In race 1 Trevor Tuck took fourth place in a closely fought battle at the front of the field while team mate Theunis Eloff followed him home in fifth place. In race two the grid was reversed putting the Fiat duo in a strong position for the rolling start.
Eloff and Tuck both made a good start, with Tuck managing to break free of the tussle for 3rd place to take victory ahead of the other contenders in the championship race.
Significantly, Eloff who was involved in the 3rd place dice also took valuable points ahead of contenders to Tuck’s championship defence.
TREVOR TUCK
“Port Elizabeth was a very important outing for us with the championship entering the final stages. The first race went well and I was happy to take fourth place rather than risk being taken out in a challenge for the lead. Race two proved to be even better. The reverse grid worked in our favour and I managed to get out ahead of the pack and take a very important victory for us. Thanks to the team for the efforts, it paid dividends.”
THEUNIS ELOFF
“I suffered from a lack of competitive power during the early stages of the weekend. As a precaution we made some mechanical changes which had the result that we envisaged. We had no other mechanical difficulties throughout the weekend, allowing us to concentrate on setting up the car to suit me best. This was only my second outing at sea level in the diesel powered Grande Punto and the progress that has been made is significant. I had a fantastic second race and I am looking forward to going to East London later this month.”
LINDSAY STEYN (TEAM MANAGER)
“This was a positive outcome for the team. We achieved our first win at sea level and took home valuable championship points too. A great amount of effort has been put into making the car more competitive at sea level and that showed this weekend. We had consistency and we managed to partly reduce the disadvantage of the turbo diesel cars at the coast. Our next race is in East London and it will be another new circuit for the Grande Punto, but I am pleased that we are closer to the normally aspirated cars and will continue to work on developing the car and hopefully earn some more valuable championship points. Our support crew must not be forgotten, they have gone to great lengths to contribute to the success that we had this weekend and I thank them for their significant contribution.”
