SA CHAMPIONSHIPS FINALISED AT WESBANK SUPER SERIES MEETING
author: Wesbank release
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Brandon Auby
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The curtain came down on a South African motorsport era and a fair bit of unfinished championship business was taken care of at the final WesBank Super Series meeting of the year at Zwartkops Raceway today.
The honour of winning the final two races in the WesBank V8 Supercar championship went to veteran former champion Ben Morgenrood and Danie Correia. The day signalled the end of a 28 year partnership between WesBank and the V8 series, and also saw Jimmy Auby succeed younger brother Brandon as champion in the premier Super GT Class.
The elder of the Aubys, in the ELT International/SKF/Cummins Ford Falcon, arrived at Zwartkops with a comfortable points cushion over his brother who was out in a similar car. A third for big brother Jimmy in the opening race relegated fifth placed Brandon to former champion status.
Morgenrood took the first race ahead of Marc Auby, the third of three brothers in the race, with Jaco Correia (Midas Corvette) fourth. The race was stopped when Correia’s brother Danie spun on the last lap blocking the circuit.
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Franco de Mattheo
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Early argy bargy which compromised Jimmy Auby and Franco di Matteo (Varta Batteries Jaguar) saw the first half of race two run under safety car conditions. This time around Correia kept it all together and led home Brandon Auby with a high attrition rate among the Super GT runners lifting GT Class leader Patrick Seddon into third overall in the Contact Aircon Lumina.
The GT Class title was also settled in heat one when championship leader Des Gutzeit (Dezzi/Cummins Ford Falcon) and Seddon had a coming together. That sidelined Gutzeit, the defending champion, for the day and handed the title to Larry Wilford in the Fuchs Ford Falcon.
The veteran Wilford took heat one ahead of Seddon and Ray Wilford in the second Fuchs Falcon. Seddon took heat two ahead of the Wilfords with Ray leading home uncle Larry.
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Jade Kruger
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What started out as the closest championship battle of the day soon developed into no contest. Former champion Johan Fourie (IndyOil Audi S4) went to Zwartkops with a one point lead over Michael Stephen in Class A in the Bridgestone Production Car championship.
Fourie then endured one of those days mothers warn their sons about, and nothing went right for the lanky Capetonian. By contrast Stephen and the Xtreme Team were on top of their game.
Stephen took three wins and a second in the four eight lap sprint races to romp to the championship. The other win went to Melvill Priest, in the Afrox BMW, with Tschops Sipuka (Xtreme Team Audi S4), Anthony Taylor (Afrox BMW) and the Sasol Subaru pair of Hennie Groenewald and Richard Pinard also making trips to the podium.
It was much the same scenario in Class T although championship leader Gary Formato (BP/Castrol Ford Focus) started the day with a 20 point advantage over arch rival and reigning champion Graeme Nathan in the IndyOil/Kaye Eddie VW Golf6.
After winning the first heat ahead of Formato things went from bad to worse for Nathan. Formato then settled the
championship when he won two heats in a row and finished second behind team-mate Shaun Duminy in the other race – with Nathan’s only other worthwhile contribution a second place in heat two.
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David Mcfadden
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It did not take Jayde Kruger (First Freight/Investchem FVW long to wrap up the Formula Volkswagen championship. Kruger needed only a single point from the day to settle matters and third place in heat one did the trick.
The new champion was third in both heats behind Robert Wolk (Midas Sport FVW) and outgoing champion Simon Moss in the Southern Sun/Dixon Batteries FVW). Moss never recovered from a horrendous start to the season with Wolk faltering in the latter stages.
Another title was quickly wrapped up when Mathew Merton (Matsam Mygale) settled for fourth place behind Nicholas van Weely (Anglorand Van Diemen), Werner Scholtz (Scholtz Civils Mygale) and Jason Campos (Etana Mygale) in the first of the two Formula Midas 1600 heats. Merton then signed off in style by winning the second race ahead of Campos and James Temple in the GWM Mygale.
