Highs and lows for Auby
Brandon Auby's first International Superstar race weekend was a roller-coaster ride that the 18-year-old is sure to remember for many
years.
Suffering from gearbox maladies in the first practice session, Auby's weekend did not start well, and he posted the 15th-fastest time.
With his gear-changing issues 'sorted', Auby set about getting to know his MotorZone Chevrolet Lumina in the subsequent practice. He was so
comfortable with his V8 steed that he set the fourth-fastest qualifying time, just eight tenths behind the pole position time set by Luigi
Ferrara (CAAL Mercedes C63) - 1 min 47,62 sec.
It was impressive indeed, considering Auby's illustrious team mate Johnny Herbert was just two slots ahead of him on the grid.
Race One saw Auby off to a flying start, taking third place into turn one. He comfortably held onto that position and was looking good
for a podium finish when he spun coming out of the Bowl. Recovering in a plume of rear tyre smoke, Auby and tenth-placed man Cappellari (BMW
M3) tagged each other, creating a further spin and terminal damage to both cars. Auby retired to the pits where his crew worked feverishly
on the car to ready it for the second heat.
Starting from 13th on the grid for heat two, Auby made another flying start and in the process took a stunning seven positions on the
first lap. A further position was made up in the subsequent laps, but returning gearbox maladies saw Auby retire from sixth position on lap
eight of the race.
As the sole South African in the Superstar event at Kyalami, it was a disappointing way to end the weekend.
"I am really disappointed that my two races both ended the way they did and I don't think the overall result is a true reflection of
how I drove," said Auby. "The car was really good and once I'd got used to it, it really suited my driving style and I was able to
set a time good enough for fourth on the grid in qualifying. I was chuffed with that, and was really disappointed to have spun about two
thirds of the way through race one. What was even more irritating was tagging Cappellari, as it stuck us both out of the race. I was doing
well in race two as well and then got struck down by more gearbox problems - but that's racing."
"This Superstars series is really good and the cars are awesome! I want to thank Renato and the team for the really awesome job they
did for me this weekend. I was pleased Johnny Herbert won race one and the team really got behind me too, to give me the best chance of a
good result this weekend, so it is unfortunate that it didn't work out like that, but hopefully I'll have an opportunity to prove myself in
this great series sometime on the future."