Whatshot
Durban's Mean StreetsReady for Bumper to Bumper Action
Durban's Mean StreetsReady for Bumper to Bumper Action
The fifth round of the championship forms an important part of the city's Top Gear Festival, with fierce, no-holds-barred track action as a curtain-raiser to the afternoon Top Gear shows on both Saturday and Sunday. Think of it as the serious before the silly.
With the 11th-hour announcement from Sasolracing that their pair of Subaru STIs will in fact be heading for the coast, there will be at least eight class A cars on track, with a similar number of front-wheel-drive class T cars expected to make the grid for Saturday's eight-lapper. On Sunday they race for double that distance and score double the points. With a scheduled 12h15 start on both days, it'll make the perfect prelude the Top Gear stadium shows in Moses Mabhida stadium, which kick-off at 13h30.
The driver who is looking most dangerous right now is Gavin Cronje. He shone in the Castrol MINI at Zwartkops in early May, picking up a brace of wins to move into the class T lead.
For local hero Shaun Duminy the fact that he will miss a second championship round following a freak mishap at Aldo Scribante (he tore an Achilles tendon during qualifying) is a bitter pill to swallow, but Gary Formato will be there in the new Ecoboost Ford Focus ST, with two of the older five-cylinder versions riding shotgun. at Aldo Scribante.
With more variables than usual at play, there's every chance of drama in Durban next weekend, and it's an event, which motorsport enthusiasts shouldn't miss. In addition, no other track in the country enables spectators to get this close to the action.