Seven winners at Killarney
A weekend of mixed weather conditions brought about a mixed bag of results in the second round of the Bridgestone Production Car
Championships at Killarney on Saturday.
There was much anticipation around the Audi S4 entry of Michael Stephen (Engen) and the hype wasn't misplaced, as the S4 looks and sounds
superb and is sure to be a thorn in the side of the class A entries.
Qualifying saw Stephen give the S4 the best result possible, slotting the new Audi into pole position. Johan Fourie (IndyOil) saw to it
that his older Audi A4 shut out the front row of the grid. The shell-shocked Afrox BMW pairing of Melvill Priest and Anthony Taylor were
next up. Hennie Groenewald put his Sasol Subaru into fifth but had to start from the back of the class, due to a Kyalami incident. Fifth
place was then inherited by the rapid Q8 Nissan 350Z of Marco da Cunha who had the company of Tschops Sipuka (Engen Audi A4). Richard Pinard
(Sasol Subaru) and Paulo da Cunha (Q8 Nissan 350Z) were the final runners after lady racer, Tannith Gardner suffered mechanical problems in
her Sasol Subaru.
In class T, the battle lines were drawn between Volkswagen and Ford with the front spot going to Volkswagen man, Graeme Nathan (IndyOil)
who squeezed out a 2/100th of a second gap over Ford's Gary Formato (BP). Gennaro Bonafede was next up in the Ferodo Volkswagen GTI followed
by Opel's Michael van Rooyen (Williams Hunt). Local race ace, Nieyaaz Modack was next up in his Woodmead Volkswagen Golf. Kieren Quarmby
went well on Friday in his Tyres in Transit Golf but was still suffering the effects of a bad off, struggling to sixth. Seventh place went
to the diesel-powered BMW of Mishal Sing (Liqui Moly) who was marginally quicker than Ebrahim Levy in a Golf that didn't quite fit him. Levy
suffered mechanical problems and was slotted into Nizaam Esa's car seconds before qualifying. Shaun Duminy (BP Ford) had gremlins which
wouldn't allow him to get in a hot lap.
Race 1 was a stunner, and a popular victory went to Stephen, leading from lights to flag. Behind him things weren't as easy with Fourie
coming under fire from Taylor. The two had an intense battle to the flag, Taylor taking the spot by the narrowest margin (4/100ths). Priest
was fourth with a flying Marco da Cunha fifth. Sipuka had a lonely race in sixth, ahead of Paolo da Cunha and Pinard. Groenewald retired
mid-race with an oil leak but rejoined before the start of race 2.
Nathan had things his own way in class T, receiving support from runner-up Bonafede who did a good job to keep Formato at bay in third.
Van Rooyen had a great drive to fourth, showing potential in the Opel. Modack did well to keep young Quarmby behind him for fifth place with
Levy and Sing completing the field after Duminy retired mid-race.
The field was reversed by six places after the draw, putting Sipuka in the hot seat. He elected to have a rolling start and blasted away
into an unassailable lead. Priest and Taylor tried lap-after-lap to get past but a defensive Sipuka made no error taking the win. Fourth
went to a recovering Groenewald after starting from the pit lane, with Fourie and Paulo da Cunha finishing ahead of Stephen and Pinard.
A tremendous performance from Quarmby saw him show the pack a clean set of heels with an impressive Duminy taking the runner-up spot.
Bonafede and Nathan led home Levy and Modack with Sing the final runner after Formato damaged a suspension part and retired. It was
disappointing to see van Rooyen park the Opel for the day after a great performance.
Race 3 saw Taylor lead the rolling start, next to Stephen. In no time it was Groenewald leading from a struggling Stephen. The S4 had
developed an overheating problem and was being nursed to the finish. Taylor finished third enjoying a thrilling dice with Fourie. Priest and
Marco da Cunha took fifth and sixth, well ahead of Sipuka, Paulo da Cunha and Tannith Gardner, deputising for Pinard.
Class T went to Nathan after a good dice ahead of Bonafede and Formato. Duminy had another strong drive to fourth place ahead of an
entertaining dice between Quarmby and Modack, Levy and Sing.
The draw inverted the top 6, putting Marco da Cunha on pole, and he then elected a rolling start. Marco bolted for the line, leaving
Sipuka in his wake. Tschops was then gobbled up by the chasing pack, sliding down to fifth. Fourie chased hard for second, duelling with
Priest and Taylor. Sixth went to Groenewald with Paulo taking seventh ahead of an improving Gardner. Stephen retired his S4 with an airlock
causing overheating.
Class T saw the Ford pairing of Formato and Duminy take a 1-2 being chased all the way by Bonafede and Nathan. Modack, Levy and Sing were
next up with a recovering Quarmby battling to make ground after a first-lap incident.
The four-race schedule thrilled a huge Cape Town crowd, which was were treated to enthusiastic racing by the production car racers. With
seven different winners across the two classes, it is sure to be a spectacular season.
The next round of the championship will take place in Port Elizabeth on 30 April.