The fifth round of the Investchem Formula Ford championship will long be remembered for the aerial antics of Saul Hack (88) during the second race. Hack made contact with the wheel of Allen Meyer (15) before launching into the air and crashing through the tyre barrier at Zwartkops Raceway’s tabletop.
Hack ran out of brakes at a crucial moment and the wheel-to-wheel contact with Meyer served as a launch platform, a danger all open-wheel racers know very well.
Other than shaken, both emerged largely unscathed and racing returned once marshals had cleared the scene. It was a dramatic moment, highlighting the dangers of motorsport – but also the systems in use to keep racers safe.
That accident resulted in the Investchem Formula Ford competitors running race two twice and the results were later combined into a single result.
Race one of the Investchem Formula Ford series saw championship frontrunner Dewald Brummer (4 – MAD Racing / Ango Trucks / Fuchs Oils) take to the grid in pole position – and run a faultless race to take the first race win of the day. Behind Brummer, Julian van der Watt (42 – Race Driver SA) had been pushing lap after lap to try take the lead, crossing the line for second place just 0.79 of a second behind.
Andrew Horne (31 – Investchem) managed to fend off Alex Gillespie (50 – ERP Trucking Solutions) for third place in that first race. For Dean Venter (77 – MAD Racing / Ango Trucks / Fuchs Oils) took a gamble on race day, opting not to run qualifying and save his tyres instead.
For Venter, this resulted in a 13th place start in race one to finish fifth and in race two he crossed the line for fourth place after again after that 13th place start. For the rest of the field, race two saw Brummer and Van der Watt repeat their race one performance – this time with a 0.195 gap for an even closer finish.
The race two result saw third place go to Venter who finished ahead of Gillespie.
With Brummer winning both races, he has extended his lead on Van der Watt which is going to make it a tough run to the end of the season if Van der Watt wants to turn the tables in the remaining rounds.
That’s a recipe for an exciting run to the end of the 2016 season for the Investchem Formula Ford field who have limited opportunities to score the points needed to decide the final championship positions for the year.