Brian Joss –
Round two of the Duratec Formula Ford championship took place at Killarney Raceway in Cape Town on Saturday. From the qualifying session to the overall results, only one driver could put their name at the top of the list twice – showing just how unpredictable the early stages of the 2015 championship is proving to be.
In qualifying it was Matthew Merton (5 – Mygale) who proved to be quickest out on track. Merton clinched pole position on the very last qualifying lap, posting a time 0.249 quicker than any lap up to that point. In the first race though, he had to step back for Julian van der Watt (42 – Investchem Mygale SJ08) to take the win – and Van der Watt was only fourth in terms of lap times during the qualifying!
Keagan Masters (44 – Performance Masters Mygale SJ08) was the third man across the line in race one, hot on Merton’s heels.
The qualifying session saw the SASS competitors holding nothing back, with the fastest lap time recorded by Merton a one minute, 15.224 second dash around Killarney. The top seven lap times in the series were separated by one second with Werner Scholtz (3 – Investchem / Motorvia Mygale SJ08), Dewald Brummer (11 – MAD Racing Mygale SJ09) and Rick Morris (8 – Investchem Mygale SJ99) taking up positions five, six and seven on the time sheet.
Race two saw Robert Wolk (41 – Chemical Logistics Mygale) at the top of the podium, recovering from a first-race incident with Nicholas van Weely (1 – Magnificent Paints & Hardware Van Diemen) that ended with Van Weely in the wall at the start of the main straight and Wolk relegated to a fifth place finish.
In race two, Merton’s start off the line was not enough to keep him ahead of Wolk and Van der Watt. The battle between Wolk and Van der Watt resulted in the latter going off-track to rejoin almost at the back of the field – he still set the fastest lap of the day during this last race for the SASS competitors.
In the overall results Van der Watt again topped the rankings, with Merton taking second and Wolk in third place for the weekend. It appears as if Van der Watt will be just as much a part of the leading pack in the South African Single-Seaters series this year as the regulars like Van Weely, Wolk and Merton.
The category for the over 50s and women’s racers saw Rick Morris (8 – Investchem Mygale SJ99) take the overall win for the day, followed by Ian Schofield (10 – Investchem Mygale SJ) and Allen Meyer (15 – Van Diemen RF07).
The South African Single-Seaters will see the Duratec Formula Ford competitors back in action at Zwartkops Raceway on Tuesday June 16, for round three of their 2015 season.