This year’s Bridgestone Production Car Championship started in spectacular fashion at the Eastern Cape Aldo Scribante circuit on Saturday (March 7).
The passenger car brigade attended the opening round of the 2009 WesBank Super Series with a total of 24 cars.
Saturday morning’s official qualifying session gave an indication of close racing to come, when the times of the quickest eight cars were covered by less than a second on the grid.
Michael Stephen (Engen Xtreme Audi A4 3,2 quattro) occupied pole position, sharing the front row of the grid with Anthony Taylor (Afrox BMW 330i).
They would line up ahead of Melvill Priest (Delcam Audi) and defending champion Johan Fourie (Indy Oil Audi).
Drama struck about 300 metres after the start of the first race when Robert Wolk (Afrox BMW 330i), Shaun Watson-Smith (Engen Xtreme Audi) and Marco da Cunha (Tubular Tech Nissan 350Z) tangled in the main straight.
All three cars slammed into the tyre wall next to the circuit at high speed and retired. The drivers escaped injury, but the race was stopped to clear the wreckage.
At the restart Taylor slotted into the lead and he stayed there to win, leading home Fourie, Stephen, Leeroy Poulter (GP Windscreens Nissan 350Z) and Dawie Olivier (Sasol Subaru Impreza STi).
Melvill Priest parked his Audi with a puncture and subsequent suspension damage on the fifth lap.
Race two, started from an inverted grid, saw Michael Stephen leading from flag to flag in his Audi.
Johan Fourie’s Audi finished second, after winning a race long bruising dice with Anthony Taylor’s BMW, plus the Audis of Melvill Priest and Shaun Watson-Smith.
The Nissans of Leeroy Poulter and Marco da Cunha, plus Dawie Olivier’s Subaru rounded out the class.
Reigning Class T champion Graeme Nathan arrived in Port Elizabeth with a brand new Indy Oil Volkswagen Golf GTI, and proceeded to plant it on pole position.
He then led the opening race from flag to flag, setting a new class lap record in the process.
Gary Formato (Ford Racing Focus ST) finished second, followed by Curt Alchin (Bodyman VW Golf GTI), Shaun Duminy (Ford Racing Focus ST) and Etienne Prinsloo (Bizhub Mazda3 MPS).
Formato reversed the order in race two and led throughout in his Ford Focus. He was chased to the flag by Nathan, Alchin, Heinz Bose (MFC Mazda3 MPS) and Michael van Rooyen (VW Golf GTI).
Andries van Eeden (MLE Toyota RunX RSi) won both of the Class B races from Shaun Pike’s similar car, with Kosie Swanepoel (Barnett’s Toyota) and Gary Green (Gart Green Alfa Romeo) taking turns on the final podium step.
Van Eeden’s efforts netted him the prestigious CAR Magazine Rookie of the Day accolade.
The next round of this year’s Bridgestone Production Car Championship will be held at Kyalami on Saturday, March 28.
