S.A. Drivers Championship Race

Kyalami, 27 Jul 1985

Notes on the cars:

1. Ralt RT4/82 [325] (Wayne Taylor): New to Brian Ferris in mid-1982 for the Formula South Africa series, where he was entered by his own Dealer Lamborghini operation. Ferris retained the Ralt for the 1983 season, when he was usually entered by Dealer Maserati. Ferris missed the first half of the 1984 season, but had returned by the time of the East London race in August. In 1985, this was one of two cars available to Wayne Taylor to race in the South African series. His car was always entered as a Lant but photographs show he used the Ralt at Goldfields in March and at Kyalami in July, so it is likely he used it at other races. It is assumed here that he also raced the Ralt at Aldo Scribante in August and Killarney in September. Taylor rented a different Ralt for the start of the 1986 season but crashed the Ralt in private testing, writing it off, and returned to chassis 325 for the second half of the season, winning the title with it. Taylor's career then took him to the US, and the Ralt was left in storage with a friend for many years. Around 2006, it ws nearly stolen, so Taylor decided to sell it. It was bought by Colin Ellison, and its identity was confirmed at that point by its FT200 gearbox number. Subsequently sold to the Scribante family collection where it awaits a full restoration.
2. Maurer MM83 [05?] (Trevor van Rooyen): DAW Supplies acquired a second Maurer MM83 for the 1984 season. This car was reported to have been significantly strengthened, compared with the pre-season version that DAW had acquired a year earlier. DAW chief mechanic Brian Kruger recalls that it was the ex-Kenny Acheson car. It was raced by Trevor van Rooyen through the 1984 season. At the end of 1985, both of DAW's MM83s are reported to have been sold to Walter Brun in Switzerland.
3. Maurer MM82 [04] (Dave Charlton): New for Beppe Gabbiani to drive for Maurer Motorsport in F2 in 1982. Sold to Ian Martin's BP-backed South Coast Motors team for the start of the 1983 Formula South Africa season, to be raced by Tony Martin. Martin bought a new Maurer MM83 for 1984, but the older MM82 remained with the team until In May 1985, when it was sold to Herbert Krottenberger for Dave Charlton to drive for the rest of the season under the Scuderia S. Giuricich banner. According to later owner Peter Kernick, it passed to Lew Baker in 1986, then to Gordon Capper in 1999 before Kernick bought it in 2012. Sold to Andrew McCarthy in Australia in late 2021.
4. Lant RR85 (Tony Martin): After Wayne Lahner crashed his Lant at Goldfields Raceway in March 1984, Floris du Plessis (the father of Andre and Jan) built up a new car for him. It used a Lant monocoque, a Lant FT200-copy gearbox numbered '002' and had at least three orginal Ralt magnesium uprights. Given the '002' gearbox and other anecdotal evidence, it appears that this new car contained some parts from the previous entity Lant 'No 2' wrecked by Dave Charlton at Kyalami in January 1983. This is believed to be the car raced by Roy Klomfass at Kyalami on 2 June 1984, but exactly where else it was used remains unclear. It is then likely to be the car driven by Mike Nish at Killarney in February 1985 as the #14 entry after he crashed the team's other car at Kyalami. Then probably for Tony Martin later in the season. Photographs suggest that it was then the #22 car driven by Tony Martin and Basil Mann for Mel Lahner's team in 1986. This is then believed to be the Lant retained by Rack-Rite until about 2003 when it was sold to AJ and Peter Kernick.
5. Lant-Ralt RT4 (Ivano Moavero): Ivano Moavero bought a new Lant monocoque for the 1983 season and it was built up for him by Eddie Pinto using Ralt components, new RT4-size Marston bag tanks and a new Hewland FT200. The resulting car was usually entered as a Ralt, and although it was entered for a number of events in 1983, it did not race that season. It was finally raced by Moavero during the 1984 season, when he was sponsored by Niall's Car Radio. Later that season, Moavero acquired the ex-Graham Duxbury March 832, and the Lant was then driven by Niall Bernic. Moavero raced the Lant again in the 1985 season. The car went to Bill Dunlop in 1986, when it was raced by Allan Dunlop. Dunlop then swapped it for Trevor Trautmann's Chevron B29. Trautmann considered using it to build a 'Can-Am' sports car, but the project did not proceed. It was subsequently sold to Vicky Chandhok in India, who raced it at Madras in 1989. It was next seen with John Payne in the UK, who raced it in Sprints between 1994 and 1996. It was then sold to Cyril Orme-Lynch in Ireland, and by 2005 was owned by Peter and Simon McKinley in Ireland. Peter noted that the car carried the chassis number "RR 8302", but other Lants do not carry a number in the same position. Simon McKinley ran the car in hillclimbs in 2013 and 2014, using a 2.4-litre Millington engine with Warrior head. In April 2015, he crashed the Lant during the Clare Motor Club Hillclimb and was killed.
