The new year in South Africa does not really get going for the petrolhead fraternity until the Passion for Speed festival at Zwartkops Raceway – scheduled for January 28/28 – where some of finest fast cars will strut their stuff.

Speed is the challenge, but the machine is his weapon. It all started in America with the oval Daytona-type tracks and events in 1950. However, by the sixties big American family cars were racing on road racetracks. The drivers were the heroes of the day. These thunder sound monsters with 350 to 500 Horsepower engines with standard suspension and brakes became the rage.

In South Africa it started in the 7-litre Galaxie (the red monster) which Lee Thompson will be driving followed by the Ford Mustang Commit (Hennie Groenewald), Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt (Mark Du Toit) the Chevs, and Barracudas.

Graeme Nathan will be out for the first time to tame the Chevelle. Franco di Matteo will race the Black Widow in a 1975 Chev Bel-Air. Stiaan Kriel in the black Studebaker Lark. With Hennie Groenewald, Ben Morgenrood Mark du Toit, Lee Thompson, Jaki Scheckter, and Paolo Cavalieri to compete with the big new bangers.

Class B is equally competitive with repeating champion Paige Lindenberg in her grey Ford Fairlane being pushed to the limit by Oliver Broom’s 1965 Ford Mustang and the purple FIA Mustang. Carel Pienaar in his Ford Escort MK1 could just slip by the big bangers.

This is an annual “ONLY FOR THE BRAVE.”

Race No	Class	Name & Surname	Vehicle
13	ZA	Greame Nathan	1965 Chev Chevelle
15	ZA	Jeffrey Kruger	1968 Mercury Cougar
57	ZA	Franco Di Matteo	1957 Chev Bel-Air
60	ZA	Stiaan Kriel	1961 Studebaker Lark
88	ZA	Hennie Groenewald	1965 Ford Commit
110	ZA	Jonathan du Toit	1965 Plymouth Barracuda
177	ZA	Lee Thompson	1963 Ford Galaxie
207	ZA	Mark du Toit	1964 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt
00	ZA	Jaki Scheckter/ Paolo Cavalieri	1965 Ford Galaxie
19	ZB	Paige Lindenberg	1968 Ford Fairlane
123	ZB	Oliver Broome	1975 Ford Mustang
175	ZB	Warren Lombard	1965 Ford Mustang