Olsen, the man to watch out for

CARL OLSEN 2Collin Matiza and Gary Kirk Sports Reporters
CARL Olsen will be the man to watch out for during tomorrow’s final round of the 2014 main circuit racing at Donnybrook Raceway in Harare.

Olsen won his first race in the Superbikes section of the 2014 Bokomo Weet-Bix’s Megelli 250cc Challenge the last time out and the spotlight will once again fall on him in tomorrow’s event which is expected to attract a full house at Donnybrook.

Olsen only started road racing a few years ago and has come along in leaps and bounds. He is a very talented man and does well at anything he attempts from squash to skiing and now of course road racing.

The Bokomo Weet-Bix Megelli 250cc road race will be the last race of the year in Harare and looks set to be a real thriller as there are a number of riders out to take the first step on the podium and they include veteran motorcyclist Phil “Archie” Archenoul, Gavin Randall and promising female rider Tiffanny Fisher who will all be out to win.

Other riders who will be in the chase will be David Mouat and Ian Gutherless from Bulawayo.

All in all, the whole racing season has been very close and exciting this year with many different winners at each round.

“We say a very big thank you to Bokomo Weet-Bix for their generous support of racing this year and without them would have made it difficult for riders, as the Bokomo Weet-Bix sponsorship helps the riders out with entry fees and fuel costs,” said Shaun Whyte, the man behind the Bokomo Weet-Bix Megelli 250cc Challenge.

In fact, local motor racing fans are in for treat at tomorrow’s main circuit racing which is the seventh round of the Hamish Cameron Grand Prix and will have a full field of sports and saloon cars; and motorbikes.

The Hamish Cameron Race Day will see various classes of saloon and sports cars battle not only for class honours, but for the prestigious Toyota Driver of the Year Championship which will be decided at this meeting.

The Hamish Cameron Grand Prix will be the culmination of the day’s racing, and pits all cars from all classes against each other under a carefully devised handicap system.

With 10 points on offer at the final race, no less than five drivers have a chance to lift the Toyota Cup, but the favourite must be Rowan Whyte who currently leads the championship.

Whyte does not lack the pace to win, as evidenced by his second position in the Whitney Straight championship which is awarded to the fastest driver on the track, but his Subaru WRX STi has had a few reliability issues this year, which could let Bulawayo driver Byron Norman move up from his current second position.

Only 2 points behind Whyte, Norman will, however, have his eyes on the mirrors of his turbo Golf GTi as the Super 7 sports cars of Gary Kirk, John Cameron and Barney Rogers are right behind him in the points table.

Rogers has had his best racing year ever, and has guided his turbo charged sports car to victory in every race that he has contested this year, including the recent Toyota Endurance race.

However his reluctance to travel to the Bulawayo race meetings has left him unable to win the Unlimited Sports Car Championship, allowing multiple champion Richard Robinson to take the victory ahead of past champions Eric Heard and Cole Bond.

The 1600cc Sports Car class remains undecided, the only certainty being that the Cameron name will once again be engraved on the trophy. With 20 points on offer, Brett enjoys a slender 10-point lead from his father John, with Kirk and Farnie van der Linde too far back to be in contention for the championship.

Easily the most dominant competitor of 2014 has been Archenoul who has been undefeated all year on his DeWalt Suzuki, and has wrapped up the Zimbabwe National Superbike Championship already.

Bulawayo rider Gutherless may not be able to win the championship, but would dearly love to end the season with a win, as would Randall and Uli Meiners on his Ducati.

Swapping over to his 250cc Megelli, Archenoul has also clinched the National Championship for Restricted Motorcycles, although he has had a far tougher time in this class. Randall, Shaun Whyte, Graham Hill and fast lady Fisher have all taken race wins this year, but Archenoul has only finished off of the podium twice, and it is this consistency that has given him the title.

The largest grids have been seen in the National Saloon Car races, with 27 drivers scoring points so far. This class has also been the scene of some dramatic on-track and off-track clashes, so although both championships have been decided, there is guaranteed to be plenty of action as some old scores are settled.

Rowan Whyte is the 2014 Unlimited Saloon Car champion, ahead of the similar Subaru of Angelo Tavares, with Dean Norman in 3rd place but only one point ahead of Phil Minnaar’s BMW.

2013 champion Ian Howden has only been able to take his turbo Corolla to victory once this season, as reliability issues have kept him down in 5th spot, but he has the speed to trouble the leaders if the car stays together. Daryl Archibald is getting faster and faster as development on his Skyline GTR continues, while Kevin Allmark and Kevin Steenkamp keep the Ford flag flying in this class.

Officially the fastest woman ever around Donnybrook, Christy Laing will face stiff opposition from Lorraine Randall, who will be pushing her super-charged Mini to the limit in an effort to catch Laing’s turbo Starlet.

Darren Winterboer has already carried the 1600cc National Saloon Car Trophy off to Bulawayo, and with Steve Murton and Darren Pradji’s cars both reduced to piles of pieces, it looks like Nicky Berkau will be able to leap his Corolla up the standings into 2nd place overall.

Mike Exton will also take the opportunity to take his MR2 up the points ladder, although his focus will undoubtedly be on the Toyota 1600 Cup which he currently leads by 8 points from Brett Olsen and Michael McKillop. A Toyota Zimbabwe initiative to encourage drivers of 1600cc Toyotas, this championship is scored on the two handicap races, so there are 20 points on offer tomorrow.

Entry fee for the spectators for tomorrow’s event has been pegged at US$5 per car and there will be full bar and catering.

Racing starts at 10am and there will be jumping castles to entertain the kids. Cooler boxes and deck chairs are welcome.

Come and enjoy an exciting day in the sun with your family and friends!

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