Rounds 2 and 3 of the SA Production Car series, at a rain-soaked Killarney on Saturday, were action packed and saw Martin Steyn’s Alfa Romeo 156 GTA win on its second outing.
Rounds 2 and 3 of the SA Production Car series, at a rain-soaked Killarney on Saturday, were action packed and saw Martin Steyn’s Alfa Romeo 156 GTA win on its second outing.
Following Friday afternoon’s official qualifying session, privateer Richard Sorensen occupied the pole position in his Class A Vaal-HP BMW 330i, ahead of the Castrol BMW 330i entries of Etienne van der Linde and Anthony Taylor.
Sorensen grabbed the lead at the start of the first race. But his charge lasted half a lap before he outbraked himself at the end of the back straight – the BMW ending up in the tyre wall.
Then the wet conditions caught out new leader Etienne van der Linde. Van der Linde’s Castrol BMW ploughed through the sand trap at the end of the pit straight, while team-mate Taylor pitted with electric problems soon after.
That left Reghardt Roets (Kaye-Eddie BMW 330i) and Steyn (LG Alfa Romeo 156 GTA) to fight for the race lead. Making the most of the front-wheel-drive Alfa’s nimble handling in the wet, Steyn managed to slip into the lead two laps from the end.
The Alfa went on to score its first South African Championship win, half a second ahead of Roets’ BMW, followed by a recovered Van der Linde’s Castrol BMW and the Ford Falcon XR8 of Capetonian veteran Steve Wyndham.
British racer Stephen Morris (Kaye-Eddie BMW 330i) and Gary Formato (Champion EON Mercedes-Benz C320) filled out the top six placings.
Steyn’s Alfa-Romeo damaged its clutch during the last stages of the race and did not appear for the start of the second heat.
The field was further depleted on the opening lap when Wyndham’s Ford and Formato’s Mercedes collided going into the Engen Oval curve. Both cars spun, with Formato’s car bunted by the German Workshop Toyota Corolla RSi of Bert Grogor, plus the Honda Ballade 180i models of Lawrence Boshoff and Ian Long.
The race was red-flagged, with none of the damaged cars making it back to the grid.
After the restart, Taylor led from flag to flag in his Castrol BMW, chased by Roets’ Kaye-Eddie BMW, Sorensen in his repaired Vaal-HP model and Van der Linde’s Castrol BMW.
Mark Allison (Vaal-HP BMW) and Leeroy Poulter (Champion EON Mercedes-Benz C320) scored the final points.
Dawie Brough (Prominent Paints Honda Ballade V-TEC) won both of the day’s Class B races, followed by Bert Grogor (German Workshop Toyota Corolla RSi) and Jesse Adams (Killer Loop Honda V-TEC) in the first one.
With Grogor rudely eliminated the second time, Mike Sullivan (OKI Honda Ballade V-TEC) and Adams took the runner-up places.
In Class C Lawrence Boshoff (Orbit Coach Works Honda Ballade 180i) won the first race after beating Craig Nicholson (Sabat Honda 180i) and Ian Long (OKI Honda Ballade).
After the retirement of both Boshoff and Long in race two, Doug Reekie won in his Ray Ban Honda, followed by Nicholson’s Sabat car.
Clinton Weston won both the Class D races in his new Furman Glass Ford Ikon, followed on each occasion by Dave Compton (Toyota Tazz 1600).
Following huge dices both times, the respective third places went to Miguel Pasqualli (M&R Ford Ikon) and Angus Thompson (Motorhouse VW CitiGolf 1,6).
Local expert Jody Powell (Barnetts Opel Corsa 1400) won the first Class E race ahead of newcomer Shane Williams (Ford Fiesta 1300) and Darren Murphy (VW CitiGolf 1,4).
Powell’s car misfired in Race 2, dropping him behind Murphy and Riyad Jaffer (Toyota Tazz 1300).
Murphy set the day’s only lap record, while Shane Williams was awarded the coveted CAR Magazine Rookie of the Day accolade.