May 4 was definitely one of Etienne van der Linde’s best Saturday afternoon’s in recent months, and he left Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria on May 4 with a good haul of points from the fourth round of the Bridgestone Production Car championship thanks to a win in the feature race to go with a win and a third in the sprints.
The main event of the day was shortened to 14 laps following various delays, and Van der Linde dominated from pole – a position he earned by setting fastest lap in the second sprint. Along with BMW 335i team mate Johan Fourie they pulled away from a gaggle of Audis, headed up by Melvill Priest. The lone Subaru of Hennie Groenewald had long since been put on the trailer after a character-building day at the office.
Class T was shaping up to be a hard-fought contest between championship contenders Graeme Nathan (Golf GTI) and Gavin Cronje (MINI Cooper S) when the VW slowed inexplicably after three laps and eventually stopped on the circuit. But just when it looked like it was an easy run to the flag for Cronje, the Focus of Formato – seemingly revelling in the cool conditions – closed in and then moved past, with Jacques Joubert shaping up to do the same.
Near the front Fourie’s day went further downhill – he described the car’s handling with an unprintable expletive as a consequence of the incident with Bonafede at the start of Race One. He pitted with a delaminating tyre, leaving Priest in a strong second. It was another good result for him, but he seems to be an eternal bridesmaid and still needs to stamp his authority on a race meeting.
Stephen was ultimately happy with a third in the feature race (which scores double points), especially considering Fourie’s lack of fortune which saw the points gap between the two grow. It was another poor day for Sipuka, retiring with a sick motor on the final lap.
Class T was shaping up for a grandstand finish, and on the last lap Formato’s brakes faded and he ran wide, Cronje nipping past at the top of the hill, having been content to sit in the Ford’s slipstream for a number of laps. Joubert was unable to capitalise on the Ford’s problems, struggling with tyre problems himself. Third was a good outcome for the teenager though, following sprint races where he felt he had been on the receiving end of overly robust driving by his rivals.
All in all it was a day of drama and damage, with just three class A cars and four class T cars credited will a full haul of 31 laps from the three starts bearing witness to the intensity of the racing. Van der Linde emerged as a comfortable overall winner in the former, with Cronje a grand total of 2,2 seconds ahead of Formato on cumulative time. Full results are available on www.tjtiming.co.za.
All teams will welcome a six-week break until Round Five, which takes place on a revised Durban street circuit on June 15 and 16.
Follow Bridgestone Production Cars by visiting www.spcc.co.za, or our Facebook page – Production Cars. Or join us on Twitter: @ProductionCars.
