Donna Collins
There is never a dull moment at the Dirt Oval racetrack, and last Saturday was no exception, with a huge crowd of spectators gathered at Walvis Bay’s Desert Raceway for the seventh and final leg of the dirt oval championships.
This was indeed an exciting last round of the 2017 national dirt oval season, which pitted the front runners against their class rivals, in an all-out battle for the chequered flag, with 37 entries in top form.
Racing started at an enjoyable sunset slot, which saw the track lined with spectators, umbrellas, gazebos and portable braais as racing enthusiasts settled in for an action-packed night, which ended under the spotlights at midnight.
The brightly coloured modified vehicles, representing their four different classes, namely V8s, four-cylinder, 16-valve Hot Rods and the quads, were geared for challenge.
Nail-biting drifting into the dirt corners brought gasps to the crowds, as cars accelerated in a spray of dirt, gaining traction to surge ahead of the pack. Some cowboy style racing in the thunderous V8 Class saw one of the drivers sliding full force into the tyre safety barriers, but managed to continue the race unharmed.
The man to beat in the Hot Rod category and winner of the overall title was Walvis Bay “action man” Allan Martin, who has done amazing things this year both on the dirt oval and rally circuit. He tore ahead of Freddie Stander and Jan Everson who finished second and third respectively in this division.
With ten V8s on the track it was a ding-dong dice with Gino Meyer taking a comfortable lead to win his class, ahead of Rudi van der Westerhuizen and Gert Breedt. This class has really grown over the past year, and undoubtedly these awesome low-slung ‘mean machines’ have become one of the major crowd-pullers at an event.
The 4-cylinder racing provided some good sport, which was won by young Walvis Bay schoolboy Zachery Martin, with Michael Bemke and Dillen Roodt taking second and third podium slots.
Ten quads were at the start, with the duel between Raymond du Plessis who took the winning place in the open class, and Martin Kruger not far behind, who settled for second, followed by Jos Dekmon in third.
Once again the one of a kind Desert Raceway provided a first class facility, with their clubhouse facilities, tower and pit area buzzing with excitement. The organisers and marshals of the Desert Raceway which is celebrating its 4th anniversary took a bow after a successful year’s racing.
It was announced that the Walvis Bay Motor Club and Desert Raceway are joining forces next year, to hold events on the same dates in an effort to work together and build up the sport.