ProAuto Rubber Race Report – 6 March 2021

The Pro Auto Rubber racing team headed out to Red Star Raceway for their first meeting of the year. The 1975 Toyota SR5 Coupe was entered in two categories – Shane Forget would drive in the Pursuit Series, and Andre Dannhauser would compete in the Pre 80 Saloons.

The weekend did not start off very well – in the first practice session the SR5 threw a conrod out of the block after only 3 laps. It really was quite a shame, as the team had found a solution to the persistent suspension problem.

Now for most racers this would mean the end of their racing weekend, but not the PAR team. After a couple of phone calls, some admin and lots of trips between Delmas and Kempton Park, Shane’s Kadett was entered for the Pursuit races, and Andre’s Corsa was entered in the Clubman’s category.

The team made it back to the track in time for one session of practice on Friday. Shane’s car ran flawlessly, but Andre’s Corsa experienced handling issues. Determined to make sure the Corsa was on the grid the next day, the team headed back to the 4J’s Auto workshop, and a bit later in the night the car was ready to go after some serious repair work.

Saturday morning saw Shane qualifying fastest of all in the Pursuit series, and Andre qualifying top of his class in Clubmans despite still struggling with an ill-handling car.

Shane performed really well in the Pursuit races. Generally one will only see battles developing in the last lap of the race, but his 4-lap battle with Riaan Roux’s Scirocco in heat 2 was fantastic to watch. The final results were not available on the day, as some complicated mathematics still had to be done to decide who finished exactly where, but we are pretty sure he managed a good result.

Andre’s races in the Clubmans class were packed with action from start to finish. The highlight of his day was certainly the nail-biter of a race he had with Franz- and Peder Jensen, with the father and son duo making him work really hard on track. Andre secured 2^nd position in his class in the first heat, and went on to win the 2^nd heat.

The PAR team will be in action again this weekend at Zwartkops raceway, where Andre and Shane will be competing in the Superhatch series.