| The second round of the 2014 BMW CCG Club Racing Series saw competitors, their families and friends head down to the Phakisa Freeway in Welkom for a fun filled weekend of racing on Saturday 12 April. |
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| Mishal Sing (E92 M3) set the pace in qualifying and took pole position ahead of Sav Gualtieri (E46 328i Turbo) who was guest driving the MBS Carriers car of Joachim Kremnitzer. The race was over before it had begun for Dino Fameliaris (E30 325i), when electrical gremlins caused his car to come to a halt on the warm up lap. Andries Greyvensteyn (E46 M3) then retired to the pits on the same lap when a missing wheel spacer put paid to his chances of starting the race. |
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Race 1
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The first race of the day got off to a frantic start with Gaultieri getting the hole-shot over Sing into turn one. They were closely followed by Manny Ribeiro (E35 325i Turbo) and Gianni Giannoccaro (E46 M3 CSL GTR) with the rest of the twenty one car field in tow. Some robust driving between the leaders saw Sing retire to the pits after the first lap with two broken rims. The field bunched up again when the safety car came out on the second lap to clear Fameliaris’ car that was stranded in a dangerous position coming off of the back straight. Fifth placed Carlo Garbini (E46 M3) then retired on the same lap with a broken clutch putting paid to his chances of another good result.
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Gaultieri claimed Overall Class A victory despite mixed results…
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| The re-start of the race on the third lap was a fast paced affair with Gaultieri blasting away out in front. Gianni Giannoccaro got the jump on Ribeiro this time around with Ricky Giannoccaro (E46 M3 GTR) and Thouca Mechanicos (E46 M3 Ti GTR) in tow. Duane Galloway (Nissan Skyline GTR R32) was having a great race as he led the class C ranks in sixth position. The battle behind him was the one to watch however with Riaan Woest (E36 328i), Warren Dodd (E36 325i) and Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i) all fighting for the same piece of tarmac. |
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Ricky Giannoccaro dived past Ribeiro to claim third position on the fifth lap. Fameliaris was also on a charge as he grabbed eighth position from Dodd on the same lap and then repeated the move by taking seventh position from Woest through turn four a lap later. The third place battle continued to be a close run affair with Ribeiro challenging Ricky through almost every corner. He made his move on the penultimate lap when a backmarker slowed Ricky’s run coming onto the back straight, allowing Ribeiro to blast past him to claim third position. Galloway threw away his chances of a good result when he ran wide coming out of the last corner on the final lap, handing the class C victory to Fameliaris in the process. |
The class B battle between Ribeiro and Ricky Giannoccaro couldn’t have been closer…
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| Gaultieri romped home to an easy victory ahead of Gianni Giannoccaro with Ribeiro holding onto a hard fought third position. |
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Race 1 Class Results
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Class A
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Class B
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- Sav Gaultieri – Best lap: 1:45.668
- Gianni Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:47.585
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- Manny Ribeiro – Best lap: 1:48.098
- Ricky Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:48.779
- Thouca Mechanicos – Best lap: 1:51.836
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Class C
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Class D
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- Julian Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:54.314
- Duane Galloway – Best lap: 1:54.787
- Riaan Woest – Best lap: 1:55.157
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- Hein Strohm (E36 M3 GTR) – Best lap: 1:59.446
- Mike Salt (E36 323i) – Best lap: 2:01.364
- Johan Dreyer (E46 330i) – Best lap: 2:01.496
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Race 2
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| The inverted grid for the second heat would certainly shake things up a bit – making for some interesting racing in the second race of the day. However a spark plug issue for Gianni Giannoccaro put him out of the running before the race had even begun. |
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The race picked up where it left off from the first heat, with Gaultieri grabbing the lead ahead of Sing and the rest of the chasing pack. Ribeiro took the class B lead ahead of Ricky Giannoccaro with Woest grabbing the class C lead ahead of Fameliaris and Dodd. Fameliaris then took the class C lead with a well timed move through turn three on the second lap.
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Fameliaris got the better of Woest and Dodd in both races despite the close action…
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| Gaultieri’s chances faded when a boost pipe came loose on the third lap. He nursed the car home to cross the line in fourth position however. Woest was under pressure from Dodd coming off the back straight on the same lap. He lost the back of his car through the fast sweep and unfortunately spun out of contention. |
| The race appeared to have settled into a good rhythm by the half way point, but the drama was actually far from over. Giannoccaro suddenly slowed on the penultimate lap of the race and retired to the pits after running out of fuel. Second placed Ribeiro then saw his podium hopes disappear out of the window when a tyre burst coming out of turn three on the last lap, forcing him into immediate retirement alongside the track. |
| Sing cruised home to an unchallenged victory with Fameliaris and Dodd claiming the remaining podium positions respectively. |
Race 2 Class Results
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Class A
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Class B
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- Mishal Sing – Best lap: 1:45.677
- Sav Gaultieri – Best lap: 1:45.821
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- Manny Ribeiro – Best lap: 1:48.712
- Ricky Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:48.478
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Class C
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Class D
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- Julian Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:54.663
- Warren Dodd – Best lap: 1:54.278
- Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i) – Best lap: 1:56.977
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- Daniel Koekemoer (E36 M3) – Best lap: 1:58.780
- Hein Strohm – Best Lap: 2:00.527
- Johan Dreyer – Best lap: 2:01.489
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Two podium results in class D saw Strohm claim overall class honours…
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| With the Overall and individual Class points now being well and truly scrambled after the second event of the 2014 season, a battle royale is expected from the main contenders in each class at the next event which is being held at the popular Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria on 28 June. |
| Race Report by Greg Reilly. |
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