As we enter the second half of the season with 4 races completed there has been 4 different drivers starting on pole position, 4 different drivers taking the fastest qualifying lap, 4 different race winners and get this, 3 different championship leaders… 2022 Saw a lot of changes come to the Vee’s with the move from National status to National Challenge status making it more affordable for members whilst still being able to stay on the National tour. Qualifying structure change has also brought a new twist on the swing of things with the top 6 drivers scrambled after their qualifying session resulting in the epic battles you have come to see so far this season. Still staying on the same Bridgestone rubber as the previous season also makes for closer racing amongst all the drivers throughout the grid. Coastal races are 3 heat races to give drivers more pleasure on those amazing circuits and more rewards for going all that way to race. On the Association side of things, the points structure has been changed giving driver credit for going down to the away races as well, adding valuable points to their championships for traveling. National Challenge Championship Race 1 - was held at Zwartkops Raceway in March with the Regional calendar. 23 cars took to the grid hitting off the season with a big field. Lendl Jansen taking his Rhema 2 quickest around Zwartkops but started in 3 rd place, the Bridgestone grid scramble saw Vaughn Hills on pole position alongside his father Peter giving the Hills’s a front row lockout. Lights out and go with hard racing from the first corner, in the end Gert van den Berg took the top podium spot followed by Greg Wilson and then Lushen Ramchander in the overall results. Race 2 - was held at Zwartkops Raceway again in April this time with the National tour showing the bigger categories that Formula Vee is back! 21 cars took to the grid giving the crowds some epic racing. This time around Greg Wilson dominated the field with his 2x wins and a pole position followed by Gert van den Berg and Lushen Ramchander having another podium finish. Greg taking over the top spot in the Championship from van den Berg. Race 3 – this time going down to Aldo Scribante and taking down a decent field of 15 cars. From the word go the old hand of Peter Hills topped the timing sheets in Friday practice sessions. Qualifying saw Brandon Hills put on a great display to take the fastest time; the grid scramble had other things to say giving pole position to Lushen Ramchander. Peter Hills standing on top of the podium with Lushen Ramchander taking second place and Greg Wilson just beating out Brandon Hills for third place. The month of June saw a midyear break giving all drivers some needed rest and time to work on their cars for the year ahead. Race 4 – Red Star Raceway sees Formula Vee again after not racing there in the 2021 season. The king of Red Star Gert saw him put on a magic lap in qualifying to get that needed point for fastest lap. Once again, the Bridgestone grid scramble mixing things up giving pole position to Greg Wilson. Race pace was all in the hands of Gert van den Berg and Lendl Jansen, with Jansen taking the 2x wins from Gert leaving Peter Hills and Lushen Ramchander to fight it out for that final spot in both heats one a peace. Hills took the third spot in overall over Ramchander. Association Championship As many people don’t know what the Association Championship is, it is for the drivers in the mid to rear end of the pack. Giving other drivers some recognition and something worth driving for. This season has been very tight amongst the association drivers just as it has been for the Overall championship Race 1 - Zwartkops saw Vaughn Hills put down some seriously fast times and with the addition to the new Bridgestone grid scramble he was the lucky one to start on pole position first time for him in his racing career and a first for him and his father Peter to start on the front row of the grid. With allot of action happening during both heats it brought the podium proceedings with Vaughn Hills taking first place, Henk van den Berg in second place and Roy Douglas having a solid weekend finishing in third place. Race 2 – Zwartkops brought some more interesting things happen in both championships. Sadly, Vaughn Hills has since relocated overseas but we will still have him over for racing towards the end of the year. Eric Booyens starting his 2022 campaign due to missing out the first event. Eric took over the luck from Vaughn in the first event with the Bridgestone grid scramble handing Eric second place on the grid. Racing was as tight as ever between the association drivers so when it came to the trophy ceremony Eric took the first place followed by Josef Kotze and then Theodore Vermaak in third. Race 3 – Down to Aldo Scribante we go and 3 heats giving the association drivers credit in earning points and 3 heats for that additional extra push in points. Between the 15 drivers down for the event 8 of them are fighting for the association title. 3 Drivers however made a full run away from the rest of the pack. Josef Kotze, Kyle Watt and Theodore Vermaak all three fighting it out in all three heats. Josef taking it top position over Kyle Watt and Theodore Vermaak in third. Race 4 – Red Star being a long-awaited race it gave some good battles yet again. Although Eric Booyens leaving all the association drivers in his dust; the rest of them had some serious fights on their hands. Kyle Watt, Josef Kotze and Theodore Vermaak fighting for the rest of the podium not leaving Henk van den Berg and Michael Kernick not to fall off their tails. Eric took first place with Kyle Watt in Second and Josef Kotze in third. 2022 Has been a good year to the Formula Vee Association thus far. Securing new sponsors and keeping those from the previous year. The field has grown tremendously with 27 active drivers. Midway through the season there is 5 new members signing up, and some drivers who have not yet raced this season will be joining the action later in the year. DOE Formula Vee will be joining the National tour again next month and for the first time in 7 years back at East London!!

