Pretoria - If you've been keenly awaiting the start of the local motorsport season, the wait is almost over, because all cylinders start firing up at the Z this weekend.
A diverse menu of racing and off-track activities awaits you at the annual Passion for Speed extravaganza on February 1, 2 and 3.
On track, the event’s headline race takes place on Saturday; the 18th Castrol Tourist Trophy for Pre-1968 Le Mans Sports and GT cars.
This 45-minute race, which includes a mandatory three-minute pit stop, has attracted 21 entries.
Topping the list will be cars such as the classic Lola T70 Spyder driven by Rui Campos, the beastly Cobra Mk3 V8 driven by Warren Lombard, the rare Chevron B8 driven by South African saloon car champions Michael Stephen and Jeffrey Kruger, the stunning Ginetta G4R driven by Josh Dovey, a legendary Ford GT40 driven by Peter Bailey, and a gorgeous Shelby Daytona driven by Peter and Paige Lindenberg, just to name drop a few.
Other epic cars will contest the races for Castrol Pre-1974 International Sports Prototypes.
Top contenders in this class include Neil Lobb in a Lola T70, Peter van der Spuy in a classic Porsche RSR Turbo, Roy Douglas in a Lancia Beta Montecarlo and John Beaumont in the thundering Porsche 917.
The event’s largest fields will be seen in the races for Pre-1980 Historic saloon cars with 35 vehicles set to face the starter.
Pre-event favourites include Seef Fourie (Mazda R100 Rotary), Willie Hepburn (Ford Capri 3,0), Johann Smith (Mazda Capella), Jannie van Rooyen (VW Scirocco), Trevor Tuck (BMW 535i), Deon van Vuuren (Mazda R100 Rotary), Mike O’Sullivan (Chev SS), Jason Campos (BMW 328i), Mario Rossi (Ford Capri GT), Peter Ross (Alfa GTV6), Graeme Nathan (BMW E9), Roelf du Plassis (BMW 325i) and Derek Boy (Chev Firenza CanAm).
There will also be races for Pre-1966 Legend saloons, Under Two-litre and Little Giant cars, Historic Single seaters, Midvaal Historic cars, Liqui Moly INEX Legend cars and current day G&H Transport Extreme Supercars.
On Sunday, there will be races for Bridgestone Challenge motorcycles, Bridgestone Superbikes, and Red Square Kawasaki ZX10 Masters motorcycles.
Off the circuit, Volkswagen and Volvo will add great spectator interaction, with everybody welcome to go on skidpan, kart circuit and 4x4 passenger rides throughout the meeting - all free of charge.
The organisers of the event say it’s going to be a memorable weekend out for the family.
Tickets are available at R200 for adults and R130 per student from
.