Groenewald heads Scribante scrap
Hennie
Groenewald has a 13-point lead as the Bridgestone Production Car Championship kicks off the
second half of the season after a lengthy two-month break.
Groenewald's Sasol team will be back to full strength and is well placed to continue its winning
form from the April Port Elizabeth meeting where Groenewald took a pair of wins and a runner-up
position.
SP Race Engineering has been hard at work refurbishing the three Subaru WRX STIs as well as
incorporating new developments which should keep the team competitive over the remainder of the
season.
The WRX STI, deemed too fast by the series' controllers, has seen the car's base weight
increased by 30kg to 1390kg and the turbo boost reduced by 0.1bar.
"It was hard to argue my case," laughed Team Principal Carel Pienaar: "Hennie
claimed pole at Phakisa while running with 70kg of success ballast and our top speed is
comparable to BMW's. It is evident that the Subaru is quicker than the other cars, at least at
the inland circuits. The turbo-charged cars gain more performance at altitude than a
supercharged car so that is something we will have to adapt to."
Groenewald remains realistic about his championship lead.
"13 points is nothing when you have 40 available per race meeting, but I'd rather be 13
ahead than 13 behind," he said. "The extra weight will cost us around 0.4 seconds a
lap but we still have a great package. I am a bit concerned about the extra stress on the tyres
especially as I expect to have to fight every inch of the way with the Audi S4s. The track suits
the car and we've managed a win each time we've raced there. I will have to look after the car
and keep everything nice and clean. The circuit is quite narrow so it's crucial to avoid any
form of accident damage. I think Johan Fourie is going to be the danger man - he came on strong
at Phakisa and you can never discount Michael Stephen either, especially at his home track,
where he was very quick out of the box."
Richard Pinard has spent his mid-season break racing a 125cc kart to hone his race
craft.
"I did my first race and had the dubious honour of being lapped by Leeroy Poulter
(former world kart champion)!" he said. "The car has been given extra weight so tyre wear is my biggest concern," said Richard
after returning from spectating at the British Grand Prix. "The Subaru is still a superb
handling car. I want to be up there taking points away from Hennie's rivals. It's been quite a
good season so far and I've been able to contribute to the Team. The cars have been rebuilt so
we're starting the back half of the season on a strong footing. Johan Fourie is the biggest
threat; his team pays enormous attention to detail and he's been testing but you cannot discount
the BMWs either."
Tannith Gardner returns to the cabin of her Subaru after a three-month break. She
has spent her time getting fitter and nagging the team to let her test her WRX STI!
"My accident hasn't left any mental scars or anything like that," said Tannith.
"One good thing to come out of my accident is that I have a brand new car with virtually
the same specification as Hennie's car. The team has stripped out 25kg of excess weight. Now we
can place weight back where we want it be to get back to the new base weight. Not all the parts
we ordered have been delivered but my car is a lot closer in specification to the others, which
makes feedback to the team easier. I'm looking forward to Aldo Scribante because it will be the
first track where I have experience of racing a saloon car. All the other circuits I've had to
re-learn with a roof over my head for the first time. I can't wait to get in it and race
it!"
All the engines have been rebuilt and have completed around 250km each to run
them in. Gearboxes have been refurbished, along with the brakes while lubrication and cooling
systems have also received attention, ensuring maximum reliability and race pace for the car
wars to follow in quick succession.