Lendl Jansen had the ultimate weekend down in Gqeberha. Starting on pole position to taking number 1 spot in both heats and the fastest lap and top step on the podium. Gqeberha did not see Formula Vee in 2020 due to lock down and it was evident by the good turnout of cars on the grid the drivers missed the track. A full field of 16 cars showed up on the Aldo Scribante race circuit and right out the gate on first practice the drives set quick times. Friday practice with almost perfect conditions made learning the track again all the easier. Lendl Jansen, Gert van den Berg and Peter Hills topping the time sheets in all the sessions. Saturday morning and the perfect weather from Friday disappeared. Wind gusting and making drivers work for their track positions. A tail wind made things even more interesting down the main straight. Pole position was taken by Lendl Jansen and second place to Gert van den Berg, followed by Peter Hills and Lushen Ramchander. Unfortunately, Henk van den Berg had an incident with David Austin leaving the Liqui Moly driver unable to finish qualifying, Austin however managed to make it back to the pits and tend to a bit of gearbox issues from the incident. Race 1 15 cars take to the grid with Henk van den Berg still fixing damage to his car. The drag race down to turn one and Gert van den Berg getting the best drive, Lendl Jansen right on his tail and Lushen Ramchander getting the jump on Peter Hills. M.D. Bester and Brandon Hills closely following with Shaun van der Linde and Vaughn Hills putting pressure on the front 6 drivers. Lap one completed and the respective battles settle. Top 6 drivers start to break away. Theodore Vermaak had an early off on lap two turn one taking Marcel Blignaut along with him to the flowers, luckily both drivers came back on track with no damage. Turn one lap three taking more victims in M.D. Bester spinning around leaving Shaun van der Linde tagging his right rear, both recovered and got right back to the action. Further back Roy Douglas, Theodore Vermaak and Shaun van der Linde having a tight battle for 9 th place. Ernie Vermaak, David Austin and Marcel Blignaut having their own 3-way battle for 12 th place. Albertyn Pienaar had his full share of bad luck, after having a bad start to the race he crashed out in the Chevy sweep turn 7. Lendl Jansen made his move on Gert van Den Berg and went out to take race one victory. Lushen Ramchander made a last-minute dive into Dunlop curve to take 3 rd place with Peter Hills running wide leaving Brandon Hills to take 4 th place. Race 2 all 16 cars make it to the grid. Henk van den Berg and his mechanics working hard to get the car on the track. Lights go out and it’s a drag race to turn one again. Lendl Jansen not having the best of starts losing out to Gert van den Berg, Brandon and Peter Hills. Vaughn Hills, Theodore Vermaak, Josef Kotze and Albertyn Pienaar fighting it out early on for 9 th position. Roy Douglas and Marcel Blignaut both working together to try and catch up to the fighting mid pack. Gert van den Berg and Lendl Jansen breaking away from the rest of the pack and all through the field respective battles started to emerge. Brandon and Peter Hills, Lushen Ramchander and M.D. Bester for 5 th Shaun van der Linde out on his own with the 4-car battle behind him. Ernie Vermaak and Henk van den Berg fighting over 12 th place and both giving each other a hard time lap after lap. Lendl Jansen sizing up Gert van den Berg and made his move with 2 laps to go and makes sure he pulls a gap to take home his second victory of the day. Brandon Hills pushing Gert van den Berg to the line closely followed by Peter Hills. Sadly, Henk van den Berg had to pull over on the last lap with gearbox issues. Formula Vee once again does not disappoint with the best category of the day! As tradition has it the tire podium comes out and the champagne gets ready to be sprayed over the winners and all the Vee supporters. 1 st Race voucher winners Henk van den Berg Josef Kotze Peter Hills National Championship podium 1 st Lendl Jansen 2 nd Gert van den Berg 3 rd Brandon Hills Association Championship podium 1 st M.D. Bester 2 nd Vaughn Hills 3 rd Josef Kotze Written by Theodore Vermaak Photo credit to kaykes_digital

