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Collin Matiza Sports Editor
DONNYBROOK Raceway — the home of local motorsport — will once again come alive this Sunday when the Sables Motor Racing Club celebrates its 50th anniversary by hosting the final event of this year’s national main circuit racing series. In fact, Sunday will see all the top Zimbabwean drivers in action as they celebrate 50 years of main circuit racing in this country in an event that is sponsored by Castrol and it comes just a week before the staging of the Grand Finale of the 2017 Drag Racing Series at the same venue.

The main race of the day on Sunday will be the Sables Grand Prix and should be closely contested by all the competitors as there is a handicapping element in place to allow slower cars to take the honours. Upward of 25 cars are expected to be on the line for the Grand Prix and heading up the fastest cars will be young Fanie van der Linde in his Tandamanzi-sponsored Rotary Turbo. Very close behind him and fighting for honours will be a gaggle of Class A saloon cars headed by Jim Perry and his son driving similar Turbo Charged 3 Series BMWs. Veteran motor racing driver Richard “Mahobho” Robinson will be hoping to bring some extra horse-power to the track after rebuilding his car and together with Rowan Whyte, Barney Rogers and Craig Bond will be looking to take the chequered flag.

More consistent runners like Eric Heard, in his Yamaha Super 7, Craig Green, in his superbly built Zuva-sponsored Corolla, and Gary Kirk will be looking to outsmart Bulawayo’s Denzil Bhana, who races mainly in South Africa, in his Glasby prepared Mini.

In the sports car section, van der Linde has already won the championship and is appearing on track determined to break into the 1minute 10-second lap times. Hot on his heals is Rogers in a similar powered car and Heard’s Super 7. Class B should see veterans Kirk and John Cameron fighting it out with the van Reenan brothers and Des Morris taking the balance of the positions.

In Class A Saloons, Hamish Perry has secured the championship but will still want to stay ahead of the field. Class B sees Bulawayo’s Calvin Rademeyer in a very small lead over Harare’s Hilton Harunavamwe and Clayton Green; and it is anyone’s championship. Mano Zevgolis and Mike Laing, in similar powered Honda cars, are well ahead of the rest in their predominately Toyota 1600s in Class C Saloons which should contain at least 14 cars in the field. Racing starts at 12noon and entry is $5 per person with kids under 12 free. And Temba Mazvimbakupa of the Zimbabwe Motorsport Federation yesterday urged all local motorsport enthusiasts to make their way to Donnybrook on Sunday to watch what he said will be an exciting final event of this year’s main circuit racing.

“All the ‘big guns’ of local motor racing will be in action on Sunday and I think there will be some nail-biting races on the day as they will all be jostling for the top honours; and this will make it a fun-filled day for the spectators too,” Mazvimbakupa said.