April was a busy and successful month for the Shield Golfs, with events hosted at both Zwartkops and Kyalami for the Clubman’s and SAES series, respectively.
Clubman’s at Zwartkops – April 5
Although the main event took place on Saturday, we were required to qualify on Friday evening. Unfortunately, heavy rain and poor lighting made conditions risky. With Kyalami scheduled for the following weekend, I decided to forgo qualifying and start from the back of the grid rather than risk damaging the car.
Saturday’s weather forecast was unpredictable, with intermittent light rain keeping everyone guessing on setup and tyre pressures. Cloud cover shifted by the hour, making things even trickier.
As we headed to the pre-race paddock for Heat 1, I knew vigilance at the start was crucial. We were running in a combined field with the Midvaal Historics—competitive drivers on slicks, which provide much-needed grip at Zwartkops.
With nearly 30 cars on track, I had my work cut out. Starting from the back, I had to push hard to make my way through the field and earn valuable class points.
Class C is packed with incredibly quick Hondas, including those driven by Rodney Cruz, Tjaart Visser, Victor Diaz, and newcomers Johan van Heerden and Maritz Le Roux in VW Golfs. Once the tyres warmed up and the field formed up for the rolling start, the butterflies in my stomach gave way to adrenaline. When the flag dropped, it was game on.
The first two corners at Zwartkops are always chaos, especially with the “kamikaze” Historic drivers trying to dive in. Luckily, the Shield Golf got through cleanly, and with solid pace—thanks to the team at 8 Valve Performance—we gained positions quickly down the back straight through Turn 4 and into Turn 5.
Approaching Turn 8 before the main straight, and after dodging a few kamikaze moments, I found myself on the tail of the Class C leaders. I had a chance at a podium if I kept my cool and could squeeze out a couple of overtakes.
By the final lap, I’d fought my way up to a respectable 2nd place. Heat 2 saw me starting in the same position, but it became a bit of a procession as Rodney Cruz opened a gap I just couldn’t close, despite pushing hard. Hats off to him on his 1st overall!
Thanks to Craig for helping to sort out the exhaust bracket just before Heat 2
Kyalami – 111 Sports & Saloons
Kyalami is an iconic circuit—undoubtedly a highlight of the racing calendar. The Shield team always aims to perform well here, and the fans love seeing the Mk1 Golfs go toe-to-toe with newer models. (Honestly, it gives me a buzz too!)
Qualifying on Friday, however, was a concern. I was nearly a second off my usual pace and ended up qualifying 2nd behind Miquel Diaz in a Polo—definitely not what I was hoping for heading into Saturday.
Heat 1
One issue at Kyalami is that the Inland Series is only allowed to use half the track length for tyre warm-up. It’s a safety concern that the club really needs to address, as cold tyres lead to avoidable first-lap incidents.
To make matters worse, the grid was reshuffled to accommodate a Class A car starting from the back, placing it between me and Miquel. Not ideal for Heat 1—and we hadn’t even started racing yet.
With early morning dew and cold tyres, we took it cautiously. Heading down to the hairpin after the long straight was… interesting. Thankfully, the Shield Golf navigated the mayhem unscathed. I settled into a few positions behind Diaz, who had managed to pull a solid gap. Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t close the distance before the chequered flag dropped.
Heat 2
Starting alongside Diaz for Heat 2 gave me a glimmer of hope. After making a few setup tweaks, I felt I had a bit more pace. The warmer afternoon track helped get the tyres up to temp quickly, and once the flag dropped, I got a good launch—passing Miquel into the S-bend.
With Diaz, Schultz, and Le Roux having their own battle behind me, I was able to focus on hitting consistent lap times and maintaining the gap until the finish.
Unfortunately, while I won Heat 2, the time differential between our two heats wasn’t enough to take the overall win, which went to Miquel. Still, it was a satisfying and competitive race.
Big Thanks
A massive thank you to my pit crew and to Shield for making this an incredible day of racing. The energy, effort, and support behind the scenes are what make these results possible.