Passion for Speed 2021 gave us some amazing racing! Some crazy over taking and scary moments. DOE Formula Vee was set to take the stage on the second day of the festival with a hefty field of 23 cars entered. There was some unexpected news as some of the drivers had to withdraw on last minute thinning the field down to just 18. Sunday morning practice had a lot of drivers put new rubber on their cars thanks to Phakisa taking the last bit of life from their first racing set. Sadly, Championship defender Lushen Ramchander suffered engine problems and was forced to retire for the weekend just before qualifying started. Track conditions made things tricky with new rubber and an ice-cold track, gave some fun moments drifting and sliding all over the place. Off we go to qualifying, tires scrubbed in, teammates teaming up (no pun intended) to see if they can help each other out for some fast times. Lendl Jansen taking top honours for pole position followed by Greg Wilson in what is said to be the tightest of margins in Formula Vee history…with just 0.001…between the two drivers. Close on their heels was Gert Van Den Berg and M.D. Bester. Race 1 and all 17 drivers take to the track, on the out lap saw Vaughn Hills run in to some mechanical troubles. With all the cars lined up he eventually got his car running and started from the back of the grid. Lights out and go! Left Shaun Van Der Linde sleeping on the starting line and lost out several places. Lap one saw the respective battles fan out. Top drivers Lendl Jansen, Gert vd Berg, Greg Wilson, Brandon Hills and M.D Bester followed by Peter Hills and a bit further back Theodore Vermaak. Further back Eric Booyens, Kyle Watt and Roy Douglas go toe to toe followed by Jannie Geyser and recovering Shaun vd Linde, Marcel Blignaut and David Austin. Lap 3 and there is a 5-way battle for 1 st place with top 3 drivers swopping and trying to overtake at every possible opportunity Brandon Hills and M.D Bester waiting patiently. Fast forward to lap 7 when Brandon Hills started to go slow with gearshift problems leaving him in 3 rd gear. As with Zwartkops it always gives us some great racing and with to very hungry drivers in Lendl Jansen and Greg Wilson lap 8 gave us plenty of drama. Greg Wilson leading and out of turn 3 Lendl Jansen made a move but ran wide on to the grass, tried to bring his car back on track but clipped the rear wheel of Greg going into turn 4 leaving them both in the barriers. Promotion for Gert vd Berg and the patient M.D Bester. With the dust settled and checkered flag out Gert vd Berg, M.D Bester and Peter Hills for the top 3. Followed by Shaun vd Linde, Theodore Vermaak, Brandon Hills. Eric Booyens, Vaughn Hills, Kyle Watt and Marcel Blignaut to close out the top 10. Roy Douglas, David Austin and Jannie Geyser had their battle to the finish line with Ernie Vermaak close behind in 14 th place. Greg Wilson managed to get his car back on track to finish the race. Klinton Kane had a steady race and finished 16 th . Race 2…Will we have the same drama as before? Lights out and Gert vd Berg gets the whole shot on Greg Wilson. Everyone gets away cleanly until turn 2 with David Austin having a nice pirouette and losing out on his good start. Lap 3 and all are pushing to be in front of the next. Peter Hills not having the car he had in race 1 slowly falling back but still with good pace with Eric Booyens. Jannie Geyser, Kyle Watt and Roy Douglas fighting each other for that 10 th place spot. Gert vd Berg getting the break away from the front pack leaving Lendl Jansen and Greg Wilson fighting for 2 nd place. Brandon Hills having a bit of a moment at turn 5 trying to overtake Greg Wilson, locking his wheels up forcing him to the kitty litter and lose out on a few spots. Steady racing up until lap 6 with Kyle Watt having a big moment in turn 1. Running wide and getting airborne with his car shooting back on track and into Jannie Geyser and just missing Roy Douglas. Jannie managed to make it out back on track but sadly Kyle is out watching the rest of his race from the marshal post on turn 2. This made the pack bundle up with double waved yellows into turn one and 2. Theodore Vermaak had to pull off to the side of the track with clutch troubles. Bring in some back markers and there goes Gert vd Berg back into the clutches of Lendl Jansen and Greg Wilson. Fortunately for Gert he was able to fend off the attack from Lendl and took home the second win for the day, closely followed by Greg Wilson in 3 rd and M.D Bester in 4 th . And to top off the day with some close moments Klinton Kane having a spin in front of the leaders in turn 8. Luckily, all came out of there with no troubles. Hills brothers in 6 th and 7 th followed by a strong performance from Eric