After more than six months of torturous legal battles and unnecessary financial expense Franco Di Matteo has finally received the recognition that he so richly deserves – officially being crowned the 2014 National SA Sports & V8 Supercars Champion!
Di Matteo has been a stalwart of V8 racing throughout the years – whether it be under the Wesbank Modifieds banner or more recently the V8 Supercars banner. He has also come close to winning the illustrious crown on numerous occasions but it has always seemed to elude him. The 2014 season certainly looked to be the year that he would take the crown.
Almost everyone within SA motorsport circles as well as the Sports and GT category as a whole would agree that Di Matteo was last year’s worthy champion. Unfortunately lack of sportsmanship from one championship contender would see a rather ugly and somewhat unnecessary legal battle ruin what would have been the realisation of a dream for the popular “Italian Stallion”, as he is affectionately known.
However, endless months of MSA Courts of Appeal and National Courts of Appeal have finally seen justice prevail at the end of May this year when Di Matteo was rightfully declared the 2014 V8 Supercar National Champion with a seven point margin over Ben Morgenrood.
Despite the cloud that has hung over him for more than six months, Di Matteo has carried on admirably with his motorsport involvement. He has also been a regular competitor in the Liqui Moly Legends category, and topped the 2014 season off by winning the Masters category in this competitive series as well. He was then privileged enough to travel to Virginia in the USA to compete in the INEX Legends World Finals at the end of last year and returned home as the third placed Master in the world – a remarkable achievement considering that he raced against the best that the world had to offer!
The view that Di Matteo will be looking to give the opposition for the rest of the season
When the National Super Series tier collapsed at the end of last season the V8 Supercar brigade were given the option to join the Regional Super Saloons category in a new GTA class created especially for them. Di Matteo was one of the first drivers to support the initiative and hasn’t missed a race since. With four of the nine scheduled events for the season already behind them Di Matteo currently leads the 2015 Big Boss Super Saloons GTA Class Championship.
A second place and a win at the recent Midvaal event will see Di Matteo heading into the fifth round of the championship at Zwartkops Raceway in July with a slight advantage over the rest of the GTA field. The irony is that he finds himself in almost the exact same situation as last season, as he has a narrow two point advantage over arch rival Morgenrood.
It is anyone’s guess as to who will take the 2015 title but Di Matteo is guaranteed to give it his all. The remainder of the 2015 season will be watched with great interest to see if he can pull off his second championship title in as many years.
Di Matteo’s success would not be possible without his valued sponsors – Varta Johnsons Control, Amtec Lubricants, Derek’s Machining, Tre-D Engineering, GWR Racing and PF Hydraulics. He will certainly be looking to reward them with another great result at the end of the 2015 season.
The popular BMW CCG Club Racing Series joined the national Super Series Roadshow for their swansong event at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday 1 November. The penultimate round of the BMW CCG Club Racing Series certainly made all and sundry sit up and take notice with two action packed heats keeping race fans on their feet. The dedicated competitors of this well organised series produced some of the most exciting racing on the day with all four classes producing close racing throughout the field.
Sav Gaultieri (F30 335i) made the long awaited debut of his new racer and promptly grabbed pole position in the process by almost a full second over Kris Budnik (E46 M3 GT). Ricky Giannoccaro (E46 M3 GTR) picked up where he left off at the previous race when he grabbed the class B pole ahead of team mate Thouca Mechanicos (E46 M3 Ti GTR).
Lee Jones (E39 M5) dominated the class C qualifying only to break out and receive a 5 place grid penalty. This put Dino Fameliaris (E36 M3) on the front row of the class with Justin Robertson (E36 328i) alongside him. Johan Dreyer (E46 330i) continued his good form and once again grabbed the class D honours with championship rival Mike Salt (E36 323i) lining up alongside him.
Race 1
The charge through the first corner couldn’t have been closer
The first race got off to a thunderous start with the large twenty nine car field jostling for position through the first corner. With the leaders three abreast out of turn one it was the tight turn two hairpin that would decide the men from the boys! Gaultieri emerged from turn three with an immediate lead over Budnik, Robertson and the rest of the chasing pack.
The frantic pace at the front would take a few prisoners however, as first Jimmy Giannoccaro (E82 135i) succumbed to a broken exhaust system on lap two, with class B championship contender Manny Ribeiro (E36 325i Turbo) retiring from the class B lead a lap later with a broken engine mounting.