6. March 832 (Ken Critchfield): New to Ken Howes' Team Gunston for Graham Duxbury to drive in the South African Sigma series in 1983. Like the Ian Scheckter car, it arrived as a monocoque and front suspension, and was completed using the rear end of Duxbury's March 82A. Raced by Duxbury for the remainder of the 1983 season. To Ivano Moavero in 1984, and raced by him and also by Ian Scheckter when he borrowed it for the second heat at Killarney in September 1984. Sold to Ken Critchfield for the 1985 season. The March 832 is believed to have been exported by Gavin Hards to John Brannigan in England. Brannigan received three March 832s in total and it is unclear which was which. He sold one or two of these to John Churchill for a Lancia Stratos GT car project, and it is possible that the Duxbury car was one of those. Subsequent history unknown.
7. Ralt RT4/82 [330-2] (Bernard Tilanus): New to Pete Fouché's Pretoria Brick Racing in mid-1982 for Wayne Taylor to race in the Formula South Africa series. Severely damaged in practice at Kyalami in early September when Taylor went off on oil. Rebuilt on a new monocoque for Taylor for 1983. In August 1983, Taylor "parted company" with Pretoria Brick and moved to Brian Ferris's team. He continued the drive the same Ralt for the rest of the season, renting it from Pretoria Brick, but now painted blue. The car was hired to Bernard Tilanus for 1984, and run for him by Fred Goddard with sponsorship from Camec Cranes. He retained the Ralt for 1985, again run by Goddard and with sponsorship from Duckhams and Camec, although the car was entered as a Lant RR84 at two races early that season. In 1986, the car was hired by Wayne Taylor, who had sponsorship from BP and Whoosh, and started the season very well, winning the first three races. The car was then written off in a testing accident, and Taylor rented RT4-325 to replace it. Taylor returned the remains of 330 to Pretoria Brick. The Ralt tub was so badly damaged that it was thrown away and an unused Lant tub then sat with the parts as a potential future project. This stayed with Piet & George Fouché until around 2005 when the complete rear end of '330 was sold to Fanie Brand (Cape Town) who intended to use it to upgrade a Tiga Sports 2000. This package included the Hewland FT200 which was verified as the original fitted to 330, together with Ralt rear uprights, brakes and other parts. The remaining front end parts were thrown away, and the unused Lant tub ended up hung on the wall of a garage.
8. March 842 (John Moni): After Ian Scheckter and Ken Howes left Formula SA after the 1984 season, Gavin Hards took over as team manager, and John Moni joined as driver. They purchased a second-hand March 842 for the 1985 season, which was entered for Moni by Team Gunston. The car did not work well and by the end of the season was being described as a 842/832. Nearly all the up-to-date F2 cars left South Africa in 1986, but the fate of this car remains unknown.
9. March 77B [8] (Gary Harrison): New to Eddie Pinto and Team Gunston for Roy Klomfass to race in South African Formula Atlantic in 1977, using Swindon BDA engines. Retained by Team Gunston in 1978 for new driver Trevor van Rooyen. Retained again by Team Gunston for the 1978/79 season, when it was a spare car to Van Rooyen's new March 79B and was driven that season by Basil Van Rooyen at Kyalami in October 1978 (when Trevor was unwell), by Dave Charlton at Killarney later that month, and then by Trevor at two races. Later in 1979, it was raced twice by John Love. It was unused in 1980, then sold to Jeff Waberski after his DAW Supplies team's ex-Ian Scheckter March 78B was destroyed in a transporter fire. The 77B was fitted with a Mazda engine and raced by Bernard Tilanus for DAW Supplies from June 1981 onwards. It was raced by Dave Charlton for DAW around March/April 1982, then by Billy Maloney as a DAW entry later in 1982. Maloney crashed the car at some point, and acquired a March 782 to replace it in April 1983. The 77B was sold to Klaus Grogor's House of Sports Cars team for Grogor to drive in the 1983 season, and then retained by Grogor unused through 1984 and 1985. It was then sold to Gary Harrison who intended to convert it into a sports car for the 'Can-Am' series that absorbed Formula SA in 1986, but he only used in single seater form. The car was acquired by Dorino Treccani during the 1990s and sold to Andrew and Stuart Thompson in 2000.
