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Ellina Mhlanga
Sports Reporter
BULAWAYO Motoring Club chairman Darren Pragji has described the three-hour hp lubes Castrol Endurance Race Day held on Saturday at Bulawayo Motorsport Park as a success despite the rains limiting the race to two-and-a-half hours.

The race featured competitors from Harare and Bulawayo with 25 cars and 11 bikers turning up for the event.

Hamish Perry was the three-hour endurance race overall winner ahead of Steve Murton and Kelvin Almark, who came second. Third place went to Mano Zevgolis, who is also a drag racing star.

It was also a good day on the track for Warren Thorne after he took the first step on the podium in the one-hour bike endurance race, ahead of Matthew Shultz and Doug Mellor.

Thorne was also first in the Superbikes A Class.

In the Saloon A Unlimited – 2001cc and Over and Turbocharged, Perry was the winner. On second place was Hilton Harunavamwe while John Dube settled for third place.

Zevgolis topped the Saloon B up to 2000cc while Calvin Rademeyer and Lyle Ramsay were second. On third position was Darren Pragji and Phil Minaar Jnr.

In the Saloon C, Murton and Almark were first ahead of Alain De Jaegere and Gary Bluett.

Vernon Lapham and Trevor Butler managed third place.

Ricky Whyte dominated Class B 250cc four stroke to claim first position. Shaun Whyte and Dave Mouat were second and third respectively.

Saturday’s event was one of the major events held this season following the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that have seen Zimbabwe Motorsport cutting the number of events on their calendar.

Some of the competitions that had to be shelved include the National Championships.

Although they had to stop the race with half an hour to go because of heavy rains for the safety of the drivers and everyone involved, Pragji was pleased with the level of competition displayed by the participants.

“It was an amazing race… We had competitors from Harare, who came and supported the race and competitors from Bulawayo. The competition was excellent.

“We managed two and half hours. It’s normally three hours but we had two and half hours for the safety of our drivers because of the rains.

“The guys really appreciated being back on the track. We had 25 cars, 90 percent of them were all from Harare. We also had 11 bikes,” said Pragji.

The event was also opened to a limited number of spectators under strict Covid-19 guidelines, which also brought some excitement to the race. Pragji said with a number of upcoming stars having a good time on the track, the future of the sport is looking bright and they are looking forward to next year.

Hopefully then the environment would permit them to return to their normal calendar.