|
Competition at the cutting edge of
Class A in the SA Production Car Championship returned to fierce levels in Round
8 of the Vodacom Power Tour at East London on the weekend (9 October).
The year long supremacy struggle
between the works BMW team’s Anthony Taylor and Alfa Romeo Squadra Corse’s
Martin Steyn continued as the two teams took a victory each in round 17 and 18
of the championship.
But it wasn’t championship leader
Anthony Taylor doing the winning. Heat One laurels went to Hennie Groenewald
when unfortunate gearbox problems staid Martin Steyn’s attack at victory just
two laps from the end.
Weight penalties played their toll
on the Alfa Romeo 147GTAs performances. The regulation is in place to promote
closer racing, but the Alfa Romeo 147GTAs struggled to maintain the pace.
“We understand that the weight penalties try and create close racing,” says
Michael Burkhart, general manager for marketing at Fiat Auto SA.
“We just seem to struggle more with weight than our competitors. We need to
arrive at a formula that keeps the series alive for the spectators
and gives everybody an equal chance of winning all of the time.”
After finishing down the field in
Heat One, Steyn was able to take weight out of the LG Alfissimo Alfa Romeo
147GTA and led from start to finish in a brilliant drive that saw the lap record
tumble. “It shows that the 147GTAs are competitive. We just need to find a way
of staying competitive with weight in the car,” said Burkhart after the race.
The spectator intrigue that has been
created by Alfa Romeo Squadra Corse’s return to national racing will reach its
highest levels yet when the team descends on Kyalami on 6 November. Martin Steyn
and Anthony Taylor will go head to head at the final two races of the season
where the championship will be decided.
“It has been some time since there was fierce competition at the front of
Production Car racing,” said Burkhart.
“Alfa Romeo’s return to national racing
returned some spectator appeal to the formula and we are happy that we can give
them a show right until the end. It will be great to see the two camps of fans
supporting their favourite brands.”
|
SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCTION CAR CHAMPIONSHIP: EAST LONDON: HEAT 1
RESULT |
|
Pos
|
No
|
Driver
|
Car |
Class
|
Laps
|
Best
|
Total
|
Diff
|
Gap
|
Lap
|
km/h |
|
1
|
16
|
H.Groenewald
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:32.384
|
14:05.064
|
|
|
2
|
152.804
|
|
2
|
8
|
S.Morris
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:33.094
|
14:13.745
|
8.681
|
8.681
|
2
|
151.639
|
|
3
|
14
|
J.Fourie
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:33.170
|
14:14.021
|
8.957
|
0.276
|
5
|
151.515
|
|
4
|
5
|
M.Da Cunha
|
Alfa Romeo |
A
|
9
|
1:33.496
|
14:14.222
|
9.158
|
0.201
|
5
|
150.987
|
|
5
|
2
|
A.Taylor
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:32.687
|
14:14.277
|
9.213
|
0.055
|
2
|
152.305
|
|
6
|
4
|
M.Jurgens
|
Alfa Romeo |
A
|
9
|
1:33.187
|
14:16.963
|
11.899
|
2.686
|
4
|
151.488
|
|
7
|
9
|
R.Sorensen
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:34.028
|
14:20.449
|
15.385
|
3.486
|
4
|
150.133
|
|
8
|
3
|
M.Steyn
|
Alfa Romeo |
A
|
9
|
1:32.920
|
14:33.496
|
28.432
|
13.047
|
2
|
151.923
|
|
|
SOUTH AFRICAN PRODUCTION CAR
CHAMPIONSHIP: EAST LONDON: HEAT 2 RESULT |
|
Pos
|
No
|
Driver
|
Car |
Class
|
Laps
|
Best
|
Total
|
Diff
|
Gap
|
Lap
|
km/h
|
|
1
|
3
|
M.Steyn
|
Alfa Romeo |
A
|
9
|
1:32.182
|
13:59.858
|
|
|
2
|
153.139
|
|
2
|
2
|
A.Taylor
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:32.741
|
14:05.989
|
6.131
|
6.131
|
2
|
152.216
|
|
3
|
5
|
M.Da Cunha
|
Alfa Romeo |
A
|
9
|
1:34.173
|
14:18.138
|
18.280
|
12.149
|
8
|
149.902
|
|
4
|
14
|
J.Fourie
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:33.329
|
14:19.848
|
19.990
|
1.710
|
2
|
151.257
|
|
5
|
16
|
H.Groenewald
|
BMW |
A
|
9
|
1:32.841
|
14:20.830
|
20.972
|
0.982
|
2
|
152.052
|
|
|
