Round 7 - 18/09/2010 - Kyalami

The penultimate round of the Execuline Formula Vee championship was held at the legendary Kyalami circuit where title contenders Peter Hills (Renexcon) and MSA development driver Zaahir Essa (Reflex Solutions) needed to make a convincing impression on the points table to hopefully secure what has been an epic 2010 championship battle.

At one second a lap under the existing lap record, Hills and Essa fought tooth and nail for the lead of both heats. Essa was clearly suffering from a lack of power as Hills lead most of the laps with ease, but in the closing laps of the first race Essa managed to sneak in front. After a tough duel on the last lap, Hills found his way back in front to take the victory.

The second race proved to be a copy of the first, however a slight hold-up with a backmarker in the second last lap allowed Essa to really attack for the lead. After some aggressive defending from Hills, Essa could not avoid him into the final lap and lost his nosecone and brake master cylinder. Despite the lack of motor and brake power, he still found a way to dive past Hills in the final few corners and cross the line in first place.

“That was an intense weekend,” Essa revealed. “We just could not fix a nagging misfire that has been bugging me since the last race in Welkom, and it’s not something you can drive around. I tried everything I could on-track to fight for the lead with what I had, and it really was great racing. I now have to focus on getting the maximum performance for the final race.”

Essa managed to achieve a new lap record at Kyalami with his Lotto-provided Rhema 2 and gained an extra point for his effort, but he still lies a somewhat distant 7 points from Hills going into the final race at Zwartkops on the 16th of October – which still promises to be a great climax to a fiery season.

Round 6 - 07/08/2010 - Phakisa

Welkom was host to the 6th round of the Formula Vee national championship last weekend. The Phakisa circuit is one of the favourites among drivers and spectators. Development driver Zaahir Essa (Reflex Solutions), one of the 2010 title contenders together with Peter Hills (Renexcon), turned out to be the centre of drama for both heats on the Saturday in his Lotto-provided Rhema 2.

Struggling with a misfire, Essa still managed to qualify 4th. At the start of first heat, he came together with Symm Grobler (Auto Mecca) which consequently brought out the safety car. A lack of yellow flags and boards around the track caused the Vee drivers to not be aware of the safety car parked on the grid, and mayhem ensued. Essa had wheel-to-wheel contact with a car that veered in front of him and was launched airborne, landing hard onto the track. With an injured elbow and arm and a couple of bent pushrods on the car, he continued the race to shadow the leader Hills for every lap, only making his move on the penultimate corner of the race to claim victory.

The second race turned out to be marred by safety car periods. During those couple of laps of green flag racing, however, Essa and Hills fought hard for the lead, overtaking each other in almost every corner. Eventually Essa retained the lead for the second safety car period, which lasted to the end of the race with no further racing taking place. Essa was later deemed to have overtaken Hills under yellow flag conditions and was penalised 30 seconds, pushing him to the back of the pack.

“This was a really difficult event due to my misfire problems, and Peter was very quick,” mused Essa. “During the first race I saw no point in trying to be ahead as I would just be a sitting duck down the straights, and only overtook when it mattered. That was very lucky considering the car could have been destroyed earlier in the race. The second race was quite a disappointment with the safety car issues. We’re all there to race and it was painful to sit at a snail’s pace for the majority of the laps.”

The resulting penalty from the second heat puts Essa back 8 points behind Hills with 2 races to go. The next event takes place at Kyalami on the 18th of September.

Round 5 - 03/07/2010 - Lichtenburg

The 4th round of the Formula Vee National Championship was held at the extremely tight and bumpy circuit of Lichtenburg this weekend. Zaahir Essa was sporting redesigned bodywork in the company colours of Reflex Solutions and was out to increase his championship lead.

The weekend did not go to plan, however, and Peter Hills (Renexcon) was dominant with stunning pace. Starting from 3rd on the grid, Essa lost places off the start due to clutch problems which worsened throughout the weekend. By the time he had cleared the cars ahead to second place, Hills had already built a strong lead and was romping away. The rest of the heat was uneventful at the front, and Hills crossed the line ahead of Essa and Symm Grobler (Auto Mecca).

The second race proved to be a mimic of the first, with Essa again struggling off the start line and losing places. Once he had made his way through, Hills was already well clear and pulled off yet another dominant victory. Even though Essa suffered further clutch problems and was stuck in 3rd gear by the end, he still managed to maintain a gap to 3rd placed Grobler.

The once-congested leaderboard has now opened up a little after this round. The top four drivers were separated by just 8 points, but Hills and Essa have pulled a bigger gap going into the next race at Phakisa on the 7th of August, with Hills 2 points ahead.

Round 4 - 08/05/10 - Port Elizabeth

The 4th round of the Execuline Formula Vee championship took place at Aldo Scribante in Port Elizabeth this weekend where the raging championship battle continued with the top four drivers being separated by only eight points. Following through from his previous successes this season, MSA development driver Zaahir Essa (Reflex Solutions) put his Lotto-provided Rhema 2 on pole position for the first heat.

After initially fighting with ex-champion Peter Hills (Renexcon), Essa stretched out a healthy lead before succumbing to the inevitable tyre degradation on the abrasive track surface. Nicholas Tennant (Tennant Life Benefits), the only driver to use his second set of new tyres of the three allocated to each driver for the season, reeled Essa in with 2 laps to go. After a thrilling duel, Essa managed to maintain his lead to the finish by just one tenth of a second.

