The Red Star Raceway was the setting for the final round of the 2016 Inland Championship this past weekend with non-stop action highlighting another brilliant race day.
Seef Fourie took the Pro class and overall championship title for 2016
The INEX Legends series kicked off proceedings with an action packed first race. Lonika Maartens (Semi-Pro) grabbed an early lead ahead of Seef Fourie (Pro) and Clinton Bezuidenhout (Young Lion). Bezuidenhout grabbed second place coming off the back straight on lap four and then proceeded to take the lead on the penultimate lap of the race. He held on for the win with Fourie claiming second from Maartens on the last lap of the race.
The second race saw Fourie grab an early lead ahead of Justin Robertson (Master) and Shaun Nel (Pro). Bezuidenhout came through from the mid pack to take second on lap two with Nel relegating Robertson to fourth. Bezuidenhout took the lead on the penultimate lap of the race and only just held on for the win ahead of Fourie and Nel.
The third and final race continued the non-stop action early on. Bezuidenhout ran out of brakes at the end of the main straight and had a high speed off, narrowly avoiding the tyre barriers. Anro Stadler (Semi-Pro) took the lead with Fourie, Robertson and Nel in tow. Fourie took the lead on lap three when Stadler retired with suspension issues. Fourie held on for the win with Maartens fighting through to claim second ahead of Robertson.
The final round of the Inland Championship Roadshow will see this popular series head back to the Red Star Raceway on Saturday 12 November.
With various championship titles still to be decided amongst the various categories the racing is expected to be closer than ever.
Riaan Woest has a narrow seven point lead over Rick Loureiro in class B
Newly crowned Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series champion Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) has been in unstoppable form all season. He will be looking to end the 2016 season on a high with a double race win certainly on his mind. His cousin Dino Fameliaris (E36 M3 Turbo) has secured second place in class A as well. The class B battle is far from over and will certainly be going down to the wire. Riaan Woest (E46 M3 GTR) has a narrow seven point lead over Rick Loureiro (E30 3.2 CSL). Jorge Estrela (E36 328i Turbo) is a solitary point ahead of Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i Turbo) and both are more than capable of grabbing valuable championship points. Lorenzo Gaultieri (E36 328i) wrapped up the class C championship at the recent Kyalami event and will also be looking to end the season on a high. Mish-al Sing (E30 325is) is in a safe second but third place is still very much up for grabs, with Philip Smit (E46 M3), Craig Ball (E36 328i), Jimmy Tsimenoglou (E36 M3) and Shane Grobler (E36 328i) all in with a chance. Troy Cochran (E46 325ti) has all but sewn up the class D title and will be looking to stay ahead of Andy Smith (E36 318is Turbo) and Bevan Meyer (E36 325i). Mike Dodd (E36 318is) looks set to clinch class E.
The beautiful sight of the charging pack of Beemers at Kyalami
The Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series made their way to the newly refurbished Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday 29 October for the seventh round of the 2016 Championship. A scorching day at this historic motorsport venue set the tone for equally heated racing throughout the five classes.
Qualifying
Guest drivers Sav Gualtieri (F30 335i Turbo) and Paul Hill (E90 335i Turbo) locked out the front row of the grid during qualifying. It was an all family affair on the second row as Dino Fameliaris (E36 M3 Turbo) out qualified his cousin Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) to claim third position. Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i Turbo) and Riaan Woest (E46 M3 GTR) would round out the top six places.
Gualtieri would not start the first race as he concentrated on repairing his son Lorenzo’s car after an incident in qualifying.
