With 36 cars in five separate classes on the grid, Rounds 4, 5 and 6 of the 2003 South African Production Car Championship provided top entertainment at the Eastern Cape Aldo Scribante circuit on Saturday, (April 12). –
– At the front of the field, the day’s three 10-lap races produced three separate Class A winners. The opening heat saw Etienne van der Linde (Castrol BMW 330i) and Richard Sorensen (VaalMac HP BMW 330i) indulge in a race-long duel. It was resolved in Sorensen’s favour when Van der Linde ran wide coming into the pit straight on the penultimate lap. Sorensen blasted through into the lead, finally taking the flag three-tenths of a second ahead of Van der Linde. Third, fourth and fifth were Anthony Taylor (Castrol BMW 330i), plus Kaye- Eddie BMW 330i team mates Reghardt Roets and Steve Morris. The race was not without casualties – on Lap 2 Martin Steyn (LG Flatron Alfa 156 GTA) and Gary Formato (AMG Mercedes-Benz C320) clashed in Goodyear Corner, sending Formato’s car crashing through the concrete wall. Formato retired on the spot and Steyn was disqualified – leaving Steve Wyndham (Ford Credit Falcon XR8), Mark Allison (VaalMac HP BMW 330i) and Leeroy Poulter (Champion EON Mercedes-Benz C320) in the respective sixth, seventh and eighth places. –
– In Race 2 Reghardt Roets performed a demon start to snatch the lead – and there he stayed, beating off various spirited challenges from Etienne van der Linde. Roets finally won from Van der Linde by a fifth of a second, with Richard Sorensen, Leeroy Poulter, Anthony Taylor and Steve Morris filling out the top six places. Gary Formato returned with a repaired, ill-handling AMG Mercedes-Benz, to claim seventh place. –
– Race 3 saw Anthony Taylor leading from flag to flag in his BMW, chased to the finish by Castrol team mate Etienne van der Linde. Third, fourth and fifth – after a race-long, three-way battle – were Richard Sorensen, Reghardt Roets and Steve Morris, leading home Mercedes-Benz twins Leeroy Poulter and Gary Formato. –
– The Class B field was decimated before the start of the opening race, when Zack da Silva rolled his Imperial Toyota Corolla RSi, while the similar, German Workshop car of Bert Grogor blew an engine during the warmup session. That left Mike O’Sullivan (OKI Honda Ballade V-TEC) to win the first two races from Dawie Brough (Prominent Paints Honda Ballade V-TEC). –
– The order was reversed in the third race when O’Sullivan suffered an off-road excursion, while Jesse Adams (Ray Ban Honda V-TEC) finished third on all three occasions. –
– After the demise of pre-event favourite Ian Long (OKI Honda Ballade 180i) with mechanical bothers, Lawrence Boshoff (Orbit Coach Works Honda Ballade 180i) won the opening Class C race. He was followed over the line by Doug Reekie (Ray Ban Honda Ballade) and Craig Nicholson in his similar, Sabat-backed car. –
– Long returned with a vengeance to win both the second and third races ahead of Boshoff, with Nicholson and Reekie taking turns in the third places. –
– Dave Compton (Toyota Tazz 1600) won all three of the Class D races. In the opening event he was followed by Miguel Pasqualli (M&R Ford Ikon 160i) and James Menin (Le Grange Opel Corsa 160 GSi). Angus Thompson (Motorhouse VW CitiGolf 1,6i) and Dale Knez (Opel Corsa 160 GSi) filled the runner-up placings second time around, with Pasqualli and Clint Weston (Firman Glass Ford Ikon 160i) doing the honours in the final race. –
– In Class E Darren Murphy (Motorhouse VW CitiGolf 1,4i) won the opening two races ahead of Shane Williams (Ford Fiesta 1300), with Riyad Jaffer (Toyota Tazz 1300) and Rob Preuss (Opel Corsa 1,4) taking turns in the third place. A determined Jaffer won the final race, narrowly ahead of Murphy and francois van Zyl (Opel Corsa 1,4). –
– Preuss was awarded the prestigious CAR Magazine Rookie of the Day award.
