Two hours of excitement at Phakisa
The excitement of the two-hour race is building, but teams have not forgotten that there are
national titles at stake and Phakisa could serve as the turning point in the 2011 Bridgestone
Production Car Championship.
In Class A, Afrox BMW has much to lose and need to approach the event with caution. Anthony
Taylor will not be taking part in the event, after a driving standards hearing deemed Taylor
responsible for Tannith Gardner (Sasol Subaru) rolling her WRX in Port Elizabeth. Taylor was
excluded from the race three and four results in Aldo Scribante and precluded from racing at
Phakisa. Teammate, Melvill Priest currently lies third in the championship standings, just one point
behind Michael Stephen and will be flying the flag for the team. Deputising for Taylor on this
occasion will be former BMW racer, Etienne van der Linde.
Championship points leader, Hennie Groenewald (Sasol Subaru WRX) also needs to have three good
results to consolidate his position and take advantage of Taylor's situation. Richard Pinard will be
Groenewald's only teammate as Gardner's Subaru needs an extensive rebuild and is unlikely to be
ready for the event.
Looking good in the championship is Michael Stephen (Engen Audi S4). Stephen lies second in the
championship and is going from strength to strength as the team continues to develop the car.
Tschops Sipuka will join Stephen at Phakisa and will be looking to improve his points tally.
Johan Fourie (Indy Oil Audi) will also be flying the Audi flag, but it remains to be seen if he
will compete with the older A4 or new S4 model. It is believed that the team is battling to rectify
electronic-related overheating problems with the S4.
Grant van Schalkwyk will make a guest appearance in the class, as he debuts the much-anticipated
Nissan 370Z. Rounding out the very talented Class A field will be Q8 Nissan 350Z teammates Marco and
Paulo da Cunha. Marco has already had a taste of victory this season and will be going all out for
another race win.
Class T is going to see some bitter rivalries come to the fore and while fans expect this rivalry
to be in the form of a battle between the brands, it seems that stable mates have begun turning on
each other. Volkswagen GTi teammates, Graeme Nathan (Indy Oil) and Gennaro Bonafede (Ferodo) had
quite an altercation in PE and it is unlikely that the highly-competitive drivers have been able to
resolve their differences between races. Nathan leads the championship with Bonafede third.
Gary Formato (BP Ford Focus ST) is looking dangerous in second place in the championship and with
a minor 6-point deficit, he could steal the championship lead from Nathan should things go all his
own way. Formato has one huge advantage over Nathan and that is teammate Shaun Duminy. Duminy will
be going all-out to steal as many points away from the GTi competitors as possible.
These include Kieren Quarmby and teammates, Nizaam Esa and Ebrahim Levy (Asrin VW). Levy has made
solid gains in the championship, currently lying fifth, behind Quarmby but ahead of Michael van
Rooyen. After a very strong showing in PE, van Rooyen will be hoping to take his Williams Hunt Opel
Astra OPC to victory at Phakisa.
Following some issues with the injectors in his LiquiMoly BMW 120d, Mishal Sing will be hoping
for a solid finish.
Finally, Farrah Khan will make his Production Car debut in the ex-Nieyaaz Modack VW GTi.
All in all, the championship will produce an impressive driver line-up with even more impressive,
action-packed racing at Phakisa on 4 June.