By Jehran Naidoo from Auto Rush
Long-time Durban speedster Kovilan Pillay won overall in his class at the SA Drag National Finals at Killarney raceway in Cape Town this past weekend.
Pillay, who drives a Mazda fe turbo powered Toyota Corolla, raced in the G Class, which features cars in the 10.5 – 10.999 second bracket.

Throughout the series, Kovilan and Punisher traversed South Africa’s dragstrips, collecting points which propelled him up in overall standings.
Racers went head to head in the final round while they collected points for the rest of the year.
This meant Kovilan’s consistent performance at KZN, Gauteng and Port Elizabeth saw him enter the finals on a high note.
“I got knocked out by an orange Golf at Killarney this weekend but I ended up winning the class overall based on points. I finished off the year with 15 points in my class. My best time for the year was 10.5 seconds,” Kovilan said.

Bumps in the journey
There were speed bumps along the path to victory, however, as Kovilan broke the differential a week before finals. While testing the car at a street to strip event at Dezzi Raceway, Kovilan broke the diff while launching.
“We broke the car at Dezzi and then had to work that week to get it ready for Cape Town.”

Kovilan’svictory would not have come without the help of his team and sponsors, who have backed him all the way.
“I would really like to thank my sponsors and team. CMH Mazda Umhlanga, Goldwagen Edwin Swales, Fullworx Auto, Yogans Trix and my tuner Per4mance tuning,” Kovilan added.
Auto Rush