Canadian Trans-Am Race Brings New Winner

Edmonton, Canada - Big V8 engines rumbled for the first time in Canada last Sunday when the SCCA brought the Trans-Am machines to Edmonton International Speedway Park for the fourth race of the Sedan Championship.
This race had England's Joe Gillett in a one-off entry, driving the #45 Reventlow-Pettey Racing Ford Mustang. Alongside Gillett, Ford Motor Co. also sent Smokey Yunick's racing effort with driver Steve Velocity, Bud Moore's two cars with Matthew Sibanyoni and Luka Zadel, Kendall Racing's Ricardo Mendes and the Moffat-Brut #33 car with Argentina's George Oster.
Unfortunately for Ford, Zadel and Velocity didn't arrive at the track. 
This, however, did not hamper Ford's effort to win for the third time in four races.

The 55-lap race was led away by Ricardo Mendes ahead of Szymon Wit, returning in the #76 Ray Caldwell Dodge Challenger.
Early on, Wit and Mendes were followed by Gillett, who had shown pace throughout the weekend, qualifying third for the Klondyke 300km.

Unfortunately for Ford Motor Co, the #33 car of George Oster was the first retirement of the race. A broken half-shaft caused him to spin before the start, before catching on fire in the pits. Oster was unhurt, but he was visibly unhappy with his equipment.

There was more drama early on in the race, as Matthew Oboyski in the #8 Pontiac Firebird suffered a braking failure while chasing Matthew Sibanyoni and Christian Dauger - with the South African getting the worst of it!
Pontiac had promised a reliable engine for both Oboyski and Anderson Bernardino, and now the brakes cause issues...will GM get it right eventually? Either way, that was one Pontiac and one more Mustang out of the race.

After the retirement of Sibanyoni, Oboyski and Penske's Pascal Mikula, and a bad pit stop from race leader Mendes, it was France's Christian Dauger in a 1968 Camaro leading the race ahead of Joe Gillett!

Only five laps before the finish, the lead changed for the final time, with Gillett taking over to win the race. Dauger took a well-deserved second place, with Ricardo Mendes fighting back to step on the winner's podium.

Brazil's Anderson Bernardino managed to record Pontiac's first race finish after a long period of unreliability, claiming fifth place behind Szymon Wit.

Klondyke 300 - Results

SCCA Trans-Am Championship Standings

1. Joe Gillett (England) - 1 Hour 43 Minutes 01 Seconds
2. Christian Dauger (France) - 1 Hour 43 Minutes 06 Seconds
3. Ricardo Mendes (Portugal) - 1 Hour 44 Minutes 26 Seconds
4. Szymon Wit (Poland) - 1 Hour 43 Minutes 46 Seconds (Lapped)
5. Anderson Bernardino (Brazil) - 1 Hour 44 Minutes 09 Seconds (Lapped)
6. Pascal Mikula (Germany) - Accident After 29 Laps
7. Matt Oboyski (United States) - Accident After 9 Laps
8. Matthew Sibanyoni (South Africa) - Accident After 9 Laps
9. George Oster (Argentina) - Driveshaft Failure After 0 Laps

1. Ricardo Mendes (Portugal) - 28 points
2. Christian Dauger (France) - 20 points
3. Pascal Mikula (Germany) - 13 points
4. Luka Zadel (Slovenia) - 10 points
5. Joe Gillett (England) - 9 points
6. Szymon Wit (Poland) - 6 points
7. Matthew Oboyski (United States) - 3 points
8. George Oster (Argentina) - 3 points
9. Dmitry Shudrov (Russia) - 2 points
10. Matt Sibanyoni (South Africa) - 2 points
11. Kilian Gutierrez (Argentina) - 2 points
12. Anderson Bernardino (Brazil) - 2 points

Gillett Wins Back-To-Back CMH Races

Kent, UK - The British Auto Racing Club sanctions this year's CMH Thursday Series with the 1973 "Wella For Men" Formula Ford National Championship. The third meeting of the club was at Brands Hatch Circuit, near London. 

Seven cars were entered, including previous winners Owen Potter, David Sabre and Pascal Mikula.

The qualifier heats were won by David Sabre and Joe Gillett respectively, guaranteeing a good starting spot for the British drivers.

The final heat saw Gillett claim Pole Position ahead of Sabre, with the STP-sponsored Lola of Matthew Sibanyoni in third place.

After twenty-eight laps, Gillett came home over twenty seconds ahead of Pascal Mikula, who fought back after running out of fuel on his qualifier heat. Third place was awarded to David Sabre, who fought a brilliant battle with the two STP Lolas throughout the race. 

After this event, Sabre is still leading the standings, just ahead of Mikula and Gillett. The next meeting will be at Thruxton Circuit, promising another exciting couple of races!

Second Masters Trophy Marks Formula One Return

Johannesburg, South Africa - The World Drivers Championship for Formula One returns to Classic Motorsport Hub for the first time since early 2021, as the second race making up the illustrious Masters Trophy will be the 1978 South African Grand Prix.
According to reports, thirty cars have arrived at Kyalami Circuit, one of which being turbocharger-equipped Renault race cars. However, most cars are equipped with the reliable Ford-Cosworth engine, which made its debut for Lotus in 1967.
The first race of the 1968 Formula One Season, also the South African Grand Prix, was won by a Lotus with the DFV engine.

Up to twenty-four cars will be allowed to start the race on April 17th after qualifying will set the starting order on April 16th.
The race will be 78 laps in length, making this event a marathon compared to what the first race, the 1978 Norisring DRM Trophy, was. That necessitates taking care of ones vehicle, as even changing tires would take up to a minute in the pit lane!

Drivers from all around the world are invited the take part in this event, as inscriptions will be accepted starting March 27th after the conclusion of the 1971 Lexington 180 Trans-Am race.