More info.......The car that won just about every Nascar event in the USA (including the Daytona 500) in 1963 and then topped the British Jaguar and Lotus Cortina in the UK Saloons Car Championship in 1964 and in the hands of Bobby Olthoff won the SA Production Car Championship in 1965 returns to Killarney on Saturday the 8th of February, in the hands of Sarel van der Merwe.
The big red Galaxie which when it first appeared at the old Kyalami in 1963 and 1964 for the 9-Hour, must have accounted for at least half of the crowd as they marvelled at this huge whale of a car motoring sideways through sunset, out drifting the sports cars and the local production cars.
It was a sensation and still is particularly in the hands of Sarel. Whilst the big Galaxie was retired in 1966 after the arrival of the more “nimble” Mustangs this may not be the case on the 8th of February as “ou rooie” has been put on a diet – it is now a lot lighter and has a few handling tweaks on the suspension.
“I will return and take my rightful place on the grid” – “ou Rooie”
A similar Galaxie will be driven by Dutch visitor Ad Verkuijlen. Well known to South Africans, Ad, who was an engineer with Benetton in their glory days and later managed the all conquering BMW touring car works team, is no stranger to driving and has a host of top finishes in Europes toughest historic events.
Jackie Scheckter is also up in the “Pablo Clark Racing” Galaxie where he is sure to prove hard to beat. Yet another Galaxie is driven by our own Ferdi Van Niekerk and he is sure to give a good account of himself.
And if you happen to also be a biking fan there's something for you as well.In the days of the Kyalami nine hours we raved when we had 3 Ford GT 40’s in the race. Well for the 8th of February there could be as many as eight of these mighty racers on the grid. Dino Scribante, Ross Lazarus, two from Sweden, one from Holland, Oliver Dalais and a special GT 40 from Cape Town.
The Ford GT40 was the car that topped Ferrari at Le Mans. The last 24 hour that Ferrari won was in 1965 with an unexpected win in a private Ferrari 275 LM.
In the next four years it was the Ford GT40’s that ruled the roost.
The final win coming from Jackie Ickx when he beat Hans Hermann Porsche 910 by less than three seconds after 24 hours of racing!
Entries submitted to date can be viewed at http://www.classiccarracing.co.za/PFS_Entries.htmlThe 7th annual SA TT Revival Series classic racing motorcycle event to be held at the Killarney Racetrack on 7/8th Feb 2014 promises to be the best yet.
The big news is the participation by Norton Motorcycle Ltd, from the UK. They will be sending a selection of famous Norton racebikes to the event for this special day. Owner and CEO of the re-incarnated Norton motorcycle company, Stuart Garner, says this is because South Africa played a unique part in the history of Norton motorcycles, and will always have a place in the future plans for the famous Marque. “After all”, says Garner, South Africa was the breeding ground of so many famous Norton riders, with men like Jim Redman, Gary Hocking, Paddy Driver, and many, many more learning their craft on Nortons and then arriving in Europe and successfully taking on the World’s best. “We want to celebrate that, and what better way than by taking part in the wonderful events put on every year in South Africa?”
The historic Nortons, which will include the incredible rotary engined Norton superbike which won a British Superbike championship and also starred in many Isle of Man TT races, will be there. The iconic “John Player Norton “ livery, and the distinctive sound of the rotary engine is unforgettable. The V4 engined SG1 TT racebike will also be seen on track during the day. There will also be one each of the new Norton models, the 900cc Commando Sport and the Commando Café Racer for enthusiasts to drool over. They will be available in very limited numbers in SA next year. The bikes will be coming to SA as part of Mick Grant’s annual UK group of riders.
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