The tight and twisty 2,4 kilometre Scribante circuit suited Audi’s A4 3,2 quattro models down to the tarmac.
After Friday’s official qualifying session, Michael Stephen (Engen Xtreme Audi), Melvill Priest (MiKar Sonax Audi), Johan Fourie (JF Transport Audi) and Shaun Watson-Smith (Engen Xtreme Audi) occupied the two front rows of Saturday’s starting grid. Local hero Michael Stephen confirmed the status quo when he led the opening Class A race from flag to flag, ahead of Johan Fourie and Shaun Watson-Smith, who set a new overall Bridgestone Production Car lap record in the process.
Reigning South African champion Leeroy Poulter (Sasol Nissan 350Z) finished fourth, closely followed by Etienne van der Linde (Castrol BMW 330i) and Melvill Priest, whose Audi was slowed by transmission bothers.
Drama struck on the opening lap of race two, when Poulter’s Nissan was punted into a spin, and solidly collected by the Audis of Stephen and Watson-Smith. All three competitors retired with crash damage, as did Melvill Priest and Deon Joubert (Bosal Nissan 350Z), who left the circuit in avoidance.
That left Johan Fourie to win in his Audi, leading home Castrol BMW drivers Anthony Taylor and Etienne van der Linde, Seef Fourie (Medal Paints Subaru WRX STi), plus Sasol Nissan 350Z pilots Gavin Cronje and Tschops Sipuka.
The Scribante circuit was also a happy hunting ground for BMW’s works MINI team. Robert Wolk (Afintapart MINI Cooper S) won both the Class T races from Garth Waberski (Castrol MINI Cooper S), and Waberski wrote a new class lap record behind his name in the first race. Heinz Bose (Speed Tuning VW Golf GTI) and Graeme Nathan (BP Ultimate Golf GTI) took turns in the respective third and fourth places while class points leader Iain Pepper had to settle for two fifth places when his PG Glass Golf GTI developed turbocharger problems.
Riyad Jaffer (Sasol Toyota RunX RSi) took both of the day’s Class B victories, with Ben Morgenrood (Mazda RX8) and Dave Compton (Sasol Toyota RunX RSi) taking turns to finish second. Shaun Pike (Tosco Toyota RunX RSi) and Craig Kidgell (FTD Performance Fiat Stilo Abarth) took the respective fourth and fifth places both times.Mark Silverwood (OKI Ford Fiesta) won the opening Class C race, just eight hundredths of a second ahead of Etienne Prinsloo (Bizhub VW Polo TDI). Robi Beninca (BTS VW CitiGolf) finished third, chased to the finish by the Motorsport Infinity Fiat Grande Punto entries of Trevor Tuck and Theunis Eloff. Trevor Tuck won the second time around, followed by Prinsloo, Silverwood, Eloff and Beninca. Silverwood set a new class lap record in the opening race while Prinsloo took the prestigious CAR Magazine Rookie of the Day accolade.
The next round of the 2007 Bridgestone SA Production Car Championship will be held at the East London Grand Prix circuit on Saturday, October 20