Booyens. Roy Douglas and Marcel Blignaut closing out the top 10. Peter Hills and Ernie Vermaak 11 th and 12 th followed by a limping Jannie Geyser and David Austin. As tradition will have it in Formula Vee our tyre podium was up next after a great day racing National championship podium 1 st Gert vd Berg, 2 nd M.D Bester and 3 rd Shaun vd Linde. Association championship podium 1 st M.D Bester, 2 nd Vaughn Hills and 3 rd Eric Booyens. And some prizes were up for grabs as well. A travel voucher valued at R10 000 was won by Lendl Jansen. With 1 st race apart of Formula Vee there was vouchers for M.D Bester putting on the fastest lap of the weekend, Roy Douglas for coming out of ‘retirement’, Klinton Kane for driving with the correct tires wrongly fitted to his car and he got another one from a lucky draw, Shaun vd Linde for entering the event with incorrect details on his entry form, and Vaughn Hills for a lucky draw. We had an amazing day of racing; the Formula Vee spirit is strong again this year within the Vee family! Written by: Theodore Vermaak Photo credit: Maxine Byleveld & Michiel Horn

Formula Vee never disappoints…

The first racing of the 2021 DOE Formula Vee season took place at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday the 13th of March as part of the Regional Extreme Festival. Many thanks to our sponsors DOE Quality Parts and StartMyCar for making it possible as well as 1 st Race and Bridgestone. Not everyone could be at the track for the practice sessions on Friday, but those who were there were busy working getting their cars prepared and enjoying track time. Drivers spent every lap they could utilize during practice to set up their cars for Saturday morning early qualifying session. The full 21 car field lined up in the pre-race paddock to go out for qualifying. All drivers/teams made their plans to build together and use each other for some slipstreaming and create clean lines through the session. Unfortunately, 2020 Rookie of the year had a run in with a gate pole on pit exit leaving him stranded with rear suspension damage. Fastes lap in qualifying went to defending champion Lushen Ramchander, unfortunately due to a technical issue on Friday this meant that he had a 5-place grid penalty for race 1, giving Lendl Jansen the top starting position followed by Brandon Hill and Greg Wilson. After qualifying saw Hills racing rebuild Booyens broken suspension to get all 21 cars on the grid for race 1. RACE 1 : The race was exciting, from the start Lendl Jansen grabbed first position and held onto it Brandon Hills giving him some competition during the early laps however Lendl kept and increased his lead with every lap. A struggle developed between Hills, Wilson and van den Berg which was not much upset when Hills ran wide and caught some gravel. Lushen Ramchander did not have a good race and slowly dropped back as the race went on, finishing 11th. Great battles formed throughout the field leaving the top 6 drivers battling for 2 nd position behind Jansen. Midpack saw Peter Hills, MD Bester, Jeandre le Roux and Vaughn Hills fight to finish out the top 10 positions. During the latter parts race Kyle Watt was slowed by a spin and Theodore Vermaak retired due to steering issues on lap 4. The race was won by Lendl Jansen, followed in by Greg Wilson and Gert van den Berg. Henk van den Berg, Jannie Geyser, Josef Kotze, Blane De Meillon all battled in the rear of the pack from start to finish! During the break mechanics got to fixing Luschen Ramchander’s car but was not able to be sorted leaving him not being able to start the next heat. Vermaak’s car was fixed and left him with confidence to start race 2. Usual after race prep gets mechanics and drivers to work on their cars relooking wheel alighnment and tire pressures, some suspension changes the get more out of the cars in the next heat. Race 2 : Once again Lendl Jansen grabbed and held the lead. He was followed by Greg Wilson and Gert van den Berg. MD Bester disturbed the field a little when he got a touch by Jannie Geyser spinning him a perfect 360 and a broken nosecone. Fuming Bester charged from his recovery catching up with incredible pace. The racing for second, third, fourth and fifth place was again exciting but stayed fairly constant for most of the race until van den Berg made a bit of a mistake allowing Brandon and Peter Hills as well as Richard Carr to slip past him. Lendl was followed to the flag by Brandon Hills, Peter Hills and Richard Carr. Mid pack saw Van der Linde, le