Steve Wyndham’s V8-powered Ford Falcon will make its comeback in Rounds 7 of 8 of the Production Car Championship at Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante circuit on Saturday.
Steve Wyndham’s V8-powered Ford Falcon will make its comeback in Rounds 7 of 8 of the Production Car Championship at Port Elizabeth’s Aldo Scribante circuit on Saturday.
The Cape Town-based veteran saloon car racer will campaign the brutish car, which has been substantially refitted with support from Ford Credit and the SA Ford Dealer Council, against BMW, Alfa Romeo, Nissan and, at a later stage, Audi, for the rest of 2005.
Leading the year’s title chase – and determined to keep matters that way at Scribante – will be Castrol BMW 330i works driver Anthony Taylor. His closest title contenders – locked on identical points are Gary Formato (Sasol AE Nissan 350Z) and Hennie Groenewald in the Castrol BMW team’s second 330i.
Reghardt Roets, in the factory Squadra Corse’s leading Samsung Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, could challenge Taylor, Formato and Groenewald for overall honours. Formato, meanwhile, will be supported by Duncan Vos in an identical Sasol AE 350Z and Alfa Romeo’s onslaught will be completed by Samsung 147 GTA models driven by Morne Jurgens and Jimmy Auby.
Since the last rounds of the series, the championship’s format has changed to include a new, separate class for cars with forced-induction petrol engines. Dubbed Class T, the category will initially accommodate Martin Steyn (GP Windscreens MINI Cooper S), Shaun van der Linde (Castrol MINI Cooper S) and Craig Nicholson (Sabat MINI Cooper S). And, the Sahara Production Car Racing Association, believes that the new class could attract turbo charged vehicles like Opel’s Astra OPC, the Renault Megane Sport and Volkswagen’s new Golf GTi in the future.
The change has Sasol Toyota RunX RSi driver Dave Compton as the current Class B points leader, with his nearest challenger Fiat SA team leader Mike O’Sullivan in a Motorola Fiat Stilo Abarth.
Third on the points ladder – following a string of consistent finishes – will be Garth Waberski in the Seagull Autogas turbodiesel Mercedes-Benz C270CDI. Other frontrunners in the class should include Dawie Brough (Motorola Fiat Stilo Abarth), Brian Martin (Havoline Toyota RunX RSi), Angus Thompson (Topcar Fiat Stilo Abarth) and Claudio Piazza-Musso (Sasol Toyota RunX RSi).
The class will be rounded out by Hector North (Tommibar Mercedes-Benz C270 CDI), Delon Williams (Adrien Tee Peugeot 206 GTi) and Paulo da Cunha (DCM Line Boring Fiat Stilo Abarth).
With 41 Sahara Production Car competitors packed on the 2,48-km Aldo Scribante circuit, Class A and Class T cars are expected to lap many of the Class C contenders. Following five wins from six starts in his Motorola Fiat Palio, title leader Theunis Eloff is undoubtedly the man to beat in Class C.
Eloff will go up against Clint Weston (M&R DigiDoor Ford Ikon), Eckhardt Schoenknecht (Delo VW Polo TDi) and Molefe Lebethe in his Motorola Fiat Palio. A tough midfield battle should rage between Guy Botterill (Bigfoot Fiat Palio), Rob Preuss (VW CitiGolf 1600), Trevor Tuck (Mosport FiatPalio), John Kruger (Ford Fiesta) and Mark Silverwood in his VW Golf 1600.