Found at: http://www.rallystar.co.za/article/articleprint/2067/-1/197/
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Bloomsbury King of the Mountain 2003
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Club Mykonos Gymkhana Series
Witzenberg Motor Club 27/28/29 November 2003
If you have never driven up the passage to the Koue Bokkeveld you will not be familiar with the challenge that the all tarmac 27 corner, 5km route, known as the Gydo Pass has to offer. Those that do will spend this coming Saturday and Sunday determining who has the lions share in anatomy when the annual Bloomsbury King of the Mountain Race is once again presented under the auspices of the Witzenberg Motor Club.
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Toby Venter in his Porsche
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Twice King, Toby Venter, has opted not to defend his title this year and a new King will be crowned. Strict crowd control will be enforced this year as the popularity of this event has also proven to be its greatest enemy and only 5000 tickets have been made available for each of the two days at R50 per head. These were for sale at Ashley’s, Bloomsbury and the Ceres Tourism Buro and sold out within days. Accommodation were virtually unavailable from as early as August (before the event had even been confirmed) and with 35 cars and six motorcycles entered per day the action is going to be better than ever.
No less than three communication repeater towers have been erected and spectators will enjoy up to date commentary throughout the event and there will be adequate refreshments on sale. Decent sanitary facilities will also be provided and the entire community have pitched in to make this event the success it deserves to be. Better book your tickets for 2004 now !
Friday will see the teams set up their machinery at the Killarney racetrack and if you failed to get a ticket for the mountain this is your opportunity to come and see some of the meanest street machines SA has to offer being driven to the absolute limit. Personally I favour Saturday as the day to see who really boasts decent weight in the driving seat as the “up to 2 litre”category really have to push the envelope to set the sometimes incredible times that they are certainly capable of. Early predictions are that the overall King will rise from this category !
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Dawie Olivier in the Mountain conquering Panelvan
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The dreaded turbocharged Toyota Corolla Panelvan 2.0 of Dawie Olivier shocked the motorsport fraternity when they won the All-Tar Rally (with in excess of 100 entries) in Gauteng and then proceeded to kick ass on the mountain. Looking at the general appearance of this car one would have been forgiven had you not given it much of a chance to impress, never mind win. What a revelation did it prove to be on the mountain ! For obvious reasons he has been allocated number one for 2003.
Grant van Eck would not be found dead in a car with any number but 2 (much like trying to get Sarel van der Merwe into a car with the number 4) and the GTi Challenge VW Golf GTi 2.0 will be the most powerful car that he has ever had at his disposal. The GTi Club has been supporting this event froom day ons and as such it is always good to see their well prepared and well driven entries return every year. Gerardo Cammarata returns in a Subaru Impreza GT 4x4 Turbo and will undoubtably give a good account of himself. Number 4 is owned by Robby Ferroli and the dayglo orange twin engined, turbocharged and nos injected 544kw monster Ferroli Motorsport VW Golf MkI and with fresh Yokahama rubber imported for the occasion this would be a fair bet for overall honours. Do not be fooled by its silence, this is no toy !
Anton Slabbert returns with a very powerful 144kW 2.0 engine in his well known number 5 white VW Golf MkI and this very capable driver must rate as a threat.
Normally running with number 48 the quickest normally aspirated Hyperformance Camshaft Specialists Opel Kadett GSi 2.0 16v in South Africa will be piloted by one Johnny “Bravo” de Beer and he might just be the only driver that is feared by the mountain. Expect the red Opel to be in blistering form and remember, this is a normally aspirated car. Bessie Bester claimed number seven for some obscure reason and the 3rd Network silver GTi Challenge VW Golf GTi 2.0 certainly produces enough power to smoke its wheels at will. If the driver is in the correct mindset this could be another demon time. Sporting a new Possum Bourne Motorsport engine and a determined driver makes for an excellent package under the Cape Ads banner and the Subaru S/W Impreza 4x4 Turbo will be pedalled with gusto by a very capable Peter Petersen.
Little is known about Sean van der Merwe and his number 9 Lancia, expect him to do his talking on the mountain. Driver of number 10 needs little introduction in South Africa as Geoff Mortimer have won SA titles on both tarmac an gravel. His prowess in making good racing machinery great machinery is actually his greatest claim to fame and seeing him behind the wheel of the SAAB 900 with which Michele Lupini won the 2003 All Tar Rally could be read as something significant as Mortimer would undoubtably have tweaked even more power out of this superb car. Definitely the dark horse for the day. Mark Grinnel is better known for his exploits behind the wheel of his Lotus 7 replica at Killarney but will make his mountain debut in a more suitable Subaru Impreza 4x4 Turbo.
