There were a few uphill battles for the Sasol Steam Team at the 4th round of the Vodacom Power Tour at East London’s Mercedes Benz Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday (24 May). –
– Debuting the all new Sasol DualFuel Omega, Johan Fourie qualified 3rd, but spun out of race one on the second lap. Later in the day, suffering from handling problems, the reigning champion took 4th to maintain his 2003 WesBank Samcar Championship lead, ahead of double-race winner, Larry Wilford (Fuchs Mustang) and Grant van Schalkwyk (HI-Q Mustang). –
– Melvil Priest has officially taken over the drive in the second Supervan Racing Omega (under Mad Buzz and Sasol colours) from Shaun Watson-Smith. After qualifying 7th on the grid, the youngster took full advantage of Fourie’s spin and further incidents ahead of him to take 4th in his first outing in the new aggressive-looking Omega. –
– It was his turn for an “off” in race two, but he recovered to finish 9th. –
– For Phillip Kekana, in the Sasol DualFuel Polo, the weekend started brilliantly, however, turned very sour in both the 8 and 10-lap Engen Volkswagen Cup events. –
– He attained his highest grid position of the year by finishing 7th, a mere 0.7 of a second behind pole-sitter, Hennie Groenewald. Early in the opening heat, Kekana’s car was turned into a dented piece of machinery, a hard smack on the front left wheel completely putting out the alignment on the car. He, nevertheless, soldiered on and finished 20th. –
– Sadly, the robust tactics of the competitors in the class resulted in a non-finish in the later race, as he was spun off the track with three laps to go. –
– Fanie de Bruin (Murray & Roberts Foundary Ford Ikon) was the best of the Sasol DualFuel privateers in the Production Car category on Saturday. –
– Returning to racing from illness, the youngster took two remarkable second places in Class D, behind Dave Compton in the ex-Kekana Toyota Tazz, and was duly awarded the SASOL / SAGMJ “TOP GUN” OF THE DAY AWARD. –
– Watch highlights of the East London action on Supersport’s Vodacom on Track (from 18h00) from this Thursday (29 May). –
– For free images of the Sasol Steam Team in action at the coast go to: www.motorpics.co.za?key=steamteam. –
– For all the latest news on the Sasol Steam Team go to: www.sasolmotorsport.co.za or www.cartoday.com.