Visiting British driver Steve Morris was an extremely busy man at the Eastern Cape Aldo Scribante circuit on Saturday (April 12). The 21-year-old competed in a total of five races, switching his attention between a Formula Ford single-seater and a Class A Production Championship car. –
– In the Production Car Morris started proceedings off well on Friday afternoon, by qualifying his Kaye-Eddie BMW 330i fourth on the grid. His time was five hundredths of a second quicker than that of Kaye-Eddie BMW team mate Reghardt Roets, which pleased Morris tremendously. –
– “I only managed three flying laps before the car’s gear linkage worked loose, leaving me with the gear lever in my hand. I was very pleased to out-qualify Reghardt for the first time, and under those circumstances,” the young Brit said. –
– Morris went on to score two fifth places and a sixth in the day’s respective three Production Car Championship races. –
– “It got rough out there, and I was happy to run in the front bunch. South African Production Car Championship racing is incredibly close – in the second race Reghardt got a blinder of a start and went on to win – and my quickest lap time in sixth place beat his quickest time at the front.” –
– “It takes a combination of things to win – a good start, preferably zero interference from – and body contact with – other cars – and the right gaps when catching slower traffic.” –
– “One of these days I am going to get all of the ingredients and take my first Production Car victory,” Morris said. –
– The youngster also had an eventful day in the single-seater arena, driving one of the Nino Venturi team’s old Van Diemens in the Formula Ford races. Going out in Saturday morning’s Official Qualifying session, a brake hose detached itself from the car just before the first corner. –
– “I thought that I was going slowly, until I stepped on the brake and the pedal went straight to the floor. It became very interesting, but I managed to stop the car before hitting anything and took it back to the pits,” Morriss said. –
– That adventure saw him managing no practice laps at all, which led to a starting position right at the back of a 16-car grid. In the opening race, Morris stormed through the field to eventually finish sixth, while an equally aggressive drive rendered a fourth place in the second race. –
– “I loved it, but five races and two Qualifying sessions on one day is a bit much – today I feel as if I had gone five rounds with Mike Tyson,” Steve said on Sunday.
