The Sunday News
Lovert Mafukure
It’s racing time! Save the date, Saturday, 30 September. It is the Peter Parnell Trophy and some motoring goodies are brewing so don’t miss out on the action.
It is the penultimate event of the national championship and it’s the last one in Bulawayo, but second last in the series. Still on the line-up though is the Spin Fest on the 28th of October, Castrol Public Drags on the 4th of November and finally the Main event the Toyota Castrol 3 Hour Endurance Race on the 9th of December.
The winners of the 10 lap race will get the Peter Parnell Trophy. It is essentially in recognition of the motoring legend Peter Parnell who was an outstanding racer in the whole southern region in the 60 and 70s. It’s all about honouring the Motoring legend of yesteryear.
As usual there are different classes with the Sports Class A — which is unlimited, Sports Class B — which is up to 1600 cc, Saloon Class A — also unlimited, Saloon Class B — which is up to 2000 cc, Saloon Class C — also up to 1600 cc and Saloon Class D — which is up to 1400 cc. All the other vehicles that are turbo-charged automatically enter into the unlimited class
On the national standing Mano Zevgolis is leading the pack on top in the saloon C class and 2nd place there’s Mike Laing and both of them will be driving their Honda CRX’s.
They are both from Harare and are coming to give our Bulawayo guys some competition. Our own Calvin Rademeyer from Bulawayo, driving a VW Polo, is currently in 2nd place and will be battling it out with Hilton Harunavamwe from Harare who is currently in 1st place in the Saloon B championship.
The man that needs no introduction on the Bulawayo circuit, Darren Pragji will be competing in Saloon Class C with his 4A GE-powered Datsun 1200.
The Paint master Zane Shah will be racing his Toyota conquest as well.
There promises to be a good variety of vehicles racing, such as one or two more Sports 2000, as well as perhaps a faster Craig Goby, having replaced his 8 valve Opel motor in his Sports 2000 to a 16 valve, in the Sports A class. Also in close competition are Harare guys Warren Thorne in 1st and Shaun Whyte in 2nd in the Superbike category, also both from Harare. It is likely that they will both be here to get the optimum number of points possible.
These events as usual are made possible by companies with a soft heart for motor racing. This time Total Lubricants came on board to partner with the Bulawayo Motoring Club to make this event possible. Other partners that have made this event possible include Road Angels for breakdowns, Auto Quip invitational handicap race sponsor, Daniels Generators, Guard Alert, Afdis and Delta Distributors and Fence Africa. Without them, we wouldn’t be gearing up for the big day.
The Bulawayo Motoring Club has also been on a drive to better the motorsport and also recently changed the name from the Falls Road Circuit to the Bulawayo Motorsport Park. It’s a bit more accommodative to all kinds of motorsport which is what BMC is all about.
As usual its $5 entry for adults and kids under 12 are free to watch the mayhem come September 30. There will be full bar and catering on the day with a jumping castle for the kids, so come out and support the Bulawayo racers.
