BMW 330i driver Anthony Taylor did a double whammy on Saturday when he bagged the overall Production Car title and the Class A crown with two podium finishes, while Dave Compton left Kyalami at the end of the day’s racing with the season’s Class B title secured with his Toyota RunX RSI.
BMW 330i driver Anthony Taylor did a double whammy on Saturday when he bagged the overall Production Car title and the Class A crown with two podium finishes, while Dave Compton left Kyalami at the end of the day’s racing with the season’s Class B title secured with his Toyota RunX RSI.
In the championship’s 16 years, only twice before has the overall accolade been decided with four of the season’s 20 races still remaining. But Taylor’s title was hard-fought as nine of the competitor’s grid times were disallowed after they had failed to have their cars weighed before returning to the Kyalami pits following Friday’s qualifying session.
The penalised Taylor started Saturday’s opening race from twelfth position on the grid, but with Reghardt Roets (Alfa 147 GTA) eventually taking the win from Etienne van der Linde (BMW 330i), Taylor powered his way through the field to finish behind his team-mate.
Taylor led the second race from start to finish, with van der Linde following close behind. Alfa 147 GTA drivers Morné Jurgens and Reghardt Roets finished third and fourth in the race, ahead of Gary Formato’s Nissan 350Z and Hennie Groenewald’s 330i.
In Class B, Compton won the first race in his Sasol Toyota RunX RSI from Marco dos Santos (Fiat Stilo Abarth) and Garth Waberski (Mercedes-Benz C270 CDI), and with it the class title for the season. The Toyota developed braking problems in the second race, leaving Angus Thompson to win the race in his Fiat ahead of Waberski and Brian Martin (Toyota RunX RSI). However, Compton’s win in the first race was enough to secure his Class B title of 2005 with two rounds remaining in the championship.
Eckhardt Schoenknecht took both Class C victories in his Volkswagen Polo TDi, though the Fiat Palios of Theunis Eloff and Trevor Tuck hounded him to the finish in the first race. Shane Williams (Ford Ikon) and Eloff shared the second and third steps on the podium after the second race.
In Class T, the opening race went to Shaun van der Linde, while Clint Weston finished second on his Mini Cooper S debut, and Martin Steyn finished third. Van der Linde and Nicholson came to blows in the second race, leaving Weston and Steyn to finish the race in that order.
With the overall winner already decided, the Class C and T fights will continue on Saturday, October 29 at the Free State Phakisa Raceway.