Roux, Vermaak and Vaughn Hills fight for top ten honours, Bester caught up to them finishing in 9 th place. Battle of the rookies saw all of them finishing and having great battles of their own. Henk van den Berg, Jannie Geyser and Josef Kotze had some position changes throughout the race leaving David Austin, Blane De Meillon and Klinton Kane finishing off the rear of the field. The day’s racing ended with Lendl Jansen leading the charts, Greg Wilson taking second place and Brandon Hills in third place. The day ended with prize giving with Lendl Jansen taking first for the National Championship, Second going to Greg Wilson and third to Brandon Hills. In the Association Championship, first prize was awarded to Richard Carr, followed by Jeandre le Roux in second and M.D. Bester in third. Rookie trophies were given to Henk van den Berg, Klinton Kane, Kyle Watt and Marcel Blignaut. Shaun van der Linde received the Lucky Loser Trophy. Obviously, Lendl Jansen won the Exceptional Driver of the Day award, while Rookie of The Day went to Henk van den Berg, the Lucky Draw went to Brandon Hills. We look forward to the next race which takes place on the 14th and 15th of May at Phakisa. - FINISH - Written by Gerhard Rissik from CARtourque and Theodore Vermaak Photo credit by Gerhard Rissik and Len Jansen

55 th Anniversary year champion crowned The Hankook National Formula Vee Championship crowned a new champion at the season finale at Zwartkops this past weekend. The racing was fast and furious and in the end the championship leader going into the round managed the pressure and came out tops. Going into the weekend, Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) was leading the championship by 11 points from Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2). Qualifying on Saturday morning was a close affair with the top eleven cars split by less than one second. During quali, Ramchander made his intensions clear by setting the fastest laptime of 1min08,907seconds. This put him in pole ahead of surprise Brandon Hills (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 2) and then Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza). In fourth was Van den Berg after having clutch failure during the session. Behind them, Greg Wilson (Forza) rounded out the top five to put three Forza chassis in the top five. Peter Hills (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 2) performed remarkably in a brand new car that turned its first wheel less than 24hours before qualifying. Visiting driver Rico Wentworth (Rhema 1,5) qualified twelfth in his first race weekend using Brandon Hills’ car and Albertyn Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) was seventeenth in his first outing in dad Ben Pienaars car. Between qualifying and the race, Van den Berg swopped clutch assemblies and Roy Douglas (Forza) swopped gearboxes as he had an issue in qualifying as well. At the start of Race 1, Ramchander made great getaway and pulled a small lead from a chasing Brandon Hills and Jansen who had Van den Berg on their tail. The second position was taken by Van den Berg with the idea and seemingly the pace to reel in Ramchander, only to have the gearbox starting to give problems. He dropped down behind Hills, Jansen, Wilson and Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2). All the while Ramchander was now managing his lead and ensuring he takes an easy victory. In the end Hills made a small mistake chasing Ramchander and ran off track to lose some places. This let Jansen through to grab second with van den Berg fighting to third to keep the championship undecided until the final heat. Behind him Wilson beat out Schriks. Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg Rhema 2) was just behind this duo and kept a recovering Brandon Hills behind him. MD Bester (Mangaza Consulting Rhema 2) was just ahead of Peter Hills with Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) rounding out the top ten. Wentworth finished a credible eleventh while Jeandre Le Roux (Liqui Moly Stealth) showed pace, but had to retire after a R10 switch broke. After the race, Van den Berg had to make a plan and the gearbox was removed for the second time during the day. The spare gearbox was installed and they were out on track without even checking the wheel alignment. The race 2 start delivered a surprise when Brandon Hills took the lead of the race from Ramchander before turn 2. Hills led out and the top eight cars were eventually fighting for the