The second heat proved to be an even tighter match. Throughout the 14 laps, Essa held off the relentless challenges from Tennant by not putting a foot wrong and placing his car in the right places at the right times. Lap after lap, Tennant would try everything he could, but Essa kept a cool head and used his tactical experience to cruise to yet another double victory.

Zaahir was happy with the result considering the situation. “This was a pretty difficult weekend as Nick had really good pace. It’s great that I came away with both wins on the old tyres, though, as this should put me on an even better footing when I won’t have to stretch the life of my new sets for the remaining races.”

Although Essa missed the start of 3 heats this season, he has been able to win every other race so far which pushes him into the lead of the championship from fourth position, with four rounds to go. Execuline Formula Vee heads to Lichtenburg on the 3rd of July.

Round 3 - 10/04/10 - Zwartkops

Zwartkops was host to the 3rd round of the national Formula Vee championship this weekend, which provided action-packed racing once again. The highlight, however, was the performance of Motorsport South Africa development driver Zaahir Essa (Reflex Solutions) who experienced the highs and lows of motorsport in one day.

Essa, in the Lotto-provided Rhema 2, was full of confidence after his double win in the last event, but was let down with engine failure in qualifying just after having posted a laptime quick enough for pole position. Without a spare motor, he was forced to use his older Rhema 1. Unfortunately due to the car not being at the track or even race-ready, Essa was only able to join the first heat a few laps into the race.Essa started the second heat from the back of the grid, and really showcased his current stunning form. Immediately off the start-line and during the first 3 laps, Essa attacked hard and made up positions in just about every corner, unbelievably crossing the line in 4th position. He then set his sights on the lead pack of Symm Grobler (Auto Mecca), Peter Hills (Renexcon), both Ex-National Formula Vee Champions, and third placed man Trevor Bland. Setting consecutive fastest laps to reel them in and after dispatching Bland and Hills in two corners, Essa took the lead from Grobler with a little over 4 laps to go and maintained this position to the finish.

“I can’t believe it,” Essa reflected. “I was gutted after missing the first race, but I really gave it my all in the second one. Even though the car was last started in November and I had overheating issues, everything managed to come together and I’m ecstatic to say the least.”

Essa now stands 4th in the championship, with five rounds remaining. Formula Vee heads to Aldo Scribante in Port Elizabeth on the 8th of May 2010.

Round 2 - 06/03/10 - Midvaal

The second round of the national Formula Vee Championship of 2010 was one to remember for Zaahir Essa (Reflex Solutions), which took place at Midvaal with the Execuline Historic Tour this weekend.

Essa, a development entry in the category, opened his account for 2010 with his first pole position and double victory, driving a Lotto-provided car after using an older model for the last three years.

The two wins did not come easily however, with ex-champions Peter Hills (MLS Consulting) and Symm Grobler (Auto Mecca) also competing hard for victory throughout the 12-lap races. Both heats proved to be close encounters, with Zaahir managing to lead the majority of laps, staying ahead and out of trouble on the bumpy circuit of Midvaal.


Essa was understandably elated with the result, as he came into the weekend under difficult circumstances. “It’s great to finally win a race in Formula Vee, but it was really unexpected considering I hadn’t driven in four months and I was driving a totally different car which I only had one session to get used to. It was a last minute dash to make the race, so I am very grateful to Lotto and MSA for providing the car to use, and I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for the financial backing of Reflex Solutions either.”

This strong showing for Essa has resulted in him jumping to fourth in the championship, after missing the first round at East London due to financial setbacks. The third round of the Formula Vee championship takes place at Zwartkops on the 10th April.

Kyalami - 08/11/2008 - Round 10

It’s incredible to think the final round of the Pro Tour has arrived already, and the nine rounds that have passed have each been great experiences in their own way. The 10th round at Kyalami was to be no different.

The 1st race was quite boring as far as Formula Vee standards go! I was on my own most of the time, trying to keep touch with the leading bunch. Unfortunately it seemed that some damage to my front tyre (sustained at the crash at the previous round) had really started to affect the handling of the car. The understeer got increasingly worse, but I managed to come over the line for 4th place.

We managed to get a replacement tyre for the 2nd race, which turned out to be completely wet! After running the sighting lap before the race start, it seemed the track was pretty wet; wet enough I thought for a gamble to try start in 2nd gear. The 2nd gear ratio is very short in a Vee, and I think it would have worked out had I practiced such a thing before! It turned out to be a complete disaster, with me stalling the engine about five metres into the race. Luckily I was rolling enough to ease the clutch out, but by that time I was basically in last position. But from there I had one of my best races!

Everyone seemed really cautious on the slippery track, and I was passing cars very quickly. I took no risks on the brakes, as it was very easy to lock the wheels and fly straight off the track, but I was pushing hard in the corners trying to find the grippiest part of the track. It was scary at times, but it worked out great. I worked my way back up to 3rd, with the leaders way too far in front to catch. I merely maintained position for the last 3 or 4 laps in very tricky conditions, but it seemed I was lapping slightly quicker than the leaders at that point! It would have been interesting had I not stalled at the start, but the race would not have been that fun coming back through the field!

All in all, the year has been a great success, finishing 6th in the championship, and consistently challenging for podiums in the final few races. I have learned an incredible amount this year, maybe even more than last year when I first started out. To try and challenge in the top 5, let alone podiums, is extremely difficult. I am thankful for being in such a great team to provide me with that opportunity though, with a wealth of experience and knowledge to help both me and my teammate to push further up the grid.