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Kyalami

Vodacom Speed Festival

26/11/2000

Race

A Lola Double

The SRWC closed its doors with an exciting last couple of laps, after Ralf Kelleners looked secure with a 50 second lead in the Kremer Lola. A fuel pick up problem for the unique B98/K2000 Lola saw the German struggling with three minutes left, at which point he was called in to add fuel in the hope that this would cure the starvation. It didn't, but with Marco Zadra homing in on the last tour, Kelleners kept going quickly enough to hang on by 3.3 seconds.

"That was really scary," said the popular Ralf. "I just could not believe what was happening and I radioed the team to get ready to put more fuel in as I thought it might cure the misfire. I was certainly aware that Zadra was catching me and there was absolutely nothing I could do."

Gary Formato had set up the win by overtaking Nicolas Filiberti in the Brums Ferrari during the opening phase of the race, and until the last lap or two, it looked like a Kremer win all the way. Formato had been only fourth fastest in the warm up though, while the pole car didn't set a time after fuel pump failure. But at least most of the meagre field was reliable in the race, only the second Scuderia Italia 333SP failing to see the flag from the SR class. All the Lights entries finished, conveniently in the same order as they started, leaving the debutant Sportscar Racing Team Sweden Lola to take the flag first.

So top points in both classes for the only two Lolas in the field. "We have had a great weekend here and just about everything has gone right," said Kremer's Roush engineer Thomas Albert. "We had no significant problems all weekend and the race went very smoothly for us today," remarked Stanley Dickens, as his car won by a lap. He's hoping to keep Fredrik Ekblom (below) for 2001.

The Brums Ferrari lost second gear after 12 laps, so it did well to hang on in third place, on the same lap as the leaders, while John Nielsen's routine luck continued as he left the pits with an airgun still attached; it departed at Clubhouse Corner, but he and Casper Elgard were limited to fourth. The GMS was 14 seconds back in fifth.

Tim Mullen appears not to have driven the Matrix on raceday, so Robin Smith and Dan Schryvers completed 79 laps between them in sixth.

Gary Formato did just enough to beat the Calderari / Bryner / Zadra combination to fifth in the SR Drivers Championship (67 versus 66), but Peter and Zadra Jnr. take equal third on 77 after their second place in South Africa. Pescatori and Terrien sowed up the title long ago with 127. Smithson and Owen took the Lights title by a similar margin (123 - 72) over Massimo Saccomanno.

Sarel Van Der Merwe and Riian Botma convincingly won the Wesbank class from pole, while the Vodacom Sports Prototype field was also won from pole by Donovan Roscoe and Wotjek Pieron.

Barcelona on April 8 2001 will see the FIA Sportscar Championship contenders meet up for the first time. Good-bye SRWC. Will a Ferrari failure in South Africa signal a new breed of winners next year?