Cape driver Kosie Weyers (Xtreme Team VW Polo) took a pair of wins in the Engen VW Cup to finish second to champion Devin Robertson (Sparco/Big Boss Auto) who had already wrapped up the title. Weyers took heat one ahead of Kyle Barnes (PG Glass VW Polo) and Jeffrey Kruger (Steamsure VW Polo) with Robertson and Barnes also on the podium in race two.
Both wins in the Masters category for drivers over 27 went to local star Lee Thompson in the Ferodo VW Polo. Thompson also arrived at Zwartkops with the title already in the bag.
The remaining championship issue was resolved when Dave McFadden (Pepper Racing Kawasaki) came up with a win and a third to edge out Bikefin Honda rider Clint Sellar. McFadden took race one ahead of Seller and Isaacs and in race two settled for third behind the two Honda riders to make certain of the title.
With Greg Gildenhuys (Motorrad BMW) already crowned champion there was little at stake in the SA Superbike heats. Chris Leeson rounded off what has been a good season for him when he took a double on the Siris Kawasaki, with Julian Odendaal (MS Aircon Kawasaki), Gildenhuys (twice) and Nicolas Grobler (Jonway BMW) also making it onto the podium during the day.
Provisional Results:
WesBank V8 Supercars: Race 1 Super GT: 1 B Morgenrood (Ford Falcon); 2 M Auby (Ford Falvon); 3 J Auby (Ford Falcon).
GT Class: 1 L Wilford (Ford Falcon) 2 P Seddon (Lumina); 3 R Wilford (Ford Falcon).
Race 2 Super GT: 1 D Correia (Corvette); 2 B Auby (Ford Falcon); 3 C Uys (Corvette.
GT Class: 1 P Seddon (Lumina); 2 R Wilford (Ford Faclon); 3 L Wilford (Ford Falcon).
Bridgestone Production Cars:
Race 1 Class A: 1 M Stephem (Audi S4); 2 T Sipuka (Audi S4); 3 H Groenewald (Subaru).
Class T: 1 G Nathan (VW Golf6); 2 G Formato (Ford Focus); 3 R Roets (VW Golf6).
Race 2 Class A: 1 M Stephen (Audi S4); 2 R Pinard (Subaru); 3 H Groenewald (Subaru),
Class T: 1 G Formato (Ford Focus); 2 G Nathan (VW Golf6); 3 R Roets (VW Golf6).
Race 3: 1 M Priest (BMW); 2 M Stephen (Audi S4); 3 A Taylor (BMW).
Class T: 1 G Formato (Ford Focus); 2 J Duminy (Ford Focus); 3 G Bonafede (VW Golf GTi). Race 4: 1 M Stephen (Audi S4); 2 M Priest (BMW); 3 H Groenewald (Subaru).
Class T: 1 J Duminy (Ford Focus); 2 G Formato (Ford Focus); 3 G Bonafede (VW Golf GTi).
Engen VW Cup: Race 1: 1 K Weyers (VW Polo); 2 K Barnes (VW Polo); 3 J Kruger VW Polo).
Masters: L Thompson (VW Polo).
Race 2: K Weyers (VW Polo); 2 D Robertson (VW Polo); 3 K Barnes (VW Polo).
Masters: L Thompson (VW Polo).
Formula
VW: Race 1: 1 R Wolk (FVW); 2 S Moss (FVW); 3 J Kruger (FVW).
Race 2: 1 R Wolk (FVW); 2 S Moss (FVW); 3 J Kruger (FVW).
Formula Midas 1600:
Race 1: N Von Weely (Van Diemen); 2 W Scholtz (Mygale); 3 J Campos (Mygale).
Race 2: 1 M Merton (Mygale); 2 J Campos (Mygale); 3 J Temple (Mygale).
SA Superbikes: Race 1: 1 C Leeson (Kawasaki); 2 J Odendaal (Kawasaki); 3 G Gildenhuys (BMW).
Race 2: 1 C Leeson (Jawasaki); 2 G Gildenhuys (BMW); 3 N Grobler (BMW).
SA Supersport:
Race 1: 1 D McFadden (Kawasaki); 2 C Seller (Honda); 3 L Isaacs (Honda).
Race 2: 1 C Seller (Honda); 2 L Isaacs (Honda); 3 D McFadden (Kawasaki).
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