Words: South African Single-Seaters
THE South African Single-Seater racers will take their national championship battle to the coast for one last time this season. On Saturday, October 24, Killarney will play host to the penultimate round of the Extreme Festival with the Formula Ford competitors in a very strategic battle which could result in fireworks at the final round.
Heading to the Cape, Robert Wolk (41 - Chemical Logistics Mygale) is the championship leader. The previous round - at Phakisa Freeway - proved a tough outing and Wolk could only score four points on the race weekend. This allowed Julian van der Watt (42 - Investchem) to close down Wolk's lead to 13 points.
The last time the SASS field competed at Killarney, Wolk and Van der Watt each won a race and ended the day just two points adrift of each other. This sets the scene for some intense competition between the two as they will both be racing flat-out for every single point in their favour.
While Wolk and Van der Watt battle it out, Keagan Masters (44 - Performance Masters) will be looking for any opportunity he can find to consolidate his third place in the championship. Masters is 15 points behind Van der Watt, but just eight points ahead of both Werner Scholtz (3 - Motorvia / Investchem) and Dewald Brummer (11 - Anglo Truck / MAD Racing) who find themselves level on identical points in fourth place.
Scholtz will not be competing at the Cape Town round so, if Brummer can produce a strong showing at the Killarney event, he not only bests Scholtz on points, but could Masters under pressure in the final round.
For Dean Venter (77 - Turnfab Engineering) the Killarney round provides an opportunity to mount a challenge that could see him end the season within the top five. Four races provide him a chance to close down the 12 point gap that keeps him out of the leaders and a good showing in the Cape could set him up for a very real chance to get into the top five finishers for the season at the final round.
With multiple battles set to happen on track as the drivers jostle for position and, ultimately, the very best finishing position in the championship they can achieve, the Killarney round of the SASS championship will see some of the best racing this season.
After Killarney the SASS field will return to contest their final round at Zwartkops in November - which will also be their third race meeting at that circuit for 2015. With the racers well-versed in the setup required for that final round, this season promises a big finish for the year.
