The fourth round of the 2016 championship for the Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series saw this popular category head to the Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday 16 July for yet another action packed event.
Poleman Fameliaris leads the way into turn two
Qualifying
Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) claimed pole position ahead of his cousin Dino Fameliaris (E36 M3 Turbo). Desmond Bloem (E36 M3 Turbo) would line up on the second row of the grid with Riaan Woest (E46 M3 GTR) alongside him.
Jorge Estrela (E36 328i Turbo) scored his best qualifying result to date and would start from the third row of the grid with Paulo Loureiro (E36 M3) slotting in next to him in another top six position.
Race 1
Gualtieri was pushed to the limit by the chasing pack
The first race of the day got off to a frantic start with the large field charging through the first two corners. Julian emerged through turn three with a decent lead ahead of Bloem, Woest and Estrela. The battle behind the lead pack was just as close with Lorenzo Gualtieri (E36 328i) fending off Philip Smit (E46 M3) and Warren Dodd (E46 M3).
Carlo Garbini (E46 328i Turbo) unfortunately retired to the pits on lap two with electrical issues. There were no such worries for the leaders however as they were still fighting for position. Bloem’s chances ended on the fourth lap when he retired to the pits as well. The battle behind the leaders continued however with Dodd getting past Smit to take fifth position.
Drama struck on lap five when Jimmy Tsimenoglou (E36 M3) lost the back end of his car through turn one and shot across the track to tag the back end of Craig Ball’s (E36 328i) car before careening off into the unforgiving tyre barriers. Ball retired his car through turn three shortly thereafter as well. Thankfully neither driver suffered any injury.
The safety car was brought out and the race eventually got red flagged on lap six. In a strange twist the race result was declared null and void due to a mix up on the revised grid positions for the restart of the race. The stewards felt that a result would not be fair to all and thus the results would not count. As per the regulations the second race would count for double points.
Race 2
Meier raced like a man possessed but a mechanical failure saw him spin out on the final lap
The start of the second race saw the healthy field charge through the first few corners once again, thankfully with no incident. Julian Fameliaris grabbed the lead ahead of his cousin Dino with a repaired Bloem and the rest of the field in tow. Once again Estrela was the best of the rest with Woest, Garbini and Rick Loureiro (E30 3.2 CSL) in tow.
With the leading trio starting to break away it was up to the rest of the field to fight for the minor positions. Woest managed to find his way past Estrela at the half way point of the race and then picked up third position a lap later when Bloem retired to the pits with overheating problems. The fight for the podium was far from over however as Garbini got past Woest to grab third position for himself.
The battle further back in the pack was just as close with Dodd getting past Smit around the outside of turn one to claim eighth position. Gualtieri once again found himself in the thick of things with Dodd and Smit closing in on him. Garbini’s luck ran out on the last lap of the race when he slowed with electrical issues once again.
When the chequered flag came out it was Julian who took a convincing Overall and class A victory ahead of his cousin Dino who finally experienced some reliability for a change. Third placed Woest took the class B honours with sixth placed Gualtieri taking the class C win. Alan Hilligenn (E36 328i) made a welcome return to the series to claim the class D laurels.
Top 3 Results by class
Class A
Julian Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:06.230
Dino Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:07.120
Carlo Garbini – Best lap: 1:07.908
Class B
Riaan Woest – Best lap: 1:08.599
Jorge Estrela – Best lap: 1:08.669
Rick Loureiro – Best lap: 1:09.499
Estrela jumped up a class with an impressive performance
Class C
Lorenzo Gualtieri – Best lap: 1:10.389
Philip Smit – Best lap: 1:10.302
Mish-al Sing – Best lap: 1:12.148
Class D
Alan Hilligenn – Best lap: 1:15.827
Troy Cochran – Best lap: 1:15.634
Edwin Dreyer – Best lap: 1:16.441
Class E
Mike Dodd – Best lap: 1:23.769
Newcomer Mike Dodd took a lonely Class E victory
Mike Dodd has built this fantastic looking BMW E36 318is sporting the old “EnviroCar” livery that raced in the late 90’s for under R70 000! It finished first time out and he is the first in the new class E of the championship this year.
The next round of the Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series will be at Red Star Raceway outside Delmas in Mpumalanga on the 13th of August.
The Club was formed in 1981 to afford like minded enthusiasts the opportunity to interact with each other through a comprehensive calendar of events, a club magazine and website portal. The Club also organizes adrenaline and social based events such as breakfast runs, classic car gatherings, Concours d’Elegance competitions, noggins, weekend trips, gymkhana’s and top speed events. The Club is proud of its family ethos where all enthusiasts are welcome. Annual membership starts from as little as R350, more information is available at www.bmwcarclub.co.za.