Marius Smal lives for a shot at the mountain and his purple Hyperformance Camshaft Specialists Opel Astra 200 STi have been tweaked with a shot at pipping the time of Johnny de Beer and it hates as VW ahead of it. Hopefully this will be the weekend where all the pieces click together for a solid performance.
Number 13 and his car is cosmic green ! Gerrit Coetzee will be the VW driver on a mission and the indecently quick GTi Challenge MkI Golf is exceptionally well driven. A combination worth watching as Gerrit is capable of living on the very edge. Japie Joubert have never had a good outing on the mountain and his obviously powerful Honda Civic Turbo has never been able to show its true potential. Expect this to be a very different animal this year.
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Gerrit Coetzee in the Subaru Impreza
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Charles Arton is a familiar name but whether his no 15 Lola T212 is a genuine or replica should have little influence on its performance. This was a classic in the heyday of proper sportscar racing in the early 70’s and even youngsters will still appreciate these exciting cars. An Audi S2 Quattro makes for impressive statistics on paper and Shane Naidu will have to deliver to keep the cars reputation intact as anything
Quattro realtes to mind boggling performance. Having been denied his regular number 7 will only serve to make Cobus Erasmus more determined to succeed behind the wheel of his well known black Demag VW Golf GTi 2.0 16v. Having just been crowned the Witzenberg Motor Club Champion for 2003 will see much local support for the popular driver. The heavier Golf II surprises with every outing, expect to see him ahead of much faster cars at the end of the day.
Leon Loubscher is new as a competitor but when you enter a new BMW M3 complete with supercharger you are obviously quite serious about tackling the mountain. Certainly deserves closer attention. No number nineteen present and Andries Van Eeden will start as car 20 in his familiar white GTi Challenge VW Golf CTi 1.8. No 21 represents another dark horse entry with Rupert van der Merwe set to attack the mountain in his indecently quick silver Subaru Impreza STi. Rupert has been logging milage behind the wheel of his Polo rally car and knows Gydo pretty well. The silver scooby has enjoyed some very special TLC from Britain and simply has to rate as a potential winner.
Kosie Swanepoel is another driver who needs little introduction and is capable of drivers the wheels off virtually any racing vehicle. Armed with a very special and extremely wild Toyota Liftback Dawie Olivier would be well advised to watch the progress of this combination. The SASCAR ace understands the skills required to be fast and also enjoys driving for the spectators. Expect this car to have the most vocal support from the big crowd. Charl Joubert will be the third Joubert and he will drive a very rapid Honda Civic on his mountain debut.
Johan Bester has entered a very innocent looking BMW 318 but this car is fitted with a much more powerful engine and Mike Carelse will make his debut behind the wheel of another Subaru Impreza STi 4x4 Turbo. Bennie Lodewyk drives a very rapid KSD prepared cosmic green VW Golf MkI 2.0 racing car and when focused he has proven quite capable behind the wheel. Paul Riley makes the long haul from Durban and his hard working Subaru Impreza STi 4x4 Turbo is considered to be one of the quickest around. Having tried his hand at the mountain he could prove a serious threat this year.
Number 28 is the car that will enjoy the attention of all as Dawie Joubert set some stunning times when he tackled the mountain for the first time in 2001. Unfortunately the Dastek Lotus Elise Motorsport suffered mechanical failures galore in 2002 but having recently recorded a stunning 326km/h over a measured kilometer (from a standing start) the opposition must be concerned. There can be absolutely no doubt that the car will be prepared to absolute perfection and Dawie is a very quick and determined driver. The safe money would be on this yellow missile.
Sean Potter might have some super natural benefits built into his Subaru Impreza 4x4 Turbo but Pieter Hugo will have to depend on sheer driving ability in his bronze coloured Kia Motors Paarl VW Golf GTi 1.8. Hailing from Ceres he will be carried up the mountain by the local population. Neville Perkins have swopped panels with Gydo in the past and he will undoubtedly want to settle the score in his green Subaru Impreza GT 4x4 Turbo.
Oval track legend, Deon de Waal, is billed as the show stopping sideways spectacle for the day in both his regular BMW 530 and the ex-Rollino Ford Sierra XR8. Peet van der Walt and his well prepared U-Store-It GTI Challenge VW Golf CTi 1.8 the car entered for the Saturday. Always an underdog Peet has the habit to pop up unexpectedly when the results are tallied. Somehow Gydo always spurs drivers on to greater results so expect quite a number of these drivers to qualify for a place on Sunday as well !
