Deon Slabbert made a welcome return to regional saloon car racing at the opening round of the Algoa Motorsport Club championship held at Aldo Scribante on Saturday and went straight back to his winning ways.
In what is considered to be the fastest VW Polo in the country, he set the bar early in the day, outqualifying the speedy Ian Riddle by 1.4 seconds, with Ian Oberholzer a further 0.3 seconds behind.
Oberholzer, in his immaculately prepared turbocharged Volvo 850 Estate, has joined the ranks of the modified saloons in 2025, moving from the Retro Classic class that he has dominated in the past, and with an ever-improving young Elan Buchman in the mix in his VW Golf 7, the scene is set for an exciting season.
Slabbert went on to win all three heats to claim overall victory.
East London’s Wayne Botha, in his Ford Escort, enjoyed a great outing coming home in first place in the Stu Davidson & Sons Coastal Challenge that caters for historic and classic cars, with Alwyn Kretzmann winning the Retro Classic class in his Suzuki Hayabusa powered Lotus 7.
On two wheels, Ronnie Doyle riding a Kawasaki 650 Twin, turned back the clock to finish in first place overall ahead of the young upcoming brat pack, while Craig Benn was victorious in the CBR 150 class.
The results were:
EP Regional Saloons
Overall: 1 Deon Slabbert, 2 Ian Oberholzer, 3 Ian Riddle
Per class
Class A: 1 Deon Slabbert
Class B: 1 Ian Riddle
Class C: 1 Elan Buchman
Class D: 1 Timothy Ball, 2 Greg Forward, 3 Juan van Rooyen
Class E: 1 Kiesha Potgieter, 2 Peter Schultz
Class X: 1 Ian Oberholzer, 2 Josh Moore, 3 Alistair Mew
Stu Davidson & Sons Coastal Challenge
Overall: 1 Wayne Botha, 2 Rane Berry, 3 Jeandre Marais
Per class
Retro Classic: 1 Alwyn Kretzmann, 2 Blake Hurly
Class B: 1 Wayne Botha
Class C: 1 Rane Berry, 2 Jeandre Marais
Class D: 1 Pat Fourie, 2 Ronald Scott,
Class E: 1 Barry Spriggs, 2 Anton Ehlers, 3 Angelique Griffin
Class F: 1 Johan Marais
Class X: 1 Winston Marais, 2 Shane Fantham
CBR 150 Motorcycles
Overall: 1 Craig Benn, 2 Kirsty Oberholzer, 3 Emma Diener
Clubmans: 1 Kirsty Oberholzer, 2 Emma Diener, 3 Kiara Potgieter
Juniors: 1 Craig Benn
Open Motorcycles
Overall: 1 Ronnie Doyle, 2 Craig Benn, 3 Ethan Diener
Per class
600cc: 1 Alan Beaton, 2 Ruan van Zyl
600SSD: 1 Ethan Diener
300cc: 1 Craig Benn
Powersport: 1 Ronnie Doyle
45 Minute Enduro
Overall: 1 Elan Buchman, 2 Josh Moore/Daniel Bright, 3 Sarah Benn
Index of Performance: 1 Josh Moore/Daniel Bright, 2 Sarah Benn, 3 Riaan van Vuuren
The Herald