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Content
- We hail our champions
- The awards and awards evening
- Season review
- The Passion for Speed 2027
- Round 1 – Zwartkops Raceway – 29 & 30 January 2027
- Round 2 – Killarney Raceway – 5 & 6 February 2027
- Regulations for 2027
- The AGM – 20 October 2026 – Duimpies @ 19H00
We hail our champions
Top 5
1st – James Temple with 75 Points in the 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe
2nd – Jonathan Needham with 66 Points in the 1968 Ford Mustang
3rd – John Ten Doeschate 61 points in the 1959 GSM Dart
3rd – Larry Wilford 61 points in the 1969 Lola T70 MK3B
4th – Elke van Vledder 54 points in the 1965 Alfa GT Junior
5th – Deon Schwabsky 53 points in the 1967 Ford Escort
The Prize fund will be distributed equally among James Temple, Jonathan Needham and Larry Wilford
Category Champions
Le Mans Sports & GT
Class A – James Temple in the 1965 Shelby Daytona Coupe
Class B – Marc Miller in the 1965 Ford Daytona
Class C – John Ten Doeschate in the 1974 Marauder MK3
Class D – Robbie Frank in the 1962 Lotus 23B
Legends V8 Production Cars
Class ZA+ – Ben Morgenrood in the 1965 Ford Mustang
Class ZA – Mark du Toit in the 1966 Ford Fairlane
Class ZB – Jonathan Needham in the 1968 Ford Mustang
Class U2+ – Jonathan Needham in the 1967 Ford Cortina
Class U2 – Marc Miller in the 1965 Alfa Romeo Giulia
LITTLE Giants
Class A – John Ten Doeschate in the 1959 GSM Dart
Class B – Elke van Vledder in the 1965 Alfa GT Junior
Class D – Tim Crossland in the 1969 Alfa 1750 GTV
International Sports Prototype (ISP)
Class A – Larry Wilford in the 1969 Lola T70 MK3B
Class B – Nicky Dicks in the 1974 Porsche 911 RSR
Class C – George Avvakoumides in the 1974 Porsche 911 RSR
Trans-Am
Class TA/D – Djurk Venter in the 1968 Ford Escort
The Awards and Awards Evening
Season Review
Another wonderful racing and creative season. Despite our world’s social and economic order changing so dramatically in March this year, with huge cost implications for fuel, racing parts, tyres, and shipping, the great Legends of the 9 Hour still had over 70 members participate.
The Passion for Speed celebrated 25 years of historic racing at Zwartkops Raceway. This initiative was started at the new Zwartkops in 2001 with David Piper, Mike Knight, and the international Sports Prototypes of the 1960s. Initially known as David Piper Day, it brought a contingent of sports racers and single-seaters, all icons of what is recognised today as the greatest decade of motor racing. Many of the sports racers of that period were faster than contemporary Formula One cars of the day.
The Porsche 917, Ferrari 312, Ford GT40, Alfa T33. We can scarcely comprehend the cars and drivers of that age, and they all raced at Zwartkops. Others followed, such as Michiel Campagne and the “Dutch Safari” with Corvettes, V8 Saloons, and the still-outrageous Can-Am cars, plus other competitors from the continent like Kennet Person and the Swedish/Norwegian group.
The list is almost endless. Unfortunately, as Goodwood, Spa, and Silverstone historic events gained traction, the value of these historic cars appreciated significantly, so much so that they attracted the intense attention of collectors. High-net-worth individuals and groups bought these racers, mostly to lock them away in private collections. Trading in historic racing cars is today a major billion-dollar industry, with the result that very few of the original race cars are actively raced worldwide.
Yet not all is lost. South Africans are a resilient people, no less so in automotive engineering and motor racing. We have created a thriving, highly relevant industry in engineering with continuation racers that pay tribute to the greats of the past. These cars, representing the Porsche 917, Ford GT40, Lola T70, Shelby Cobra, and Chevron B8, capture the exact profile and utilise mostly original components. What is more, they are recognised and accepted internationally.
Visionaries like Peter Bailey, Jimmy Price of Superformance Automotive, Terry Martin, DAW, Lindenberg Racing and others have established an incredible industry. We raise our hats to these pioneers who give us all the opportunities to experience, on the modern stage, the immortal Kyalami 9 Hours and Springbok Series.
Our Passion for Speed (driven by David Piper and Mike Knight’s International Sports Prototypes) continues to stimulate an international industry, and its roots remain firmly planted at Zwartkops Raceway.
The Passion for Speed 2027
Our 26th year. This event is designed to give participating racers the opportunity to be part of a program featuring interactive participation with international competitors. We want to be different and better, and whilst economic circumstances are increasing operational costs, we will keep the wheels turning. Every year we try something new and different. In 2027, we will be celebrating Killarney’s milestone, marking 60 years since Killarney hosted the first post-war Cape Grand Prix in 1960.
That inaugural Cape Grand Prix was won by Chris Bristow in a Cooper-Borgward. For our upcoming celebration, the Historic Grand Prix invitation is bringing some 25 Grand Prix cars to South Africa. They will be racing at Zwartkops at the end of January and then a week later at Killarney. Many of these classic 1.5-litre F1 racers actually competed at Killarney and Kyalami during the original Springbok Series era.
Michiel Campagne has promised the monstrous Can-Am Lola, representing the absolute apex before Can-Am ceased to be an open formula, which will provide a real challenge at both Zwartkops and Killarney. Alongside him, Kennet Person will be returning with an array of stunning Porsches, McLarens, and Ford GT40s.
Our Passion for Speed remains a premier event on the motorsport calendar.
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The AGM
Please hook in with us at Duimpies – Colin Frost cave of exotic cars or Zoom. We will be discussing the 2027 regulations.
See you at Zwartkops!
Peter Du Toit
