Groenewald takes championship lead
Hennie Groenewald (Sasol Subaru) drove hard, fast and clean to score two dramatic race wins, a second and set three fastest laps,
scooping enough points to leapfrog to the head of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship after the third round held at the Aldo
Scribante race track in Port Elizabeth this weekend.
Richard Pinard gave the team a fourth overall for the day while Tannith Gardner made huge strides until pushed off the track
in a high-speed roll that saw the talented driver's Subaru WRX STI destroyed.
Practice and Qualifying
Groenewald set the fastest times in two of Friday's practice sessions on old tyres, while Pinard and Gardner set respectable times as
they bedded in their cars for Saturday's qualifying session, which was a disappointment for the three-car Sasol squad. Groenewald qualified fourth
with Pinard seventh and Gardner ninth.
"I thought I had a great car but the new Audis have a speed advantage and I guess they were sandbagging during the practice
sessions. I was quite disappointed," said Groenewald. "We set a goal of doing a 1:06,8 lap but missed that by 0.1 second."
Races 1 and 2
Groenewald got a great start and slipped up the inside of Melvill Priest's BMW and set off after Tschops Sipuka who drove very
defensively, allowing his team mate Michael Stephen to open a gap. As the second Audi slowed on the straight, Groenewald swept past and set
off after Stephen. As the gap narrowed, Groenewald set the fastest lap by 0.005 of a second, but immediately slowed on lap 5 and dropped
down the order.
"The oil temperature shot up so I immediately backed off to save the car for the second race," Groenewald related as the SP Race
Engineering team added a couple of litres of lubricant to the engine between races.
Race two saw Groenewald start from the back of the class A grid and he immediately made headway, taking Gardner in the run down to the
first corner, followed by the Da Cunha brothers' pair of Nissans. The BMW team took each other off, making the Sasol Subaru's job a
little easier.
"I battled to get passed Tschops (Sipuka) for three laps but eventually took him under braking at the hairpin. Richard let me
through so I decided to see what I could do about Stephen's three-second lead. I was right with him after a lap and half and he made his
car very wide. I had a good go around the outside on the last lap but couldn't make the move stick," Groenewald reported. "It was a
fair race."
The Sasol Subaru WRX STI driver again claimed the point for the fastest lap.
Pinard got away well and also passed the Nissan pair before becoming embroiled in a close fight with Sipuka, which saw their
positions change until Pinard made his final move stick and finished fifth. In race two, Pinard was up into second place before
allowing Groenewald through. As the race progressed, his car's engine started to misfire and Taylor passed him on the line, dropping to fourth
at the flag.
"I had a great scrap with Tschops - every time I got past him, he came back at me. I was disappointed to lose third virtually on
the line," said Pinard.
Gardner got stuck in immediately and engaged the Nissans in battle which caused her to lose touch with the group ahead. Once past,
she started closing down the time loss to the other competitors and finished a solid eighth. After some bumping and bashing off the grid
in race two, Gardner was fifth, ahead of Priest and Taylor, before she suffered the same problem as Groenewald had in the first race. She
eased off and ended eighth.
"I got lots of laps which is great, and my confidence is building all the time," said Gardner.
Races 3 and 4
Groenewald started from pole position and kept the Sasol Subaru in a narrow lead from flag to flag, shadowed the whole way by Johan
Fourie's Audi, whose tyres were in better shape than Groenewald's.
"It wasn't easy by any means. Fourie missed race 2 so his tyres were better than mine. I saw there was lots of action behind me,"
said the race 3 winner, 0.7 seconds to the good.
Race four was dramatic. Starting sixth on the inverted grid, Groenewald had a grandstand view of the accident that caused Gardner to roll
off the circuit.
"I saw Taylor take my team mate out and wasn't sure who would go which way but came out of it in third place. Richard was in the
lead but Melvill Priest passed him under double waved yellow flags. Richard backed off, which you are supposed to do, so Priest had a
big gap," Groenewald reported. The leading Sasol Subaru driver set off after the BMW and reeled him in at a rate of knots, before switching
to his inside for the hairpin. The cars were side-by-side through the sweep before Groenewald dived up the BMW's inside into the final
corner on the final lap to take his second win of the day, as well as another bonus point for setting the fastest lap.
Pinard started Race 3 from seventh and watched the warring BMWs ahead. As Taylor passed Priest, Pinard followed, but Priest rammed Pinard
in the final stages of the race, pushing the bodywork into the tyre. Pinard had to back off and Gardner passed him, leaving an
angry Pinard sixth. The blue-trimmed Sasol Subaru started the final race from pole position and was incensed at Priest's move under the
waved yellow flags.
"I felt Melvill Priest drove like a learner driver. At this level, the guys should know what they're doing. I moved over for
Hennie and a couple of other guys passed me as well," said Pinard, who ended fifth.
Gardner had her Sasol Subaru in the thick of the action in race three, easily passing the Nissans and then Sipuka's Audi under
braking at the end of the straight on lap three.
"It was a great result and I'm happy that I'm hanging with the pack, sticking my nose in where I can," said Gardner.
Her final race was brief: "I was on the front row with Richard and we determined the pace for the rolling start. Anthony Taylor
gave me a nudge and then rammed me off the track. I rolled four times although spectators said it was five times," Gardner related.
She was completely unhurt in the high-speed accident, the strongest testimony to the SP Race Engineering-built Subaru.
SP Race Engineering Team Principal Carel Pienaar was scathing in his condemnation of the BMW team's antics: "Anthony Taylor is
totally reckless; the film footage shows it was totally his fault. We have hundreds of thousands of Rands worth of damage which was
completely unnecessary and caused by the stupidity of one of the most experienced drivers in the championship. Melvill has a history of
poor driving conduct - he's been involved in a number of incidents with Hennie. The penalty he received for passing under waved yellow
flags wasn't severe enough. I have to question the sportsmanship of the BMW team. Hennie has demonstrated again that it is possible to
pass a lot of cars without major contact."
He continued: "The team's qualifying wasn't up to standard. The cars lost 11km/h overnight. The oil problem Hennie and Tannith
had was a pick-up problem, caused by a leaking pipe. The weekend was one of mixed fortunes but Hennie had three very exciting races. His
last lap move on Priest, running through the sweep side-by-side was breathtaking!"
Carel's last comment related to the safety at the Aldo Scribante circuit.
"Tannith rolled higher than the tyre wall and could have landed amongst the spectators. The circuit safety has dropped well
behind what is acceptable from a safety point of view and this aspect needs to be looked at urgently."
"We fully support SP Race Engineering's position on the driving antics of the BMW team," said Subaru Southern Africa.
"Previously incidents like this have been addressed through a slap on the wrist which at the end of the day does not do the series
any justice. Drivers and teams alike need to be disciplined in a way that will set an example to their peers and ultimately benefit the
series. Safety is without doubt the number one priority in motorsport; for the drivers and spectators alike. While teams can design and
build the most intricate of roll cages to protect the driver, these lose effect when circuits are not able to cater for the demands of
modern era motor racing. This incident calls for the need to revisit safety at all South African circuits and especially Aldo Scribante
which sees the series return to this track mid-year. We will be addressing both issues with the Production Car series controllers as
well as Motorsport South Africa this coming week."