The penultimate round of the 2015 Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Championship will return to the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria on Thursday 24 September. The series will once again join the Extreme Festival series as part of a special public holiday race day. With more than twenty five entries expected, the competitors in this popular series are expected to put on another action packed display of racing.
The Overall and individual class championships are still very much up for grabs and it will be anyone’s race for the taking. With a number of leading contenders in each class it will be an all-out battle for Overall and class honours.
The Individual class battles
Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series – Round 7 – Zwartkops
Mishal Sing (E92 M3) has extended his lead in the class A championship after a solid result at the previous event. Devin Robertson (E90 320i Turbo) is still credited with second place despite missing the past few events but is not expected to race in the two remaining events this year. Jimmy Giannoccaro (E82 135i) moves up to third position ahead of his son Ricky Giannoccaro (E46 M3 GTR) who is still recovering from serious injuries sustained in a quad biking accident a few months ago. Ricky’s twin brother Gianni Giannoccaro (E46 M3) finds himself in fifth position behind the rest of the family.
The class B title chase continues to be a close run affair. Zimbabwean import Darren Winterboer (F30 335i) has now opened up a narrow six point lead over young Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo). Despite being the only normally aspirated car in the class Riaan Woest (E46 M3) is only a few points behind the two turbo charged entries ahead of him. Manny Ribeiro (E36 325i Turbo) finds himself in a lonely fourth position but maintains a healthy gap between himself and fifth placed Andries Greyvensteyn (E46 M3 Turbo). Dino Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) is still looking for the reliability that he enjoyed last season and will be hoping for better results in the remaining two events of the year.
Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i) continues to lead the class C battle. He has had some serious competition of late but some dominant results early on in the season have helped him to build up a healthy thirty five point lead over Fred Kruger (E46 M3). Warren Dodd (E36 328i) moves up to third position after some good results at the previous event and has also managed to close the gap on Kruger as well. Feroz Ebrahim (E46 M3 GTR) drops back to fourth position after missing the last three events. Mr Consistency Shane Grobler (E36 328i) is now only three points behind him as well and will be looking to move further up the leader board. With at least half a dozen other capable drivers in the class, the fight for valuable points will no doubt be closer than ever.
The class D title chase has now swung in favour of Mike Salt (E36 323i). He holds an eighteen point lead over nearest rival Arri van Heerden (E30 2.7) who lost valuable points at the previous event due to mechanical failure. Trevor Long (E36 328i) has regained third position and has also gained a few points on van Heerden. Craig Ball (E36 328i) suffered mechanical failure at Phakisa as well and drops back to fourth position. Bevan Meyer (E36 325i) holds onto fifth and will be looking to close the gap on Ball. Mike Grobler (E36 328i has worked his way into the top six and is only a solitary point behind Meyer. With no less than half a dozen other competitors in the class who are all capable of taking a points scoring position, the racing is expected to be closer than ever.
The Overall title chase
Under dog Martinelli is now the front runner in the Overall title chase
The battle for the coveted Overall title has seen a number of vital changes after the last event – and things could not be closer with only twelve points separating the top six! Stefano Martinelli (Class C) now leads the Overall Championship but is only a single point ahead of new second placed man Darren Winterboer (Class B).
Mish-al Sing (Class A) has dropped back to third but is still only four points behind the Zimbabwean. Julian Fameliaris (Class B) drops back to fourth position but is a mere two points behind Sing. Riaan Woest (Class B) holds onto fifth place but is only four points behind Fameliaris, while Mike Salt (Class D) finds himself a solitary point behind Woest.
With only two events left this season, the Overall title chase looks set to go down to the wire.
Pre Race Report by Greg Reilly
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More about BMW Car Club Gauteng
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.
The Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series made their way to the Phakisa Freeway in Welkom on Saturday 22 August for the second time in as many races. A strong field of twenty four entries set out to qualify at the technical Free State circuit for the sixth round of the 2015 championship.
Qualifying
Track conditions were very different to the previous event at the circuit, with a dusty surface making things rather tricky. Mishal Sing (E92 M3) narrowly took pole position ahead of Gianni Giannoccaro (E46 M3 GTR) with a time of 1:44.973. Darren Winterboer (F30 335i Turbo) was quickly coming to grips with his cars new aero kit and placed himself on the second row with Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) lining up alongside him. Riaan Woest (E46 M3) qualified in fifth position with Jimmy Giannoccaro (E46 M3 GTR) locking out the third row for the two normally aspirated cars.
A number of other competitors were not quite so lucky with their qualifying. Stephen Tsalavoutas (E36 M3) suffered terminal engine maladies while Arri van Heerden (E30 2.7) suffered terminal damage to the rear suspension and diff of his car. Newcomer Dean Kendal (E36) came in with major overheating problems, putting a premature end to his and team mate Jorge Estrela’s race day.
Race 1
Winterboer relished the conditions in his winged beast
The start of the first race saw a frantic charge down to the first corner. Gianni took the lead with Sing and the rest of the field hot on his heels. Gianni blew his chances when he ran wide through turn three handing the lead to Sing. This was short lived however as Winterboer powered past Sing to grab the lead through the very next corner. Sing briefly regained the lead through Coke Bottle corner but it was a fired up Winterboer who led the field across the line for the first time.
Fameliaris slotted into third position with Ribeiro, Woest and Jimmy in tow. Teenager Lorenzo Gaultieri (E36 328i) led the class C pack with Warren Dodd (E36 328i) and Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i) all over his back bumper. Martinelli got past Dodd through turn four and set about catching the class leader. Gianni was on the comeback trail and passed Dodd to slot into eighth position on lap two. Craig Ball (E36 328i) saw his hopes of a decent result go out of the window when terminal engine failure ended his race day prematurely.
