With all of the titles still up for grabs spectators can expect action aplenty throughout the classes, but nowhere more so than amongst the Class A contenders. BMW Motorsport competitors Etienne van der Linde, Anthony Taylor and Clint Weston may not be embroiled in the title fight, but having achieved podium placings at the previous outing in Port Elizabeth the Castrol BMW 330i contenders will be eager to end the season on a winning note.
Last year’s East London event was characterized by heavy downpours with Etienne van der Linde one of the many victims of the weather. The BMW driver touched the wet grass and was a helpless passenger from that point on. Van der Linde emerged unscathed from the spectacular accident.
“A dry event would definitely suit us better,” explains Van der Linde. “The all-wheel drive cars will have an advantage if it rains so we’re obviously hoping for sunshine and blue skies in East London.”
Anthony Taylor is hungry for more silverware, following his determined performance in P.E. “It was great to be on the podium in P.E so we’re confident for this weekend. The partially reversed grid also mixes things up a bit and makes for great racing for both contenders and spectators so it will definitely be exciting. In terms of our performance, we expect to be very quick down the long straight and that should see us continue our end-of-season silverware charge.”
Clint Weston in the third BMW Castrol 330i will once again be concentrating on set-up. “It’s another new circuit for me with the BMW 330i, so my goal will be to work on set-up and balance. From there, we’ll be looking to finish among the top eight for the first race so that we can capitalize on the grid inversion for race two.”
BMW Motorsport Manager, Danie Human is also hoping for a strong result at the penultimate round of the championship.”There’s no denying that we’ve had a difficult season and we are already looking at how to develop the car for the 2008 season. Having said that this season isn’t over yet and we will continue to fight for strong results in the closing rounds of the championship.
“Tension will definitely be high among those competing for the crown, and there could be some dramatics among the championship protagonists. We’ll be aiming to steer clear of any such incidents with the aim of achieving some good solid results and hopefully a win,” he concludes.