The Sunday News
Dalphine Tagwireyi Sports Reporter
MOTORING and bike racing enthusiasts will be in for a treat when the Bulawayo Motoring Club host its first national event, the second leg of the John Love Trophy at the Victoria Falls Road circuit on 28 March. The first leg of the race held to remember the late legendary Zimbabwean driver, John Love, will be held in Harare early next month.
The trophy is a tribute to Love who was a six time South Africa Formula One champion in the 1960s.
John Love was born in Bulawayo on 7 December 1924 and his career was dealt a heavy blow when he broke his arm in an accident at Alba which ended his dreams of being a full time F1 driver.
However, Love came close to living this dream when he was nominated as Phil Hill’s replacement in the works cooper team in 1964 for the Italian grand prix at Monza, sadly the Zimbabwean motoring legend passed away on 25 April 2005.
BMC spokesperson Zane Shah said though the season had not yet begun for motoring enthusiasts, they already had confirmation of national events which the BMC will host.
“We will be having an annual general meeting to select a new committee as well as deliberate on motoring events for the year. However, the John Love Trophy is the first national event that we will be hosting on 28 March,” he said.
Shah said the event comprises seven rounds. The Harare event will have four rounds, while the BMC event will be contested over three rounds.
“The race will feature a practice session which will be for an hour and a half, and all drivers and bikers are required to go through the format, and then a qualifying session will be held and this helps time-keepers in placing fast and slow competitors strategically and the actual race will then take up most of the day,” he said.
Racers are set to battle it out in four different classes which include the saloon races, sport cars, Megelli’s series, and super bikes.
The race will also feature the continuation of the national superbike competition which was introduced last year and the event is likely to attract top drivers from Harare and Bulawayo.
Last year, the tournament featured drivers such as Darren Pragji in a Datsun, Julian Van Vuuren (Honda), Shah in the Conquest and Stuart Young competing in the sports car. Harare was represented by Ian Howden in a Corolla, Kevin Steenkemp (Sierra), Kevin Allmark (Ford), Lorraine Randall (Mini Cooper) and Christy Laing in a Startlet.
Seasoned bikers such as Phil Archenoul, Fuzzy Walker, Ian Gutherless, Dave Marsberg, Tim Schultz, Bianca Schultz and Mathew Schultz are expected to battle it out in the competition.
