This year’s SA Production Car championship ended in drama at Kyalami on Saturday… BMW works driver Anthony Taylor clinched the Class A title after a skirmish with Alfa Romeo rival Martin Steyn.
This year’s SA Production Car championship ended in drama at Kyalami on Saturday… BMW works driver Anthony Taylor clinched the Class A title after a skirmish with Alfa Romeo rival Martin Steyn.
Tension between the two camps ran high after Friday afternoon’s Official Qualifying session, when both title contenders, Taylor (Castrol BMW 330i) and Steyn (LG Alfa Romeo 147 GTA), ended up at the back of the grid.
Steyn had been slowed by electronic gremlins, while Taylor’s qualifying time was disallowed when his BMW was found to be underweight.
Johan Fourie (Kaye Eddie BMW 330i), grabbed the lead in the opening race, followed by Hennie Groenewald (Castrol BMW 330i), Steyn (after a blindingly fast start with the Alfa), Morne Jurgens (LG Alfa Romeo 147 GTA) and a hard-charging Taylor in his BMW.
Fourie pulled away to win ahead of the fighting pack, which saw Steyn and Taylor fiercely disputing second place on the final tour. They arrived at the chicane near the end of the lap side by side and Steyn blasted straight through the infield to stay ahead of Taylor.
The Alfa driver was subsequently given a ten-second penalty for the manoeuvre, leaving him in fourth place behind the BMWs of Fourie and Taylor, plus Morne Jurgens’ Alfa.
In race two, Steyn and Taylor battled for the lead until the fifth lap, when contact between their cars damaged the rear suspension of Steyn’s Alfa. Steyn retired, leaving Taylor to take victory and the Class A title for BMW. Steven Morris (Bavarian Beer BMW 330i), Hennie Groenewald and Morne Jurgens took the next three places.
Shaun van der Linde won both of the Class B races in his Castrol Mini Cooper S, confirming his status as the year’s overall SA Production Car Champion.
In the opening race, Mark Allison (Vaal Mac Mercedes-Benz C270 CDI) and Mike O’Sullivan (Mosport Fiat Stilo Abarth) tried to claim the same piece of tarmac coming into the pit straight.
The resulting collision sent Allison’s car into the retaining wall and instant retirement, while O’Sullivan’s Fiat spun out of contention.
That left Bert Grogor (German Workshop Toyota Corolla RSi) to finish second, narrowly ahead of Craig Nicholson (Sabat MINI Cooper S) and Clinton Weston in his Furman Glass Ford Focus ST170.
Grogor’s Toyota blew its engine in the next round, leaving Brian Martin (Havoline Toyota RunX RSi), Nicholson, Weston and Phillip Kekana (Sasol Toyota RunX RSi) to wage war for the second place.
However, Nicholson prevailed with his MINI, leading home Martin, Weston and Kekana. Dawie Brough (Mosport Fiat Palio) won the first Class C race ahead of Eckhart Schoenknecht (Delo VW Polo Tdi), Dave Compton (Toyota Tazz 1600) and Theunis Eloff (Mosport Fiat Palio).
Compton won the next time in his Toyota, to underline his status as this year’s Class C and Junior SA Production Car Champion.
He was followed by Schoenknecht, Carlos Nobre (VW CitiGolf 1,6i) and Angus Thompson (Bredren AutoBody VW CitiGolf). After the meeting, Theunis Eloff was crowned as the season’s CAR Magazine Rookie of the Year.
