Motorsport | Saloon

Gennaro Bonafede - VW © MotorPics

Ferodo Team in confident mood



Gennaro Bonafede, Lee Thompson and Kelvin van der Linde travel to Cape Town's Killarney circuit this weekend for round two of the WesBank Super Series confident they can build on their fast start to the new season.

While the veteran Thompson won both Engen Volkswagen Cup races and scored points in the Masters competition (for drivers older than 27) in his Ferodo Volkswagen Polo at Kyalami a month ago, 14-year-old Van der Linde stunned the motor racing establishment with two fourth places and third overall for the day in the second team car in his national championship senior circuit racing debut.

The talented teenager, who has also had two impressive outings in a VW Golf 1 in the Pro Tour's Goldwagen Challenge with two wins from four races, showed maturity and skill beyond his years as he coolly handled the robust challenges and door-handle-to-door-handle dicing that characterises this exciting one-make formula with aplomb.

Bonafede, in only his second season in the senior ranks, was in top form with three third places and a sixth in the new-format quartet of four sprint races that characterise this year's Bridgestone Production Car Championship. However, like his team-mates, Bonafede is a winner and will not be content to simply finish on the podium on Saturday. With four sprint races on the programme, the lanky Pretoria University student will be one of the prime contenders for top honours in class T in his Volkswagen Golf GTi.

"We were delighted with the results of our new-look and enlarged team's results at Kyalami," enthused team manager Ronnie Erasmus. "We have a unique blend of youth and maturity and three talented drivers who are a credit to our brand. We're looking forward to a great season and a successful first visit of the year to Killarney this weekend."

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