10. March 832 (Michele Peter): New to Ken Howes' Team Gunston for Ian Scheckter to drive in the South African Sigma series in 1983. It arrived as a monocoque and front suspension and was completed using the rear end of a March 822. Raced by Scheckter for the rest of the 1983 season, easily winning the championship. Retained by Scheckter and Howes for 1984, again winning the title. Scheckter then left the Sigma series again, and Howes acquired a newer March 842 for new driver John Moni to drive in 1985. The March 832 was sold by Team Gunston to Michele Peter, who raced the car in 1985. It was then exported by Gavin Hards to Marcus Hotz in Switzerland. By 2004, it had been acquired by Felix Haas, when it still had its Mazda engine and was still in the red #7 livery used by Peter during 1985. A few years later, the car was sold to Jakob Eckhart (Switzerland) who fitted a turbo Mazda engine. Some time after that, it was sold to Lance Robinson (Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire), who restored it and has tested it since, but not raced it.
11. March 832 [15] (Klaus Grogor): New to James Gresham Racing for Enrique Mansilla to drive in Formula 2 in 1983. To Klaus Grogor and fitted with a Mazda engine for the South African Sigma series in 1984. Retained by Grogor for 1985. Grogor appeared again on entry lists in early 1986. The car was then converted into a Sportscar/Thundersports configuration for 1987 and 1988 in South Africa and driven by Grogor and Mike Rossouw with Autoquip sponsorship. It was reverted to single-seater specification and exported by Groger to Europe in 1989. It was acquired (possibly via Gavin Hards) by John Brannigan in England, and sold to Peter Thurston, who fitted a turbocharged Mazda engine and raced it in libre events at Lydden in 1990 and 1991. It was then acquired by Ron Cumming (Kemnay, Aberdeenshire, Scotland) and used in libre events with a BMW F2 engine. In 2001, it was acquired from Cumming by Peter Hammond and sold to Kevan McLurg in 2007, and then to Herbert Schnell in Germany in 2008. It returned to McLurg in 2015, and was sold to Peter Kernick in South Africa in November 2016.
12. Lant RR84 (Bill Maloney): Believed to have been a new car raced by Roy Klomfass at the Formula South Africa race at Kyalami on 28 July 1984 for Rack Rite Racing. It was loaned to Bill Maloney and raced by him at Goldfields in September. Then bought by Maloney and raced by him through the 1985 season, when it was described as a Lant RR85, but it is possible that his 1985 car was a new chassis. The car has a Lant chassis and a Lant-built gearbox, a copy of the Hewland FT200, numbered '003'. Maloney used the car again for the 1986 South African 'Can-Am' season, still in single-seater form. He then fitted it with open sports car bodywork and it in the sports car series that replaced the national series in 1987 and 1988. He then fitted closed bodywork and raced it as a Group C car in 1989, In the early 1990s, it was sold to Dorino Treccani, and returned to single seater specification. In about 2018, it was restored by AJ Kernick for owner Ben Havenga (Cape Town, South Africa).
13. Maurer MM83 [03?] (TBA): Bernard Tilanus drove a Maurer for DAW at the start of the 1983 season that was said to be an MM83, despite appearing two months before the Maurer's F2 cars. It cannot have been chassis MM83-01 as that appeared in F2, but may have been MM83-03. Tilanus was dropped from the DAW team in March 1983, and Trevor van Rooyen continued as DAW's sole driver using the ex-Tilanus MM83. DAW then acquired a second MM83 for the 1984 season. The older car was then partly dismantled and its rear end was used to rebuild DAW's Tiga SC83 Group C Jr sports car. This Tiga was raced by Van Rooyen and Peter Morrison in the Kyalami 1000km in November 1984 but lost a wheel and crashed. The Maurer was reconstituted for 1985, when DAW ran both their MM83s, this car being the No 4 entry for Graham Duxbury and Matt Keyser at least once. At the end of 1985, both of DAW's MM83s were sold to a central European owner. One of the ex-DAW MM83s is currently in Australia and the other is in Germany. The car in Germany is said to be the one built specifically for the South African series but there remains some uncertainty about the identities.