lead. It was the perfect scenario for Van den Berg, however, the gearbox replacement was not the answer and the gear selection issues returned and worsened. The top eight battle, became seven. Meanwhile, Ramchander showed why he was leading the championship and went to the front of the pack. He then proceeded to stretch his legs and took the victory when the six cars behind him fought about second. Second to seventh crossed the line within 1,6seconds. This was a close finish with Wilson taking second and Jansen rounding out the podium. Brandon Hills was fourth with a fighting drive from Le Roux to grab fifth and Peter Hills a remarkable sixth in the cars first race. Schriks was seventh. Van den Berg fell off the back of this pack and Bester and Van der Linde passed him on the last corners to take eighth and ninth with Van den Berg tenth. The championship came down to the last race of the season, but in the end, Ramchander did what was needed and took the win fairly easy. He makes history for the Forza chassis as well as Liqui Moly by winning the national Championship in its 55 th year of running. In the end Van den Berg held onto second in the championship with Jansen rounding out the podium. 2020, although short, was a great year for Hankook Formula Vee and 2021 promises to be even better. With 9 races planned for a bumper 2021 and about 5 new cars on the grid for 2021, the grid is growing and promising the continuation of the best racing in the country on a National Championship level!

The Hankook National Formula Vee Championship had its fourth round at Phakisa on 12 September 2020. With the top contenders sitting on equal points, it was all to play for at Phakisa. During qualifying the weather caused extreme slippery conditions, from dry, drizzle, wet, dry and then rain. The nature of Phakisa means the surface dried extremely quickly and thus conditions changed lap by lap. Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2) grabbed pole with surprise package being Shaun van der Linde (Boksburg Truck City Rhema 2) on second for race 1 and grabbing pole for race 2! Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2) was third and Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) fourth. Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) lined up in fifth. Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) struggled with a misfire during the session and qualified at the back. In Race 1, the front five cars pulled clear of the rest, eventually Schriks and van der Linde fell of the back of Ramchander, Jansen and Van den Berg. After numerous position and lead changes, Ramchander took the victory closely followed by Jansen and Van den Berg. Behind them Van der Linde was fourth with Schriks, Greg Wilson (Forza), Brandon Hills (Mangaza Rhema 1.5) and Peter Hills (Liqui Moly Lantis) covered by less than a second. MD Bester (Mangaza Rhema 2) was ninth, just ahead of a recovering Vaughn Hills in tenth. Newcomer, Josef Kotze (Top Products Sting) had a good showing as well with Ashley Padayachee (Catalyst Technology Solutions Lantis) finishing his first race after problems at Zwartkops previously. In Race 2, the race was much simpler. Ramchander and Jansen stretched their legs and the newer tyres showed. No one could keep up with them and they pulled clear of Van den Berg and Schriks. Wilson and Peter Hills had a brilliant dice for fifth. The two Hills brothers had a dice with Brandon winning out, but Vaughn was the quicker of the two. Behind them, pole sitter Van der Linde spun on lap 1 and had a fight coming through the field to ninth after a good battle with Bester. The two DOE Quality Parts sponsored cars of Ben Pienaar (DOE Quality Parts Rhema 2) and Theo Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Vision) had a good dice. In the end Roy Douglas (Forza) had issues and finished 3 laps down. After the race the top four cars were stripped for technical checks by the technical committee. This all happened in the spirit of Formula Vee and all cars were found compliant to the rules. The positions was validated and confirmed. With only the finale at Zwartkops, it looks like the 11 point advantage of Ramchander has him with one hand on the title. Zwartkops on 7 November 2020 promises to be close and tight, but if Ramchander plays his cards right, he can take the National title to add to his Formula GTI title of some years back. Racing will be live streamed, so keep an eye out on our social media pages to follow the best racing by far!