Greg Dreyer enjoyed a visit to the mountain in 2001 and proved exceptionally quick without having had any time to set up his racing motorcycle. Expect some spectacular two wheeled action this year in the SA version of the Ilse of Man TT. Greg will return aboard a powerful Yamaha R1 and will be challenged by local Kamikaze Kawasaki pilot, Charl van Sittert and for the nostalgic Danie Maritz will fight his gloriously sounding Honda CBX 1000 six cylinder to the top of the mountain. Charles Grssie will also be present aboard a Yamaha R1 and Gareth Kenward will make his debut on his trusted Aprilia 1000.
Sunday will see the exotics sparring with the hot hatches and home built hotrods. Car number one will be the immaculately prepared twin turbo Alfa Romeo 3.1 powered Ultima GTR of Dr Stuart Kidgell. This Durban based driver have won the coveted title as driver of SA’s fastest street legal car on numerous occasions and his cars are both beautiful and quick. Obviously Alfa Romeo power will see it reach the mountain faster than anything else. Alan Dike and his Gulf Tiga rotary sports racer would obviously like to prove me wrong and Robby Ferroli will not take this statement lightly in his brightly coloured twin engined Golf. Let the games begin !
Owen Ashley Developments have been preparing the 2.7 litre Porsche 911of Fred Phillips but it remains doubtful whether it would be seen on top of the times. Robbert Loevendie have seen some mountain action before and returns behind the wheel of a very exclusive SMG BMW M3. Will we see times to match the F1 technology ? Hermann Mahnke relies on sheer driving ability to exert every last ounce of available grunt from his more conventional Flora Bay Resorts BMW M3 and this yellow bullet is a firm favourite with Cape crowds. This could represent the drive of the day.
Roy Gruyer returns for more in his Porsche 993 Turbo with former rally ace, Bert Klaver, tackling the mountain behind the wheel of a fearsome Chevrolet Lumina SS. This is a car that requires a very firm hand and as a former rallyist Bert will be expected to deliver the goods. The Chevy supporters will have little time to enjoy their spectacle before Steve Wyndham sets off in his brutishly powerful Ford XR8. Welcome back to the real racing days. My money is on the Chevy, just to be difficult ! Japie Joubert will automatically start on Sunday in the rapid Honda whilst Abel Maartens make a welcome return in the Callaway Chevrolet Corvette. Sean Potter makes Sunday a second day of action with William Carter also present in his Porsche 996 Turbo.
Werner Koekemoer is set to return with his M3 powered BMW 328 GpN racer / rally car and this alone should see the mountain filled to capacity as his exploits in a rear wheel driven vehicle needs no introduction. Rob Beaumont is as well known on the SA airshow circuit as he is as SASCAR racer and have been improving in both disciplines. Wether he is behind the controls of his L39 fighter trainer or the V8 SASCAR the dedication is always visible and he should prove a worthy challenger to the throne. Raj Chandraser and the former Touring Car class B BMW will make the trip down from Durban as per normal and he has become a regular on Gydo. Andrew Markham makes his Gydo debut behind the wheel of a monstrous SASCAR V8 and this should prove quite a challenging vehicle. If he can control the power on tap it should prove very quick.
Kosie Swanepoel will also enjoy a second outing on Sunday and the lessons learnt on Saturday could see
this Toyota improve overnight. An AC Cobra in any configuration is a hairy vehicle at Gydo and both Rob Pringle and Kosie Corder will have to have their wits about them when tackling this 5km of really challenging tarmac. Mynhardt de Jongh must be a firm challenger as the most spectacular sideways driver currently in the Cape and this popular Motorsport Garden Route entry will prove very popular once the tail happy Nissan Skyline 2.8GTX have smoked its way past the spectator points. George compatriot, Johann van Aswegen, will also give a good account of himself in the Porsche 911SC.
Car 28 will once again challenge for overall honours and Dawie Joubert is more than capable to upset in the Dastek Lotus Elise Motorsport. Protea farmer, Leon Booysen, is something of a regular on the mountain and his Porsche 993 Turbo normally posts the quickest time on road tyres. Expect a good outing by the popular Somerset West farmer. Deon de Waal will be entertaining in his BMW 530 whilst Nick Vernon will once again drive his beautiful Datsun 240Z. Maybe he should bring RUMAD for another outing ?
Dawie Olivier and the rapid Panelvan must not be forgotten and just to make the Chevy fans happy Anton Rollino will have his rapid Chev Can Am V8 in action as well.
The motorcyclists could still steal the thunder as they too will enjoy another knee scratching day aboard some very wicked machinery.
Cancel any other plans you might have had and head for the clouds the weekend. Gydo has arrived and those missing it this year will all be back in 2004 !