino Zamparelli.
At the front, Pommer was maintaining a 0.7-second lead over Tuscher while in the midfield Jefferies was leading a three-car battle for the final points spot.
By the halfway stage, Pommer had now stretched his lead to more than a second and importantly out of Tuscher’s reach in the Boost Zones.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwean teenager Jefferies impressed with his race craft for the 45-minute race, which saw some of the best overtaking maneuvers and racing seen in F2 this year, eventually ending a creditable 10th and earning him points in his fifth successive race.
Once again the colours of the Zimbabwean flag were the centre of attraction at  the event, with many holiday-makers watching the race gathering around Jefferies’ pits for pictures of the F2 car and the Zimbabwean.
Most of them seemed surprised to see a Zimbabwean at such a high level of motorsport, but Jefferies continued to impress as a Zimbabwean sporting and tourism ambassador with his professional approach to his work.
Jefferies’ slogan “Visit Zimbabwe” is catching on among followers and fans of motorsport with F2 being covered globally in over 170 countries.
“I learnt a lot in that race, with all the passes and dicing we had.
“It was good fun, and we are progressing well.
“I have a bit of a break for the next six weeks and hope to travel home for a rest, before the next event in Hungary.
“Once again a big thank you to all Zimbabweans and my sponsor Afri-Hype,” Jefferies said from his base in England yesterday.
Meanwhile, Jess Watson won the Rally X at Donnybrook in Harare on Sunday.
Watson, the 2012 Toyota Zimbabwe Challenge Rally champion, took the first podium place ahead of fellow top motor rally driver Craig Green while third place went to Sherwin Evans.
Temba Mazvimbakupa of the Zimbabwe Motorsport Federation said a record six women participated in the Rally X with rally “greenhorn” Shamiso Chitima pulling out some good times.
Shamiso Chitima is the daughter of one of the country’s top motor rallying drivers, Big “Bigs” Chitima, and she is currently on vacation from her university in the United States.
“In fact, there were a total of 13 entries and five of them were from female drivers – Bronwyn Ibrahim, Shamiso Chitima, Gemma Yorke, Chanelle Green and Michelle Yorke.
“There was also another female competitor — Sasha Watson — who was a navigator.
“This means that we now have a number of women who are into motor racing, which is good for the sport in Zimbabwe.
“There were also a number of young male drivers — Andrew Robinson, Rowan Whyte and Jason Kirk — and we need to encourage more youngsters to take up the sport,” Mazvimbakupa said.
Sunday’s Rally X had three heats and the track was 8,2 km long, and it saw Jess Watson producing the fastest time of the day (0.16.18) while Craig Green was second (0.16.36) and Evans third (0.17.18).
This weekend will, meanwhile, see Donnybrook hosting the main circuit racing on Saturday and then karting the following day.