The last round of the 2017 South-African ORE national championship was held at Krugersdorp Model Racers at the Key West Track over weekend 28 and 29 October 2017. Controlled practise was held on Thursday and Friday with great spring weather and good track conditions ensuring a fast pace for all drivers. On Friday night a cold front moved in over Gauteng and the temperature dropped to 13 deg C which had the drivers changing setups and rethinking strategies for the qualification rounds. The track however held its great characteristics and the pace remained fast throughout the weekend.

Touring Modified

The controlled practise showed that there were about 16 drivers competing for the A mains and it was all down to fast consistent runs to get into the top 10. The championship leader Hein Kotze dominated the qualification rounds securing a great TQ for Sunday. He was closely followed by Xray team mates Shaun Schutte and the round 4 winner Anderton Smith on the grid. In A1 Hein made a mistake in the first corner which allowed Shaun Schutte to take the lead and he drove a great race to win A1 followed by Anderton Smith and Antonio Caroli. In A2 Hein Kotze made no mistakes and took a good win ahead of Shaun Schutte and again Anderton Smith in 3^rd. In A3 Hein Kotze again made a small mistake which was enough for Shaun Schutte to take the lead and the win. This time he was followed by Conrad Liebenberg in 2^nd and Hein Kotze in 3^rd. The win in A3 gave Shaun Schutte his first win for the season with his Xray team mates Hein Kotze and Anderton Smith completing the podium.

Modified Touring A-Main:

1. Shaun Schutte (Xray)
2. Hein Kotze (TQ) (Xray)
3. Anderton Smith (Xray)
4. Jacques Liebenberg (Capricorn)
5. Antonio Caroli (Xray)
6. Mike Wiseman (Serpent)
7. Alex Ribeiro (Associated)
8. Conrad Liebenberg (Capricorn)
9. Andre Greeff (Xray)
10. Deon Gove (Xray)

Modified Touring B-Main:

1. Jason Hillcoat (Tamiya)
2. Willie du Plooy (Xray)
3. Wouter Ferreira (Xray)
4. Pedro de Gouveia (Xray)
5. Darren Duggan (Xray)

Modified Touring C-Main:

1. Johan Knoesen (Xray)
2. Sean Vollmer (Xray)
3. Brandon Solomon (Xray)
4. Pieter de Villiers (Xray)
5. John Steyn (Tamiya)

Modified Touring D-Main:

1. Christo Hitchins (Xray)
2. John Fitzsimmons (Xray)

Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring (Blinky)

The Pro-stock class entertained some great racing with Gunther Cornelius, Willie Noordman and the two youngsters Kevin Hatting and Jared Rabe fighting for the top qualifying spot. It was Gunther Cornelius who eventually managed the TQ with his Xray followed by Willie Noordman young driver Kevin Hatting starting from 3^rd on the grid. In A1 Gunter made a hash of things and struggled with his car and young Kevin Hatting took a great win with his Tamiya followed by Tyronne Wilken and Willie Noordman. In A2 it was Willie Noordman who took the win followed closely by Kevin Hatting and Jared Rabe. A3 saw Willie Noordman securing the overall win with Andre du Plessis finishing second and Jared rabe third in the race. The final results gave Willie Noordman the win followed by Kevin Hatting taking 2^nd and Jared Rabe in 3^rd place.

Pro-stock 13.5T Touring A-Main:

1. Willie Noordman (Xray)
2. Kevin Hatting (Tamiya)
3. Jared Rabe (Xray)
4. Andre du Plessis (Xray)
5. Tyronne Wilken (Yokomo)
6. John Fitzsimmons (Schumacher)
7. Jean Wessels (Associated)
8. Martin Visser (Tamiya)
9. Christo Hitchins (Xray)
10. Gunther Cornelius (TQ) (Xray)

Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring B-Main:

1. Hennie Viljoen (VBC Racing)
2. Dave Wiseman (Serpent)
3. Lieb Liebenberg (Serpent)
4. Piet du Plessis (Xray)
5. Brett Ross (Xray)

Formula 1 – 21.5T

The F1 championship is still a great contest for 2017 with Xray team mates Jonathan Wilken and Pedro de Gouveia arriving at the event tied on points for the championship. It was Pedro who drove consistent qualifying races to take TQ with Jonathan Wilken starting form the second spot. The young Jared Rabe also drove well and managed to qualify in the 3rd position. After great racing in the three mains Pedro managed to end a perfect weekend by winning all three mains with Jonathan securing the second place and Jared Rabe keeping his place on the podium.

Formula 1 A-Main:

1. Pedro de Gouveia (TQ) (Xray
2. Jonathan Wilken (Xray)
3. Jared Rabe (Xray)
4. Tyronne Wilken (Yokomo)
5. Nico Kellerman (Xray)
6. Wayde Solomon (Xray)
7. Michael Rabe (Xray)
8. Lance Constable (Tamiya)
9. Piet du Plessis (Xray)
10. Johan Knoesen (Xray)

Formula 1 B-main:

1. Brett Ross (Xray)
2. Andre Esterhuizen (Xray)

13.5T FWD Touring

In the FWD class it was again the young drivers who showed the way around the track with Hennie Viljoen securing TQ and Nico Kellerman starting from 2^nd on the grid. This is also the order in which the drivers finished after the three main races with Eugene Wessels managing the last spot on the podium.

13.5 FWD Touring A Main:

1. Hennie Viljoen (TQ) (VBC Racing)
2. Nico Kellerman (MTS)
3. Eugene Wessels (TOP Racing)
4. Fanie Viljoen snr (VBC Racing)