Rounds nine and ten of the production car championship in Kyalami saw the race introduction of Audi’s A4 3,2 V6 quattro and BMW’s new 330i, in races punctuated by some incredible racing and even more spectacular crashes.
Rounds nine and ten of the production car championship in Kyalami saw the race introduction of Audi’s A4 3,2 V6 quattro and BMW’s new 330i, in races punctuated by some incredible racing and even more spectacular crashes.
Both models had set impressive qualifying times on the Friday when Anthony Taylor set the quickest time with his works BMW 330i, while Michael Stephen, in his factory Audi, started the race from fifth on the grid.
On Saturday, Taylor blasted into the lead, with Gary Formato (Nissan 350Z), Morne Jurgens (Alfa Romeo 147 GTA), Ettiene van der Linde (BMW 330i) and Marc Auby (Alfa Romeo 147 GTA) in hot pursuit.
Behind them, Reghardt Roets stopped halfway round the opening lap after his Alfa 147 GTA sustained suspension damage, while Audi A4 racers Stephen and privateer Melvill Priest’s cars suffered electronic problems. Other casualties were the Alfa Romeo of Jurgen’s whose cambelt snapped at maximum revolutions, and Formato’s Nissan, which was plagued by gearbox problems.
This left Taylor to record the new 330i’s début victory on its first competitive tour, leaving Auby to finish second for Alfa and Hennie Groenewald to finish third in another BMW 330i. Duncan Vos (Nissan 350Z), Tschops Sipuka (Audi A4 quattro) and Gary Formato (Nissan 350Z) followed.
Etienne van der Linde was penalised 30 seconds for jumping the start and finished seventh in his BMW, while recording a new lap record on his way to the finish line.
Seconds into the second race, Michael Stephen and Tschops Sipuka touched at high speed, sending both Audi’s spinning off the track. Groenewald’s BMW was left stranded, Mark Silverwood’s Volkswagen CitiGolf was tossed onto its roof and the body of David Fong’s Fiat Siena sustained serious damage.
The race was stopped while the circuit was cleared and then, less than a lap after the restart, stopped again when Danie Correia rolled his CitiGolf in another dramatic incident.
The race was postponed to the end of the day where Roets charged through the field in his 147 GTA to finish ahead of Taylor, Formato, van der Linde and Stephen.
In Class T, run by the turbocharged Mini Cooper S, Martin Steyn won both races ahead of Craig Nicholson and Shaun van der Linde.
Dave Compton won the opening Class B race in his Toyota RunX RSI, ahead of Delon Williams in his Peugeot 206 GTi. Phillip Kekana, also in a RunX RSI clinched the final podium spot in race one, before going on to win in race two and leaving Compton and Williams to jockey for the final podium positions.
Eckhardt Schoenknecht (VW Polo Tdi) was victorious in the first Class C race, as works Fiat Palio drivers, Theunis Eloff and Trevor Tuck, finished second and third respectively.
Both Schoenknecht and Tuck crashed out of the second race followed by Clint Weston (Ford Ikon). Guy Botterill, who was also voted CAR’s Rookie of the Day, completed the top three in his Fiat Palio.
