The Fiat Abarth Racing Team finished a very creditable third and fourth overall at this weekend’s Bridgestone Production Car National Championship race meeting which took place at Killarney raceway in the Western Cape.
The event marked the diesel Fiat Grande Punto’s first outing at sea level where petrol driven vehicles enjoy a significant power advantage over the diesel powered Grande Punto Racing Team’s cars who still scored valuable points in this year’s Class C title pursuit.
Droomers Fiat, the Cape Town based Fiat Dealership, seized the opportunity to form an alliance with the Fiat Grande Punto Racing team for the their visit to Cape Town and provided the locally based assistance to the team and circuit hospitality to the Droomers VIP clients for the racing weekend.
TREVOR TUCK (Third Overall)
“It was great to be back in Cape Town and overall I’m very happy with the results of the weekend. We anticipated being at a power disadvantage and having never raced the Fiat Grande Punto in Cape Town before we had a lot to learn over the course of the weekend,” said Tuck.
“All things considered, third place is a very good result for the weekend, and puts us in a strong position in the championship fight. I’m now looking forward to heading back inland with our next race at Zwartkops Raceway, a circuit I know and love.”
THEUNIS ELOFF (Fourth Overall)
“From an overall perspective, I’m satisfied with our weekend’s results. The Fiat Grande Punto proved its reliability and I had a trouble free technical and mechanical weekend here in Cape Town.
“As expected, at sea level the petrol driven cars have a significant power to mass advantage over the diesels, initially leaving us some two seconds off the pace in the practice sessions. We made steady progress throughout the weekend and managed to reduce this gap during the races to be competitive in the results,” said Eloff.
“We have gathered a lot of information and knowledge which will stand us in good stead when we head to the Eastern Cape later in the year.”
LINDSAY STEYN (Team Manager)
“This was the first time that we have had the Fiat Grande Punto on the track at sea level and in Cape Town. Considering all of the unknowns that we were faced with before the weekend, we are pleased to leave with points in the championship and important information about how the diesel Fiat Grande Punto performs at the coast. The cars proved to be perfectly reliable mechanically, with a fractured pipe on a rear damper in Friday’s practice session being our only problem to contend with.
“Nonetheless, we had a testing weekend against tough opposition who made full use of the advantage that the petrol driven cars have at the coast and both Theunis and Trevor delivered pleasing results which contribute towards the team’s ultimate goal which is to win the Class C Championship again this year.
“These goals are attainable and the excellent preparation work done by Kenny in advance of the race has shown through in the pits on race day. Congratulations to everybody in our team for a job well done.” said Steyn.
The next round of the Junior Production Car Championship takes place at Zwartkops Raceway on 1 September, a circuit much better suited to the characteristics of the Fiat Grande Puntos.
FIAT GRANDE PUNTO RACING & MOTORSPORT INFINITY acknowledges the valuable contribution of our racing partners this past weekend: FIAT SOUTH AFRICA; POSTNET; EURO AFRICA LUBRICANTS / AGIP; ACCIDENT REPAIR CENTRE; SLA; CRD; GEDORE: DROOMERS FIAT CAPE TOWN