14. March 77B [11] (Braam Smith): New for Rupert Keegan to race in the South African Formula Atlantic series in early 1977, run for him by the Doug Shierson team and entered as Team Uniewinkels. Then run by Martin Flint and Roger Taylor for John Gibb to race for the rest of 1977. Retained by Flint & Taylor's Team Uniewinkels for 1978, when it was driven by Roy Klomfass. Moved to Alex Blignaut's Team Texan for the start of the 1978/79 season, still with Klomfass driving, as a spare car to the team's new March 79B. The 77B was then sold to Dave Hart's Team Valvoline. Hart fitted it with a BMW engine for the new Formula South Africa in 1979, then converted to a Mazda engine for 1980. It was then sold to Brian Ferris, who raced it in 1981 and in early 1982 before his new Ralt RT4/82 arrived. The 77B may have been raced by Ferris's friend Klaus Grogor in the latter half of 1982. In January 1983, it was sold to Fred Goddard who ran it for several drivers as part of his Petromark team over the next two seasons, including Braam Smith, Roy Carr, Derek Irving and Danie Mulder. It was unused in 1985, then driven by Ivano Moavero in 1986. Then retained by Goddard who took it with him to the UK when he emigrated in 1989 to set up Fred Goddard Racing. After Fred's death in July 2007, the 77B passed to his son Earl Goddard, and he sold it to Nick Beer around 2013.
15. March 822/802 [82A-2] (Mike Needell): New for Graham Duxbury to drive in the South African Sigma Mazda series, entered by Hekro/Propart/BP. It was always known as a March 822 in South Africa, but it appears in March records as a March 82A. Retained for Duxbury for 1983, when it was entered by Brut/Boss Paving/BP. In early 1983, parts of the car were used by Ken Howes to build up a new March 832 for Duxbury. The rest of the car remained with Howes until late 1984 when it was acquired by Keith Horwood and rebuilt using parts from the ex-Fred Goddard March 822/802 that had been crashed by Derick Irving. This hybrid 82A/822/802 was raced for Horwood by Mike Needell in early 1985, and by Horwood later in the season. It was then acquired by Gavin Hards and exported from South Africa. It was acquired by Roy Woodhouse in the UK, who regarded it as the ex-Scheckter 822. He fitted it with a turbocharged 3.5-litre Rover engine and used it in Sprints in 1987 and 1988. It is believed that he wrecked the car in late 1988 or early 1989, as he returned to his older March 772/782 in 1989. In 2006, speed event specialist Steve Wilkinson reported that Richard Prosser was restoring Roy Woodhouse's "ex-Ian Scheckter 822".
16. Lant RR85 (George Fouché): Built in early 1984 by Rack Rite Racing team manager Dave Morgan for Wayne Taylor to race in the Formula SA series. It used a Lant tub, locally-made cast alumnium uprights, a Hewland FT200 gearbox supplied to Lant Cars, and a larger Ralt RT2 fuel cell supplied by Premier Fuel Systems. Raced by Taylor for the remainder of the 1984 season, without notable success. Retained by Taylor for 1985, when it was entered by Brian Ferris Racing, with backing from BP and Mainardi Civil Contractors. Taylor won four races, and finished second in the championship, but he also used Ferris's Ralt at an unknown number of races that year. From July onwards, Lant Cars was shown as one of Taylor's entrants, and at the Kyalami race on 27 July, Tony Martin raced a Lant in BP livery, which seems likely to have been Taylor's Lant. It is assumed here that Taylor also raced the Ralt at Aldo Scribante in August and Killarney in September. Basil Mann was due to drive "the BP/MMI Lant" at Aldo Scribante but it was canibalised for parts so that Taylor could race. For 1986, the car returned to Rack Rite and was raced by Trevor van Rooyen. The championship was then cancelled, and the car was retained by Rack-Rite until 2010, when it was sold to Ian Hebblethwaite.
17. March 792 [79A-27] (Steve Herbst): New to Team Lexington for Ian Scheckter to drive in South African Formula Atlantic in 1979. The new "wing car" was delivered in time for Scheckter to race it in the Highveld 100 at Kyalami on 27 January, and he won five of his first six races in the car. It was fitted with a Fiat engine for the start of Formula SA but this was quickly replaced with a Mazda rotary engine, and Scheckter won the last four races of the season. The 79A was sold to Bokomo Racing for Tommy Dunne in 1980. It was then sold to Pieter Fouché's Pretoria Brick team, where it was raced by Jan du Plessis in 1981 and by Roy Carr in 1982. In mid-1982, Fouché reorganised the team to focus on a Ralt RT4/82 for Wayne Taylor, and the 79A was sold to Roy Moss. He raced it for the remainder of 1982 and through 1983, during which time he fitted a March 802 rollhoop. It was then sold to Steve Herbst who converted it to flat-bottomed specification by removing the sidepods. He also fitted side-mounted radiators and a March 802 nose. He ran it in this form in 1984 and 1985. The tub and bodywork were later exported by Gavin Hards to John Brannigan, but by the time they arrived the chassis plate was no longer with them. John's stock book from the time shows that he sold it all to Richard Parkin as a kit, but as the car Richard received had no chassis plate but a 1980 nose and 1980 rollhoop, he advertised it as an 80A. He remembers getting no interest in it and believes he may have sold it through the trade, perhaps to Roger Hurst. Subsequent history unknown.
