Mouthwatering endurance racing on the menu at Zwartkops this weekend

BELIEVE it or not, there are those people who are not interested in Varsity Shield rugby, or the Blitzbokke in Canada, or the Proteas whipping up the cream of the crop on Pakistan’s batting-friendly pitches.

Yes, we all know who you are … petrolheads!

We know that you are smacking your lips at the prospect of the Formula One season that kicks off mid-March in Australia, but how do you deal with the cravings for the screeching of rubber on tar, the smell of high octane fumes and the satisfying roar of engines that causes your bones to vibrate?

There may be a solution. It’s not cheap, but no addiction is easy to maintain, and if the itch becomes too much to scratch, too unbearable, you can pack up your cravings and head down to the Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria this coming weekend where all kinds of satisfaction awaits your petrol-headed desires.

The Southern African Endurance Series (SAES), the promoter of the SA Endurance National Championship, has a mouth-watering line-up of support races for the opening round of the championship that takes place at Zwartkops on February 21 and 22.

For those who need a bit of background, last September, SAES introduced the SA GT Super Trophy for Sports and GT cars. The class grew so quickly that SAES launched a single-brand Porsche class with 16 cars, featuring two sprint races and a 45-minute race over the weekend.

The Sports and GT race has 12 entries, while the Motorcycle Racing Series SA (MRSSA) brings 46 entries, ensuring non-stop action across the two-day event. MRSSA is leading the transformation in motorsport with 11 riders of colour, aligning with SAES's Africa Race Together charter.

And if you’re tempted to head down to Zwartkops, here’s a taster, just a little morsel, a light overview of what awaits you if you decide to take a day off work and make the trip.

GT Cup SA:

Charl Arangies will debut his new Porsche 991.2 GT3 R, with Stradale Motorsport fielding three more cars. Noteworthy entries include Mike McLoughlin in a 911 GT3 Cup type 996 and Sun Moodley's Bigfoot Express GT3 Cup Porsche, promising intense competition.

Of course, you already know that Arangies’s Porsche 991.2 GT3 R is powered by a water-cooled, six-cylinder horizontally opposed boxer engine with a displacement of 4,000 cubic-centimetres that delivers an impressive 550 hp. This means that Arangies is in a car that can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds and has a top speed of 320 km/h.

Have you decided to go yet? If so, bear in mind that qualifying is on Friday at 3.20pm, followed by the first race at 5.35pm. Saturday features races at 10am and 11.40am.

Sports and GT:

The Sports and GT entry features a variety of mouthwatering marques including McLaren, Lamborghini, Porsche, Ligier, Backdraft, BMW, and Shelby. Notable entries include Andrew Horne’s Ligier-Honda JS 49, Mike McLaughlin makes another appearance in a Backdraft Slingshot, and Arangies will be there again, this time in his Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Qualifying is on Friday at 2pm with the first race at 6pm. Two races are scheduled for Saturday at 8.20am and 12.05pm.

MRSSA Motorcycles:

Two wheels more your style?

Then you’ll be thrilled to know that a bumper entry of 46 motorcycles will thrill fans at Zwartkops; split into three classes for 1000cc and 600cc machines as well as V4 and Battle of the Twins (BOTTS), there is a separate class for Classic bikes and Open Superbikes.

Qualifying for the three classes starts at 3.35pm on Friday with the races on Saturday for Senior SBK riders at 8.45am and 10.25am, Junior SBKs at 9.10am and 10.50am. The Unlimited motorcycles have their races at 9.35am and 11.15am.

It’s worth mentioning that all this is possible because Southern African Endurance Series is proudly supported by Africa Race Together, Dunlop Tyres SA, Foton and Proton, Creative Ink and SuperSport