Mechanicos picked up where Ribeiro left off with Garbini and G&H Transport team mate Ricky G in hot pursuit. The class C battle was just as fierce with Jones scything his way from the middle of the pack to challenge Fameliaris and Robertson for the lead. The class D battle was a mirror image of the last couple of events with Salt being the Venter trailer on Dreyer’s rear bumper as the two fought for the class lead.
Garbini was on a charge as he grabbed the class B lead by the half way point in the race. Ricky followed suit as he demoted Mechanicos to third position in the class as well. The class C brat pack once again saw a titanic battle in the mid field with Daniel Koekemoer (E36 M3 GTR) fending off Nic Smythe (E46 330i) and Hein Strohm (E36 M3 GTR). Class D contender Shane Grobler (E36 328i) suffered engine failure on lap five, putting a premature end to his race weekend.
When the chequered flag came out it was Gaultieri who edged out a hard charging Budnik to claim the Overall and class A honours. Garbini had to work hard to take the class B honours ahead of Ricky. Jones proved that he had the pace in class C as he romped home to victory ahead of Robertson Senior. Dreyer only just held on for the class D victory with Salt keeping him busy all the way to the line.
Gaultieri threw down the gauntlet early on and dominated from the out set
Race 1 Class Results
Class A
Class B
Sav Gaultieri – Best lap: 1:04.546
Kris Budnik – Best lap: 1:05.517
Devin Robertson – Best lap: 1:06.430
Carlo Garbini – Best lap: 1:07.899
Ricky Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:07.872
Thouca Mechanicos – Best lap: 1:8.151
Class C
Class D
Lee Jones – Best lap: 1:10.905
Justin Robertson – Best lap: 1:11.788
Dino Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:11.658
Johan Dreyer – Best lap: 1:15.011
Mike Salt – Best lap: 1:15.080
Bruce Turner – Best lap: 1:15.698
Race 2
Garbini was back to race winning form
An inverted grid by class for the second race would certainly shake things up with plenty of opportunity for overtaking being created. It didn’t take long for Gaultieri to once again get to the front of the pack. By the end of the first lap he held the race lead ahead of Budnik and Gianni Giannoccaro. A determined Garbini secured the class B lead ahead of Mechanicos and Riaan Woest (E46 M3 GTR) who was making his first appearance amongst the class B ranks in his new car after moving up from class C.
The class C battle was the one to watch with Speed and Sound Magazine front man Joel Silva (E36 328i) being chased down by Strohm, Robertson and the rest of the chasing pack. Donovan Salt (E30 3.0i) was unfortunate to retire with a puncture on lap three in his beautifully turned out retro Jagermeister touring car replica. Jones was on a charge once again as he scythed his way through the field. He made short work of the leading trio to grab the class C lead a lap later. Silva’s challenge came to an end on the fifth lap when he was plagued by spark plug issues.
With the front end of the field settling down into a good rhythm, the rest of the class C contenders were nowhere near from done. The battle for second position in the class saw a train of cars all fighting for the same piece of tarmac – Robertson had his hands full with Strohm, Koekemoer, Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i) and Smythe all in with a shot of a podium finish. The fight would quite literally go down to the last corner on the final lap of the race.
Gaultieri was in dominant form as he romped home to victory ahead of Budnik and Gianni to claim the Overall and class A double once again. Garbini made it two out of two in class B with Ricky and Mechanicos making a repeat performance of their results as well. Jones has found some amazing pace in the last few races of the season and a sublime effort from him saw him take his second victory amongst the hotly contested class C ranks once again.
Robertson held on for a hard fought second position with Strohm only just grabbing third. Dreyer was under pressure from Salt for the start but managed to drive one of the widest cars in the race to hold on for the double victory ahead of his championship rival once again. Turner used the new found grip of his car to claim another well deserved third position.
Jones was sublime in the brutish M5
Race 2 Class Results
Class A
Class B
Sav Gaultieri – Best lap: 1:05.165
Kris Budnik – Best lap: 1:05.831
Gianni Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:06.992
Carlo Garbini – Best lap: 1:08.668
Ricky Giannoccaro – Best lap: 1:08.802
Thouca Mechanicos – Best lap: 1:08.685
Class C
Class D
Lee Jones – Best lap: 1:11.283
Justin Robertson – Best lap: 1:12.501
Hein Strohm – Best lap: 1:12.521
Johan Dreyer – Best lap: 1:15.411
Mike Salt – Best Lap: 1:15.188
Bruce Turner – Best lap: 1:16.291
The proverbial blanket could have been thrown over Dreyer and Salt once again
The final round of the year at Zwartkops Raceway on 29 November will no doubt see all guns come out blazing! All four of the individual class titles still need to be decided, as well as the coveted Overall title.
