On paper, 2010 was yet another successful season as I successfully defended my #1 plate, having elected not to do so in 2008. But what the results don’t show, is how the season nearly fell apart half way through.

2010 started off as one of my most promising years to date, with the signing of a new sponsor, both new to the South African market, but also new to the motorsport market.

We arrived at Round one in East London with a fairly new car. Only once we arrived at the ultra fast circuit, did we realize that we were going to be fighting off the back-foot. Unfortunately all the pre season preparation couldn’t make up for a motor being down on power. Nevertheless, we got on with things and still aimed to score as many points as possible, and despite a very distant 3rd place in heat 1, the motto “to finish first, you must first finish” paid dividends in heat 2 with a victory as my 2 closest rivals fell by the wayside.

Round 2 was reasonably solid with a win and a 3rd place with a newly rebuilt motor, all of which helped to cement my position at the top of the standings.

Round 3 in Cape Town would throw things wide open again. By this stage we understood the car better, and that showed with a new qualifying record around the Killarney circuit, which was then followed up by a lights to flag victory. But things changed with a DNF in heat 2 after an accident on the opening lap.

Between round 3 and round 4 however, problems became evident with my sponsor, and after some long meetings, we parted way due to lack of funds. The lateness of the news meant that I had to sit out the Phakisa round of the championship, and more concerning, faced the prospect of having to pull out of the entire season.

In what became the theme of the remainder of the season, I managed to scrape a ride together for Round 5 thanks to the help of Sean Greve. The frustration of missing an event sure motivated me, as I powered to a new qualifying record at Zwartkops, and the first double win at the circuit since the inclusion of the reverse grid 2nd heat.

We headed towards round 6 still without a sponsor, and up until the Wednesday before the race, still hadn’t secured one. But fast forward to Thursday night, and I secured a car, and just enough money to get by. It paid dividends with a pole position, new lap record, and another double win on the day.

The joy was soon forgotten as I had to withdraw from Round 7 due to continued lack of funding. By this stage, I had now lost the championship lead as a result of missing 2 rounds, and a total of 54 points.

But again, a late deal and a borrowed car, and I found myself on the grid for the penultimate round at Phakisa in the car usually race by Hanno Pengilly. The results show another pole position, and double victory. But they don’t show that the 2nd victory was done with a cracked wrist, nor that I sealed it with a daring “around the outside” pass at the final corner snatching victory by the smallest margin in the history of the series, a mere 5/100ths of a second.

And so, my championship hopes were once again alive. With the realization of what lay in store at the final round, I managed to secure 2 once off sponsors in Imperial Toyota, and Duo-Plus modems.

I was finally back in a car I knew, with sufficient funding, knowing exactly what I needed to win my 3rd South African Championship. Things started off on the right foot, with pole position, and a dominant heat 1 victory. The rest, as they say, was history, as I marched on to a 5th place in heat 2, and the 2010 South African Shelby Can-am Championship.

It was a long season, with many obstacles, huge highs, and huge lows, but a huge thanks to everyone who was involved! It was definitely worthwhile!

Till next time,

Darryn Lobb #99

2010 South African Shelby Can-am Champion