The BMW 330i trio of Anthony Taylor, Hennie Groenewald and Etienne van der Linde will have a power advantage over other Production Car Class A cars in East London, but the good handling of the A4 3,2 V6 quattros could be decisive in Rounds 11 and 12.
The BMW 330i trio of Anthony Taylor, Hennie Groenewald and Etienne van der Linde will have a power advantage over other Production Car Class A cars in East London, but the good handling of the A4 3,2 V6 quattros could be decisive in Rounds 11 and 12.
Class A of the popular national circuit racing series will feature no fewer than 13 entries from five separate manufacturers. The Castrol BMW team scored overall victory at Kyalami when it launched the BMW E90 330i racing cars in June. Following the team’s early success, BMW has continued its development and testing programme.
The additional power that the E90 has over its dominant E46 predecessor bodes well for BMW on the fast East London circuit. The team has found a combination of speed and handling tailored to the track’s tight sections and the dauntingly-fast Potter’s Pass curve .
The BMWs will be challenged by the Sasol AE Nissan 350Z entries of Gary Formato and Duncan Vos and Reghardt Roets, Morne Jurgens and Marc Auby in the Alfa Squadra Corse equipe’s 147 GTA models. Both Formato and Roets have won races this year.
Also hoping for at least podium finishes will be Engen Audi’s Tschops Sipuka and Michael Stephen, whose new Xtreme A4 3,2 V6 quattro models were instantly competitive. Experts expect the all-wheel drive Audis to set the pace through the circuit’s tight infield, but can the quattros keep up with the rest on the long pit straight?
Rounding out Class A will be privateers Melvill Priest (Audi A4 3,2 V6), Steven Morris (DAW BMW 330i) and Steve Wyndham, in his Novel Ford Falcon XR8.
Class T – for forced-induction petrol-engined cars – should see another three-sided fight between Martin Steyn (Bosal Mini Cooper S), Shaun van der Linde (Castrol Mini Cooper S) and Craig Nicholson in his Sabat Mini Cooper S. Not far behind them, Dave Compton (Sasol Toyota RunX RSi) will defend his Class B points lead against Delon Williams (Adrien Tee Peugeot 206 GTi), Mike O’Sullivan (Motorola Fiat Stilo Abarth), Phillip Kekana (Sasol Toyota RunX RSi) and Dawie Brough (Motorola Fiat Stilo Abarth).
Angus Thompson (Topcar Fiat Stilo Abarth), Brian Martin (Havoline Toyota RunX RSi), Garth Waberski (Seagull Autogas Mercedes-Benz C270 CDI) and Bert Grogor, in his German Workshop Toyota RunX RSi, complete the Class B entry.
Meanwhile, a three-sided battle for this year’s Sahara Junior Production Car Championship should continue in Class C. Theunis Eloff (Motorola Fiat Palio 1,6), Clint Weston (M&R Digidoor Ford Ikon 1,6) and Eckhardt Schoenknecht in his turbodiesel Delo VW Polo Tdi should be the frontrunners.
However, Trevor Tuck (Motorola Fiat Palio), John Kruger (Ford Fiesta 1,6), Molefe Lebethe (Motorola Fiat Palio), Rob Preuss (Caltex VW CitiGolf) and Guy Botterill in his Bigfoot Express Fiat Palio are more than capable of beating Eloff, Weston and Schoenknecht.
