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First on the “menu card” for the local motorsport enthusiasts this weekend will be a Supercross (night racing) meet at Donnybrook on Friday night and it will be followed by a motocross event the following day at the same venue.
And after watching Supercross and motocross events on Friday night and Saturday respectively, local motorsport fans are expected to throng Donnybrook again on Sunday to watch the third round of the main circuit racing national championship — The Shield Car Care Raceday — which comes hard on the heels of last Sunday’s exciting second round of the Telecel 2013 Drag Racing Series.
In fact, this weekend promises to be a busy and exciting one for the local motorsport organisers and fans alike as they will first be at Donnybrook on Friday night to watch the Supercross event which will be run by the Bogwheelers Club, who control the motorsport event of motocross in this country.
Gary Grainger, the chairman of the Bogwheelers Club, yesterday said they will be using both Friday night’s Supercross and Saturday’s motocross events to prepare our top motorbike riders for the four-day 2013 Zimbabwe Summer Series that will be held at Donnybrook during the second week of December.
“This Friday night will see us staging our first Supercross event of the year, starting at 6pm, and it will be a Bogwheelers Club event. It will be followed the next day by an all-day motocross meet and we are expecting all our top motocross riders to take part in both events.
“Basically, these two events fall under what we want to call an Autumn Series which will help us to build up or prepare all our top motocross riders for the 2013 Zimbabwe Summer Series in December.
“Our plan is to have another event like this after winter as we continue fine-tuning our top riders for the Summer Series where they will once again come up against fellow top riders from the United States, England, South Africa, Botswana, Uganda and Zambia. The 2013 Zimbabwe Summer Series will once again be staged at Donnybrook and we have decided to hold two preparatory events like the one we are going to have this Friday night and Saturday to help our riders to get the full grip of the track at this venue before we host this year’s Summer Series in December.
“We are expecting about 90 local junior and senior riders to take part in this weekend’s two-day Supercross and motocross events at Donnybrook where we are expecting another full house of spectators,” Grainger said.
The last time Donnybrook hosted a Supercross meet in December last year, more than 5 000 spectators filled the home of local motorsport to watch this exciting night racing event and the same crowd is expected to come at the same venue this Friday night.
Meanwhile, Sunday will see Donnybrook hosting the Shield Car Care Raceday which is the third round of the Zimbabwe National Motor Racing Championship.
With one round already held in both Harare and Bulawayo this year, the points table is very close, especially in the Unlimited Saloon class.
Reigning champion Ian Howden got off to a flying start this year and took his Shield Subaru to a brace of wins ahead of former rally star Jamie Whyte.
However, mechanical woes prevented Howden from competing in Bulawayo, so it was left to local drivers Julian and Phil van Vuuren to take the honours and draw level with Howden in the log.
The van Vuurens are making the trip from Bulawayo this weekend to join Howden and Whyte on the grid along with two new cars in the shape of a 3-litre Ford Sapphire driven by Kevin Steenkamp, and a turbo rotary powered Mitsubishi with Craig Bond at the wheel.
Joining in the battle of the Saloons will be the 1600cc class which is currently led by young karting star Christian Berkau in a Toyota Corolla.
Berkau has a slender lead over Bulawayo’s Darren Pradji, with another former rally champion Craig Green in third. These drivers also qualify for the Toyota 1600cc cup which Berkau also leads with Rowan Whyte and new driver Mike Exton chasing.
Sports Cars will also have strong representation at the Shield Raceday with 12 drivers keen to see if they can peg back Cole Bond who currently leads both the Unlimited National Championship, and the Whitney Straight trophy for the fastest car on the track.
Barney Rogers has wrestled his flame spitting turbo Super 7 into second place ahead of Bulawayo driver Sonny Young, but Richard Robinson and reigning champ Eric Heard will pose strong challenges in their Yamaha powered machines.
In the 1600cc class, Gary Kirk has remained unbeaten this year, but both Brett and John Cameron as well as Gary Bluett are capable of winning on the day. New driver Stephanus van der Linde had an excellent outing in Bulawayo and leapt up the standings to third place as he gets faster and faster with each outing. Van der Linde also leads the prestigious Driver of the Year Championship which is sponsored by Toyota Zimbabwe.
Cole Bond is nipping at his heels ahead of Brett Cameron and Mike Exton. Former superbike rider Donovan Maxfield has built a new sports car for the track, and its debut is eagerly awaited, along with the BMW 330i of Darren Winterboer which now boasts an M3 engine under the bonnet, but has the team burning the midnight oil in an attempt to have it ready for Sunday’s race. The Megelli 250cc motorcycle racing is expected to produce the usual tight knit racing that has been the norm so far this year.
The motorcycles are all identical apart from tyre choice and slight modifications to the exhaust pipes, which makes for elbow bashing action in the corners as the riders vie for position.
Ex-South African superbike champion Shaun Whyte has the measure of the field at present, but is closely followed by Gavin Randall and ex-rally navigator Phil Archenoul who are near enough to benefit should the champ make any small mistake.
Hot on their heels is the group of Shane Thomas, Graham Hill and Warren Dewdney who keep the crowds guessing to the last corner as to who will come out on top.
Newcomers Craig Archenoul and female rider Tiffany Fisher are now in with a chance as well, having gained experience from the first meeting and a little practice thereafter.
With knees on the tarmac the expected field of 13 bikes is guaranteed to produce a fine demonstration of Zimbabwe’s top rider’s skills.
Superbike action returns to the track with the “Breakfast run” demonstration race for any street riders that qualify.
The howl of the 4 cylinder 1000cc bikes and speeds of up to 240kph will provide added spectacle to a great day’s competition.
Practise starts at 10am on Sunday, with the qualifying runs at 11am and the first race scheduled for 12pm. Full bar and catering facilities will be available, as well as entertainment for the kids.
Entrance fee is $5 per car.
Online Reporter