Words: Marcel Sigg
Midvaal May 10th – The third round on the Liqui Moly Legends Racing calendar took place at Midvaal just south of Johannesburg on Saturday, 10 May 2014.
Championship leader, Devin Robertson, resumed his title defence against the charging Seef Fourie Jnr, Gary Formato and Franco Di Matteo. South African Pop singer Nicholis Louw was unable to race and lent his 37 Chev Sedan to Jaco Correia with varying amounts of success.
In Heat 1 Devin Robertson powered his Big Boss Auto 1934 Ford Coupe from 4th on the grid to 1st place showing that his intricate knowledge of his home track was going to prove to be a huge advantage. Seef Fourie in the Karcher 1937 Dodge Coupe and Gary Formato in the A-Line Wheels cars were left to fight for second all the while trying to hold off the experienced Jaco Correia and Franco Di Matteo in the golden coloured 1934 Rock Raceway Ford Sedan. Whilst Robertson set a scorching pace the gap between him and second place was considerably smaller than on previous outings at Midvaal. This shows that the rest of the field have made some considerable gains in on track performance.
The best drive in heat one has to go to Divan Myburgh who finished 6th after starting 13th in his ‘34 Ford Coupe. Lonika Maartens continues to impress with her exceptional performances, taking her number 26 car from 20th to 15th. As the only Young Lion, Lonika starts at the back of the grid at every event and thus far has battled her way through the ranks successfully at every track.
Two drivers made their Legends debut at Midvaal. Johnny De Carvalho, a novice to racing and well known V8 racer, Romano Sartori. Johnny started his career with two spins on the first lap but later settled into his rhythm and kept the car on the track for the rest of the day.
If there was any doubt that Devin Robertson was at home before the second heat he quickly put those ideas to rest with a dominating performance that saw him drive from 14th to 1st in 8 laps. The bumpy track held no demons for Devin as he passed all before him and neatly side-stepped a potential pile up in turn one after Divan Myburgh spun and Jaco Correia had nowhere to go but into his door. Correia retired the Liqui Moly car immediately but Myburgh was able to resume behind the safety car. The safety car pulled off after one lap and the race resumed with Seef Fourie again challenging Robertson for the top step on the podium. Divan Myburgh was able to recover from his bumper bashing and finished in a credible 5th place. Di Matteo and Formato made up the top four. Shaun Nel drove an impeccable race to finish 6th, his best performance in 2014.
As if any confirmation was needed, Devin Robertson showed his class in heat 3 to drive literally from the back of the grid and take the win. The temperature had dropped quickly as sunset approached but Robertson was still in the mood to burn up the track. Once passed Seef Fourie and Gary Formato they could do no more than follow him home all the way. Franco Di Matteo put in another credible effort for 4th and Morne Stoltz came from nowhere to put in his best finish of the season with a fantastic 5th place. Allan-Jon Venter of two-wheel fame also saved his best performance for last with a valuable sixth place that earns him 145 points for the heat. Just to emphasize her talent, Lonika Maartens drove her #26 car from 20th to tenth! This young girl is one to watch in the future!