A determined Gianni shot past his father Jimmy through turn one to take sixth position on lap four. This was short lived however when a sudden loss of power saw him drop back and into eventual retirement. Ribeiro and Woest were involved in a battle of their own with the proverbial blanket being able to be thrown over the pair at stages. Dodd lost his third position in class C when he spun out through turn three trying to get past Martinelli. This seemed to spur Martinelli on as he closed the gap to Gaultieri and attacked him through almost every corner. He made his move down the back straight on lap five and took the lead before the back sweep.
Winterboer was in a class of his own as he romped home to the Overall and class B victories in his newly winged beast. Sing took the class A win with a comfortable second place while Fameliaris took an unchallenged third. Martinelli was able to keep Gaultieri at bay to take the class C honours. Andreas Meier (E36 328i) pulled a rabbit out of the hat by beating the rest of the class D regulars to the finish line to take his first win in the series – in only his second event in the series!
Race 1 Results by class
Class A
Mish-Al Sing – Best lap: 1:45.595
Jimmy Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:49.688
Class B
Darren Winterboer – Best lap: 1:45.119
Julian Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:48.403
Riaan Woest – Best lap: 1:50.400
Class C
Stefano Martinelli – Best lap: 1:53.712
Lorenzo Gaultieri – Best lap: 1:53.915
Rick Loureiro – Best lap: 1:55.009
Class D
Andreas Meier – Best lap: 1:58.289
Mike Salt – Best lap: 1:58.806
Neil Reynolds – Best lap: 1:58.511
Meier leapt to victory in only his second race in class D
Race 2
Dodd came back from this spin in the first race to claim the honours in class C in race 2
A reverse grid by class for the second race would set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons once again. Sing grabbed the lead ahead of Ribeiro and Giannoccaro Senior, with Woest and Winterboer in hot pursuit. Winterboer was up to third by turn five with Fameliaris grabbing fifth position through the same corner. Dodd took the early lead in class C ahead of Gaultieri and Martinelli. Gianni Giannoccaro was scything his way through the field from the back of the twenty car grid to slot into seventh position by the end of the first lap!
Sing held onto the lead ahead of Winterboer as they crossed the line to start the second lap. Ribeiro was having a strong run in third with Fameliaris, Woest and both Giannoccaro’s in tow. Dodd held onto the class C lead ahead of Martinelli and Gaultieri. Mike Salt (E36 323i) caught the rest of the class D pack napping off the line and took an early lead. Stand in driver Morne Visagie (Edwin Dreyer E46 M3) slotted into second place with series newcomer Jan Eversteijn (E36 328i) and the rest of the brat pack in tow.
Winterboer grabbed the Overall race lead before the end of the third lap with Sing defending his second place from Ribeiro and Fameliaris. Martinelli had passed Dodd to grab the class C lead with school boy Gaultieri keeping Dodd on his toes. Gianni was up to fifth position on lap three when he passed Woest for position. Giannoccaro Senior started challenging Woest as well with the pair running side by side through turn five. Gianni was on an absolute charge and soon grabbed fourth position from Fameliaris (who was stuck in fourth gear) as well. Rick Loureiro (E30 3.0i) was having a great race and was lying in fourth position in class C but a sudden fuel surge forced him into retirement shortly thereafter.
After a disastrous first race Trevor Long (E36 328i) was hunting down the class D leaders. He was closing in on Eversteijn at a rapid rate of knots and passed him for third on lap five. He then grabbed second position from Visagie on the very next lap. Giannoccaro Senior then passed Woest through turn five on the same lap with the latter losing pace with worn tyres.
The battles throughout the various classes were closer than ever with an all or nothing approach being taken by most competitors. Gianni was closing in on third placed Ribeiro and was desperately trying to find a way past him. Dodd was also closing in on Martinelli who appeared to be battling with a fuel surge problem as well, and took the class C lead through turn three shortly thereafter. Long had caught up to Visagie by the fifth lap and passed him for second place in class D. Visagie then threw away an almost certain third position when he spun coming onto the back straight on the penultimate lap of the race. Giannoccaro Junior had played a waiting game and finally made his move through Coke Bottle corner on the last lap of the race to gain third position from Ribeiro.
Winterboer repeated his first race dominance to pick up the double on the day. Sing took the double in class A with yet another untroubled second place. Giannoccaro Junior was in fine form as he crossed the line to take an impressive third position overall. Dodd took a popular win in class C while Salt had to work hard to keep a hard charging Long at bay to claim the class D honours.
Race 2 Results by class
Class A
Mish-Al Sing – Best lap: 1:47.167
Gianni Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:47.180
Jimmy Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:50.147
Class B
Darren Winterboer – Best lap: 1:45.532
Manny Ribeiro – Best lap: 1:48.845
Julian Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:49.055
Class C
Warren Dodd – Best lap: 1:53.313
Stefano Martinelli – Best lap: 1:53.242
Lorenzo Gaultieri – Best lap: 1:53.313
Class D
Mike Salt – Best lap: 1:59.039
Trevor Long – Best Lap: 1:56.919
Paulo Loureiro – Best lap: 1:58.503
Giannoccaro Junior charged through the field in the second race
The seventh round of the championship will see the series return to the Zwartkops Raceway on 24 September a public holiday for South Africans celebrating Heritage Day. They will once again join the Extreme Festival Roadshow in what is expected to be another action packed day of racing.
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.