Round 3 of the Hankook National Formula Vee Championship took place at Zwartkops Raceway on 12 September 2020 as part of the Regional Inland Festival. All the championship contenders made it to the races with a strong 18 car entry list. The racing promised to be action packed as current championship leader Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) was ready to mount a serious challenge for the shortened 5 round championship. Having a five point advantage over Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2), meant it was game on between the two of them. The other potential challenger was Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza), who spent a good couple of Wednesdays practising at Zwartkops. In qualifying this showed and Jansen pulled off two great laps to take pole position for both races. Behind him it was van den Berg and Ramchander for race 1 and Ramchander and van den Berg for race 2. The first three cars were covered by less than 0,2s. Greg Wilson (Forza) was 4th on the grid with a highest qualifying for Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg) in 5th. This was just again showcasing the knowledge of Dean Nel as a mechanic on these cars. Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2) could only manage 6th, and was the first of the cars on old tyres. He would have his work cut out for him on Saturday. Brandon Hills (Mangaza Rhema 1.5) only managed a couple of laps due to a misfiring car for most of the session. Theo Vermaak (D.O.E. Quality Parts / Forza Racing Vision) had some gearbox struggles as the car kept jumping out of 2nd gear and only managed a handful of laps as well. A returning Ashley Padayachee (Catalyst Technology Solutions Lantis) was finding his feet after a big incident with his first car in 2019. Some steering issue would force him to retire, but he did complete some successful laps in the car this time around. Another surprise was visiting driver Josef Kotze (Hankook Sting) who managed a decent time of 1m13,255s to claim 14th out of the 18 car field. The racing was as close and hard fought as always. In race 1, Van den Berg got the jump on Jansen to turn 2 and then managed to pull a small gap to the fighting pack behind him. Jansen had a determined championship leader behind him in the form of Ramchander. The two of them had an awesome dice with positions changing frequently. In the end Ramchander beat out Jansen. Wilson and Schriks also had a fight of note. Schriks passed Wilson early on, but Wilson was waiting for the closing stages to make a move. He did, but Schriks came back swiftly. After numerous position changes, Schriks ended up 4th with Wilson in 5th. Van der Linde managed a solid race result after the great qualifying and ended the race in 6th just ahead of Brandon Hills with a car that was running significantly better than in qualifying. Peter Hills managed to come from 17th on the start line to 8th with MD Bester following him closely over the line. Eric Booyens (Rhema 2) managed to narrowly beat Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Stealth). Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) had a stuck accelerator cable and had to come into the pits to repair it. The visiting Kotze had a good race after initially almost stalling it on the start line and having to come from dead last. At the race 2 start, the big winner was Van den Berg again, who came from 3rd on the grid to claim the lead after the first 2 corners. He would again have the rest fighting it out behind him, thus allowing him to stretch out a lead and take the race 2 win. Behind him, the dice for 2nd delivered the best racing of the entire day. Ramchander was initially leading, but a fast charging Schriks and Wilson took turns to lead out this battle as well. The lead in this group changed constantly and a frustrated Ramchander had to contend with a visually pleasing battle rather than being able to break away and take the fight to Van den Berg. He managed to claim 2nd to limit the damage, with Wilson, Schriks and Jansen following him over the line, covered by less than one second. Van der Linde again secured a solid 6th with Peter Hills coming from last to 7th this time around. He beat out Brandon and Vaughn, who this time had a much better race. Behind the three Hills’s, Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) finished ahead of Bester and Booyens. Roy Douglas (Forza) finished just behind Booyens. Vermaak had to recover after a spin trying to overtake Le Roux cost him some time. Dave Austin (DA Racing Rhema 2) finished ahead of Josef Kotze and Le Roux. Kotze had a spin while trying a move on Austin and Le Roux had a malfunctioning distributor ruin his race with 2 laps to go. Racing was as close as ever, with only the dicing playing into van den Berg’s hands. The championship now goes to Phakisa on 3 October 2020 with Van den Berg and Ramchander tied on points. Hankook Formula Vee is proudly brought to you by Hankook and DOE Quality Parts.

