It was a case of ‘advantage Audi’ as the sun set over Aldo Scribante on April 6 after a hard day’s racing for the Bridgestone Production Car field, with reigning champion and local hero Michael Stephen stamping his authority on the event – and the championship.
He won two of the three races, including the 16-lap feature race which awarded double points and as a result heads to round four at the Zwartkops circuit near Pretoria with a healthy lead. While early in the season, the smart money is already on him to keep his crown and make it three in a row.
While his weekend in PE wasn’t quite so straightforward, class T champion Graeme Nathan may ultimately be happy with a day which reaped victory in the feature race, but not much else.
The feature race became something of an Audi benefit, with the first four cars across the line wearing the four rings. Stephen didn’t have it all his own way though, being chased for the duration by Melvill Priest. The race settled into a pattern of twosomes, and behind the leaders Tschops Sipuka (who won the second sprint to make it a clean sweep for the local team) and Gennaro Bonafede continued where they left off earlier: a running battle from start to finish, which ended in that order.
The best of the rest was Johan Fourie in a BMW 335i, both he and his team-mate Etienne van der Linde tangling with Bonafede at different stages. The second incident, with Fourie, eventually resulted in Bonafede being demoted from third to fourth in the race standings. There was also an incident with Groenewald and Van der Linde, which slowed the Subaru ace, who again had a frustrating weekend. Richard Pinard in the second Subaru stayed out of trouble, and was one of few cars not showing signs of wear and tear after the event.
Overall honours for the day went to Stephen, Priest a deserving second after a strong and consistent performance, with Sipuka – incredibly popular with the local crowd – third.
The class T order was topsy-turvy to say the least, and behind Nathan the runner-position could’ve gone to anyone until the dying moments. In the end it was the MINI of Lee Thompson on the second step of the podium, for a change having better luck than his team mate Gavin Cronje. Cronje’s MINI circulated slowly with smoke billowing from inside the cabin after running in second place for much of the race, driving with his usual polish.
Michael van Rooyen got the final podium – literally in the final metres of the final lap – when the engine of Devin Robertson’s Renault cried enough. It was a bitterly disappointing end to a race meeting which also saw the team – probably the leanest in the series in terms of budget – take its first win for the brand. He limped across the line fourth. Overall class T order for the day was Lee Thompson, from Van Rooyen and Robertson.
The next round of the series takes place at Zwartkops, Pretoria, on May 4, with the one month break a welcome one for all – especially Ford Racing who will not only need to improve the new car significantly but must also find a second driver to replace the injured Shaun Duminy, whose snapped Achilles tendon will sideline him for many months.
