Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series – Round 6 – Zwartkops – 2016-09-17 – Race Report

The popular Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series made their way to the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria on Saturday 17 September for the sixth round of the 2016 Championship

Qualifying

Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) claimed pole position ahead of Manny Ribeiro (E36 M3) who was out for the first time in his new G&H Transport sponsored entry. Class B frontrunner Riaan Woest (E46 M3 GTR) would line up on the second row of the grid with Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i Turbo) making a welcome return in fourth.

Paulo Loureiro (E36 M3) was happy to start from the third row of the grid with Philip Smit (E46 M3) surprising the rest of the class C brat pack to claim a top six grid position.

Race 1

Fameliaris made the most of his pole position as he led the field through the first few corners. He emerged onto the back straight in the lead with Ribeiro, Martinelli and Woest in tow. Willie Erasmus (E36 M3) had an incredible start off the line to grab the C class lead ahead of Lorenzo Gualtieri (E36 328i) and Smit.

Stephen Tsalavoutas (E36 328i Turbo) saw his race come to an end on lap two when the head gasket on his car cried enough through turn two. Dino Fameliaris (E36 M3 Turbo) was playing catch up after starting from the back of the grid and was up to sixth position by lap three. The battle behind the leading trio was closer than ever with Woest and Loureiro side by side on lap four. Loureiro managed to get past Woest through turn two on the next lap with Dino closing down on the pair as well.

The action at the front of the field was far from over either with Martinelli finding a way past Ribeiro on lap seven to claim second. Dino followed his example as he got past Woest on the same lap as well. Ribeiro slowed on the penultimate lap of the race with a fuel leak which unfortunately forced him into retirement.

Fameliaris crossed the line to take an unchallenged Overall and class A victory ahead of a hard charging Martinelli who took the class B win ahead of Loureiro as well. Gualtieri took the class C honours after Erasmus broke out and was bumped up to B class for the rest of the season. Troy Cochran (E46 325ti) took an easy win in class D with Mike Dodd (E36 318i) taking the laurels in class E.

Race 2

The reverse grid by class would make for an even more exciting race for the second event of the day. Ribeiro grabbed the early lead ahead of Fameliaris with Erasmus making an impressive charge up to third place ahead of Rick Loureiro (E30 3.2 CSL) and Jorge Estrela (E36 328i Turbo). Loureiro was up to third by lap two with Martinelli charging through to fifth place.

Woest and Paulo Loureiro were at each other’s throats yet again with Paulo grabbing sixth position on lap three. The class C brat pack was experiencing some of the closest racing of the series as well. Gualtieri grabbed the class lead on lap five with Jimmy Tsimenoglou (E36 M3) hot on his heels. The battle at the sharp end of the field was far from over with Martinelli taking second place on the penultimate lap of the race.

When the chequered flag came out it was Fameliaris who took his second Overall and class A victory on the trot. Martinelli took second place and the double in class B yet again with Ribeiro holding on for a fine third place position. Gualtieri continued his good form to take a comfortable win in class C yet again. In a day of doubles Cochran and Dodd claimed classes D and E yet again.

The next round of the championship will return to the Midvaal Raceway in Meyerton on 15 October where they will take up the challenge of competing on this track in the opposite direction of what they are currently used to.

For live updates on race days follow the racing series on Facebook: Facebook.com/InlandChampionship

Race Report by: Greg Reilly

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.