Round 2 of the Hankook National Formula Vee Championship took place at Zwartkops Raceway on 14 March 2020 as part of the National Extreme Festival. The racing promised to be action packed as 5 time champion, Alan Holm (IRA Contractors Rhema 2) made a once off appearance. Added to this, two youngsters in the form of Eric Booysens (Rhema 2) and visiting Malte Poulsen (Wind n Solar Rhema 2) joining for their first event and it was bound to be a cracker. A 20 car entry meant that racing was always going to be quick around the short Zwartkops Raceway. Friday proved that Alan was close to the pace of joint championship leaders Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza) and Gert van den Berg (Hankook Rhema 2). Brandon Hills (Mangaza Racing Rhema 1.5) had numerous gearbox issues and Blane de Meillon (Fire Break SA Sting) also struggled with gear selection issues. Saturday morning in qualifying, the first four places was split with 0,4s. Current champion, Jaco Schriks (Lube Station Rhema 2) was struggling with carburettor setup and could only manage 5th. Ramchander stole the pole from Holm with Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Forza) grabbing third from Van den Berg. Behind him Schriks had fifth with a returning Greg Wilson (Forza) ending sixth , managing a lap time under the 1min10s bracket. Behind him Jannie Geyser (Rhema 2) and rookie Booysens rounded out the top eight. From Wilson in sixth to Brandon Hills in an unusual fifteenth due to gearbox problems, was covered by less than a second in qualifying. Race one started clean, with positions remaining pretty much the same. Ramchander and Holm immediately started fighting which kept Jansen, Vd Berg, Schriks and Wilson in close pursuit. Van den Berg passed Jansen for third and stayed close to the front battle. The lead was almost swapping every lap. Holm and Ramchander had a clean race and in the end Holm got the better of Ramchander to win by 0,2s. The first four was covered by 1,3s with Schriks being the fourth car across the line. Behind the front batch, Jansen and Wilson had a great dice, with Jansen beating Wilson to the line. Eric Booysens made a mistake on lap 1 into turn 5 and spun dropping him to the back of the field. Jannie Geyser, Vaughn Hills (Hankook Rhema 2) and Jeandre le Roux (Liqui Moly Lantis) had a race long battle. It unfortunately ended in tears as Geyser and Hills tried a pass on each other into turn 5 with Geyser missing a gear and Hills and le Roux having nowhere to go, bumping into each other. Unfortunately, Hills retired and Geyser and le Roux finished out of position. Brandon Hills had a much better race, having to drive with one hand as the other was keeping the car from jumping out of 3rd gear. He finished in seventh ahead of father Peter Hills who was driving Dave Austin’s DA Racing Rhema 2. Theodore Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts/Forza Racing Vision) finished ninth, fending off a struggling Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg Rhema 2) as his engine was at its end. Rookie Poulsen and Roy Douglas (Forza) had a good dice to finish eleventh and twelfth. Booysens and Haydn Ellwood (Yellow Capital Sting), who only arrived from London just before the start of race 1, was next up. MD Bester (Mangaza Racing Rhema 2) was a non finisher of race 1 as his car gave electrical problems., forcing him to retire and Blane de Meillon couldn't get the gearbox issues resolved for the races. Race two had even more action in the front. Holm started in pole and the battle continued with Ramchander. In turn two, Brandon Hills starting 12th, bumped brother Vaughn who started in 8th after Brandon got a demon start. He then had to retire after one lap due to a damaged kill switch. Booysens again had a spin and fell to the back of the pack. On lap 6, Ramchander ran Holm off the track when a overtaking manoeuvre went a little wrong. Holm fell back to fourth before fighting back to take the lead on the last lap. Behind him Ramchander fended off Vd Berg who developed a slight misfire on the last two laps and he finished ahead of Jansen and Schriks. Wilson finished behind them and Vaughn Hills just beat Jannie Geyser after their race one battle continued with a much better result this time around. MD Bester finished in ninth to make up for the race one problem with Peter Hills beating Theo Vermaak by 0,05s. Poulsen beat Ellwood and Douglas finished behind them. Booysens was 15th with Craig Forbes (Hankook Sting) finished in 16th. Holm took the top step of the podium, but with Ramchander finishing 2nd and Vd Berg 3rd, it was Ramchander who opened up a 5 point margin at the top of the Championship log. This is the first time he has been clear at the top of the championship. With round three on 17 April 2020 at Killarney in Cape town in jeopardy due to the COVID-19, Lushen's lead might be critical come the end of the season. Stay informed as we will share info on our website and facebook page regarding the next round.