Killarney hosts the second round of the national Investchem Formula 1600 championship on Saturday, April 16. This round of the Extreme Festival will no doubt see the action hotting up on track amongst these open-wheel racers after the events that unfolded during the opening event.
The battle – and subsequent crash – between Julian van der Watt (42 – Investchem) and Bevan Williams (36 – MAD Racing / FUCHS Oils) during the first race of round one has put Dean Venter (77 – MAD Racing/Fuchs Oils/Ango Trucks) in an early championship lead thanks to his consistency.
Van der Watt will be chasing hard to turn the tables in the Cape, but his mirrors will be filled by Werner Scholtz (6 – Investchem) and Alex Gillespie (50 – Mbotyi River Lodge) who are joint third overall – and just a single point behind Van der Watt.
Williams will be fighting to improve on his current fifth place standing overall but even he is just two points behind Van der Watt and only five points behind the current leader. With the top five competitors vying for overall victory with such narrow margins between them, the single-seaters will definitely be bringing some heat to what promises to be a wintery race day in the Cape.
The internal championship, for competitors over 50 and the ladies, has Rick Morris (8 – Investchem) the early leader. Morris will carry the advantage on Allen Meyer (15) and Donny Lamola (14 – Investchem) going to Killarney. Whether either stand a chance at unseating Morris as early as this second round is a matter of finding out only by being there.
For Brendan Tracey (110 – Investchem) the Killarney event will be his second in this series. Tracey did a good job at the first event but will feel pressure to perform even better this time around. The Killarney event also marks the first outing this year for Ian Schofield (10 – Investchem) who missed round one due to business commitments.
Close racing, with drivers wheel-to-wheel and just moments from potential disaster is certain to keep the motorsport fans on their toes at Killarney when the Investchem Formula 1600 field take to the track.
With the long back straight and some tight and twisty bits thrown in for good measure the open-wheel competitors will have to stay focused in order to be successful. A momentary slip in concentration could spell the difference between standing on the podium – or not being there to take the chequered flag and finish the race.
While still in the early stages of the eight-round national championship, the Investchem Formula 1600 drivers won’t be taking it easy. The points achieved during the first half of the season are the simplest and easiest to achieve because there are few championship pressures to deal with. This makes the racers eager to get as many as they can as soon as possible to create a barrier between themselves and their rivals. Going into the second half of the season, they will focus more on maintaining their championship position rather than taking risks which should make this outing at Killarney one of the most exciting this year.