The final round of the 2014 Bridgestone Production Car Class A Championship at Gauteng’s Zwartkops Raceway on November 1 sees former champion Johan Fourie and his Alcohol Killer BMW 335i M Performance Parts take a hard-won and useful 11-point lead over defending champion Michael Stephen into the eagerly-anticipated encounter.
With a maximum of 35 points on offer – 10 for a sprint race win, 20 for a feature race victory and bonus points for fastest lap in qualifying (3) and fastest lap (1) in each of the two races – only Stephen can rob Fourie of what would be a well-deserved second title (he first won in 2009). Fourie, in a season in which he has shown total commitment and dedication to winning a second title, has seven victories in 14 races to his name compared with Stephens’ five and has chalked up three feature race wins the defending champion’s two.
Third-placed Gennaro Bonafede with 124 points is 62 in arrears and out of contention, but under threat from Fourie’s team-mate Gavin Cronje with 112 points for the important final place on the championship podium. “Our aim has always been to place both cars in the top three – for the best team in the competition and for our loyal and supportive sponsors – and we have pulled out all the stops to ensure that Gavin can score enough points to overhaul Bonafede for the final place on the podium,” said ADF Motorsport team principal Donovan van Heerden.
Cronje has enjoyed an impressive first season in the premier class after making a name for himself in Class T in an ADF Motorsport-prepared Castrol MINI John Cooper Works and has worked hard to support his more experienced team-mate.
With a feature race win and two feature race runner-up finishes (both behind team-mate Fourie) to his name, Cronje has proved to be a worthy championship contender himself. His objective on Saturday will be to take as many points off the opposition as he can to assist Fourie to win the title and also to score 12 more points than Bonafede and secure the final place on the championship podium.
Johan Fourie: “We know what we have to do this weekend and we’ll be doing what we’ve done all season long – try our best. We’re already winners and we just have this one last hurdle to conquer. We’re all totally dedicated to succeed and we have the personnel and the car to achieve this.”
Gavin Cronje: “I’ve really enjoyed my first season in the ‘big league’ and have been privileged to be in the best team with the best team-mate I could have asked for. One final push and we’ll be first over the line.”
In addition to Alcohol Killer, ADF Motorsport enjoys support from BMW M Performance Parts, EPS Courier Services, Powerbrake and Sony PlayStation.
