A brace of thoroughly professional wins in both races saw the Alberton driver wrap up back to back WesBank V8 Supercar championships – with four races still left this season. Groenewald, in the SP Racing/Timken Jaguar, went into the meeting needing just four points to settle the championship issue, and did so in style.
Groenewald won the opening race from Grant van Schalkwyk (Hi-Q Jaguar) who was back in action after missing the last two rounds of the series because of budget problems. Veteran Deon Auby (Tyco/Jonnesway Jaguar) grabbed the final podium spot ahead of another veteran in Willie Hepburn (Motorsport Logistics Chev Corvette) and Robert Briggs in the Timken Jaguar.
The inverted grid process saw Groenewald start the second heat from seventh on the grid. One by one he picked off the cars ahead of him and went into the lead on lap nine to lead home Briggs, winner of three of the last four races, and Hepburn who, at the age of 65, was the crowd favourite.
The two Bridgestone Production Car heats for Class A cars produced plenty of drama with race two results provisional after first lap shenanigans. As expected on the tight Scribante layout fourwheel drive cars dominated with Audi entries taking the first three places in heat one.
Michael Stephen (Xtreme Team Audi A4), on his home track, led home Johan Fourie (JF Racing Audi A4) and another local, Shaun Watson-Smith, in the second Xtreme Team Audi. Reigning champion Leeroy Poulter (Sasol Nissan 350Z) and Etienne van der Linde (Castrol BMW) filled out the top five.
The second race featured a partially inverted grid and rolling start with lap one incidents seeing Stephen, Watson-Smith and Poulter sidelined along with Melvill Priest in the MiKar Audi A4. Fourie then strolled to victory ahead of the Castrol BMWs of former champion Anthony Taylor and Etienne van der Linde.
From a championship point of view it put Fourie in the pound seats. The biggest losers were Watson-Smith and Poulter with the last four races of the year now loaded with interest. Overall and Class T championship leader Iain Pepper (PG Autoglass/Plastomark VW Golf GTi) was also under the whip. Two fifth places in the heats for Class T, B and C cars did nothing for Pepper’s title aspirations.
Both heats were dominated by the MinI Coopers of Robert Wolk (Afintapart Mini Cooper) and Garth Waberski in the Castrol entry. They never gave the VW Golf GTi’s a sniff with Hein Bose (Speed Tuning VW Golf GTi) and Graeme Nathan (VW Golf GTi) sharing distant third places.
Ryad Jaffer regained the Class B championship lead with two comfortable wins in the Sasol Toyota RunX. Down in Class C two tight races saw Mark Silverwood (OKI Ford Fiesta) and reigning champion Trevor Tuck (Motorsport Infinity Fiat Grand Punto) share the wins.
A second and a win saw Lee Thompson (Xtreme Team VW Polo) move a step closer to the Engen VW Cup title. A fourth and a third saw Thompson’s main rival, Graeme Donker (Mini/Maxi Panelbeaters VW Polo), lose ground.
Gary van Heerden (Webcom/Soviet VW Polo) won race one ahead of Thompson and local driver Curt Alchin in the Bodyman/Assist2Sell VW Polo. Thompson dominated race two and strolled home ahead of Neville van der Merwe (USN/Chelston Motors VW Polo) and Donker.
As usual the motorcycle brigades put on five star performances with the CitiBike SA Superbike and CitiBike SA Supersport heats providing for some heartstopping racing. Cape Town rider Lance Isaacs (Seesa Honda Fireblade snatched a dramatic win in race one, with reigning champion Shaun Whyte (Nashua Mobile/Daikin Yamaha) keeping his championship hopes alive by winning race two.
Championship leader Arushen Moodley (Team Suzuki) picked up a second and third in front of his home crowd but will be a little disappointed, particularly with the second race. He went from first to third on the last lap when Whyte dive bombed him at the Toyota Hairpin and took Isaacs with him.
The Supersport races, with the average age of the riders hovering around 19, had the huge crowd on its feet. Eddy Alberts (Race Nation Honda) scored his first career win when he sneaked home in race one ahead of Dane Hellyer (Kyocera Kawasaki) and Chris Rudman (Suzuki).
In race two Hellyer went one better to take the win ahead of Ronan Quarmby (Yamaha) and Cape Town youngster Graham Green on the Justin-Time online Yamaha. A fourth and a fifth were disappointing returns for championship frontrunner Chris Leeson (Team Suzuki) with Hellyer making inroads into his points lead.
Results:
Engen VW Cup – Race 1: 1 G van Heerden (VW Polo); 2 L Thompson (VW Polo); 3 C Alchin (VW Polo); 4 G Donker (VW Polo); 5 K Swanepoel (VW Polo). Race 2: 1 L Thompson (VW Polo); 2 N van der Merwe (VW Polo); 3 G Donker (VW Polo); 4 G van Heerden (VW Polo); 5 K Swanepoel (VW Polo). WesBank V8 Supercars – Race 1: 1 H Groenewald (Jaguar); 2 G van Schalkwyk (Jaguar); 3 D Auby (Jaguar); 4 W Hepburn (Chev Corvette); 5 R Briggs (Jaguar). Race 2: 1 H Groenewald (Jaguar); 2 R Briggs (Jaguar); 3 W Hepburn (Chev Corvette); 4 G van Schalkwyk (Jaguar); 5 M Auby (Jaguar). Bridgestone Production Cars (Class A) – Race 1: 1 M Stephen (Audi A4); 2 J Fourie (Audi A4); 3 S Watson-Smith (Audi A4); 4 L Poulter (Nissan 350Z); 5 E van der Linde (BMW 330i). Race 2: 1 J Fourie (Audi A4); 2 A Taylor (BMW 330i); 3 E van der Linde (BMW 330i); 4 S Fourie (Subaru Impreza); 5 G Cronje (Nissan 350Z). Bridgestone Production Cars (Classes T, B & C) – Race 1: 1 R Wolk (Mini Cooper); 2 G Waberski (Mini Cooper); 3 H Bose (VW Golf GTi); 4 G Nathan (VW Golf GTi); 5 I Pepper (VW Golf GTi). Class T – R Wolk (Mini Cooper); Class B – R Jaffer (Toyota RunX); Class C – M Silverwood (Ford Fiesta). Race 2: 1 R Wolk (Mini Cooper); 2 G Waberski (Mini Cooper); 3 G Nathan (VW Golf GTi); 4 H Bose (VW Golf GTi); 5 I Pepper (VW Golf GTi). Class T – R Wolk (Mini Cooper); Class B – R Jaffer (Toyota RunX); Class C – T Tuck (Fiat Grande Punto). CitiBike SA Superbikes – Race 1: 1 L Isaacs (Honda); 2 A Moodley (Suzuki); 3 S Whyte (Yamaha); 4 T Crookes (Suzuki); 5 R Portman (Suzuki). Race 2: 1 S Whyte (Yamaha); 2 L Isaacs (Honda); 3 A Moodley (Suzuki); 4 G van Breda (Suzuki); 5 R Portman (Suzuki). CitiBike SA Supersport – Race 1: 1 E Alberts (Suzuki); 2 D Hellyer (Kawasaki); 3 C Rudman (Suzuki); 4 C Leeson (Suzuki); 5 R Quarmby (Yamaha). Race 2: 1 D Hellyer (Kawasaki); 2 R Quarmby (Yamaha); 3 G Green (Yamaha); 4 C Rudman (Suzuki); 5 C Leeson (Suzuki).