18. March 78B [782-2(A)] (Arthur Christie): Rad Dougall's race car at Thruxton 27 Mar 1978 and presumably the one he then wrecked in practice at the Nürburgring 30 Apr 1978. Presumably "Toleman's second" 782 driven by Tiff Needell at Hockenheim 26 Sep. To Paul Smith for Formula Atlantic in 1979, but wrecked on Smith's first outing, at Mallory Park in March 1979. The car was rebuilt on a new tub fabricated by Mo Gomm, but the original tub was also repaired and retained by Smith incomplete. As the "782-2" plate remained on this car, the Gomm car is regarded here as a separate car, 'PS1'. The new 'PS1' and the remains of 782/2 were both sold to Bernard Tilanus "in the autumn of 1981" and shipped to South Africa. Tilanus raced 'PS1' for the DAW Supplies team in the Sigma Mazda series in early 1982 but then sold it to Hekro for Ian Scheckter to drive. The team then built up a second car on the original 782/2 tub, distinguished by its black dash roll hoop, and Tilanus raced that car at Killarney, Welkom and Kyalami in May 1982. It was then raced by Braam Smith for DAW in late 1982 and early 1983. In April 1983, it was sold to Billy Maloney, replacing his March 77B, and was raced by him for the rest of 1983. He retained the car for 1984, but damaged it in a practice accident at East London in August. It is believed to have been sold to Arthur Christie in January 1985. It was sold back to Bernard Tilanus for the 'Can-Am' season in 1986. After that, it went to Keith Horwood who planned to use it for a sports car project in 1987, but that did not go ahead and the car remained unused for two years. It was then rebuilt by Andrew Thompson as a show car for the Rembrandt Group's Heidelberg Motor Museum. The museum was acquired by BAT in 1999, who closed it in 2003. The following year, the car collection was acquired by Johann Rupert, son of Dr Anton Rupert and moved to the L'Ormarins Estate in Franschhoek. The Franschhoek Motor Museum, named after Johan Rupert, was opened in May 2007, and the March 782 remains on display in Ian Scheckter's 1978 livery. Scheckter's Lexington March 78B was, of course, a completely different car, and was destroyed in 1980.
19. Chevron B34 [34-76-03] (Mike Rudolph): A works-backed Formula Atlantic development car entered for Bill Brack in STP livery in the opening two rounds of the 1976 South African Formula Atlantic championship. Then to Guy Tunmer (Sandton) who ran it for the rest of the 1976 season, entered by Paradise Beach/National Radio. Tunmer did not continue in Formula Atlantic in 1977, and in 1978 Andrew Thompson recalls buying a Chevron B34 from the Tunmers on behalf of Rembrandt. Entered by Thompson for Abel d'Oliveira for a couple of races in early 1979. Then to Peter Haller, who fitted a 3-litre Ford Essex V6 for the new Formula South Africa but the car did not race in this form. It was fitted with a Mazda engine for 1980, and Haller drove it that season and in early 1981 before his Haller Special was ready. This was presumably the B34 entered by Haller's sponsor Hekro Engineering for Roy Moss at Kyalami in August 1981. Entered for Haller's mechanic Freddie Sprenzer at Killarney in early 1982, then raced by Haller from late 1982 to early 1984. After Haller died in a racing accident, the B34 was bought from his widow Hettie by Michael Rudolph, who raced it in 1985 and 1986. The car is reported to have later gone to Alan Macdonald, and then found its way to Michael Budd. Some time before 2012, Budd sold the project to Michael Hillary, and then started a restoration for Hillary. Unfortunately, Budd died before completing the project, but his son Ryan Budd has continued the project for Hillary.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

The Formula South Africa race results from 1979 to 1986 have been compiled by Allen Brown and Ian Hebblethwaite using many official results sheets from Ian's archive, as well as race reports in Autosport and Motoring News until their reports stopped in 1979, and then in the Rand Daily Mail and other South African publications. Adri Bezuidenhout's 'Wheels' yearbook, which listed the surnames of the top six finishers at each race but gave no other details, has been useful for races at Aldo Scribante and Goldfields Raceway where it has proved more difficult to find information. Articles in Formula South Africa race programmes have also proved very useful. Please help us complete that collection of scans.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.

Individual sources for this event

Entry list contributed by David Pearson. The Citizen Monday 29 July 1985. Top 6 finishing positions from Adri Bezuidenhout's 'Wheels' yearbook.