Race one saw Groenewald and Briggs engage in a cat and mouse game as Briggs took the lead on the second lap and held off Groenewald until a notchy gear selection slowed him enough to allow the Holden driver back into the lead and take the win with Briggs shadowing him across the line.
At one stage it looked as though Team Timken would score a historic 1-2-3 finish, but a broken gear selector saw Pinard retire on lap six. “I’m sure I could have had third especially after I got ahead of Larry (Wilford), but that’s the way it goes sometimes,” he said.
Race two featured an inverted grid and Groenewald got the win, but not in the way he would have wanted it. A storming start saw him up to third by lap three and then he slotted into second place on lap five. After eight laps the chequered flag was waved with Groenewald still in second place a car length or so behind Deon Auby (ELT/Jonnesway Jaguar). Then came the bombshell and Auby was deemed to have jumped the start which gave Groenewald the win. “It was a messy start with everyone bunching but I rules are rules. He drove well and I feel sorry for him,” said Groenewald.
Briggs was unfortunate to hit one of the lumps of plastic bolted to the inside kerb at Nashua which had a bolt sticking out. That ripped through the radiator and took out a power steering pipe and he retired after two laps. “I would have beaten Hennie in that one,” he rued. Pinard was also out of luck and retired after three laps.
In the one-make Engen Volkswagen Volkswagen Polo series, team Timken’s Bryan Morgan kept himself in contention for the championship by taking a strong third in each race after qualifying fifth fastest.
Team Timken’s next outing is at Welkom’s modern Phakisa Raceway in the Free State on 09 August.