Bridgestone Production Cars Zwartkops Raceway Pretoria Round 6 of 10
Pretoria, September 13, 2010 – Team Ford Racing had a tough outing at the sixth round of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship. But despite the challenges faced by the team they managed to pull through and claim some strong results.
Michael van Rooyen put his Nando’s Ford Focus ST on pole position for the opening heat. The young driver battled it out with Production Car stalwart Graeme Nathan. The two drivers had a few laps of close racing, but in the end, van Rooyen was able to hold off the championship leader to take the win.
Teammates Gary Formato and Shaun Duminy took fourth and fifth respectively. Championship contender Formato’s ST was loaded success ballast making any progress during the race a challenge. In race two, Gennaro Bonafede led ahead of Shaun Duminy, from start to finish, while van Rooyen and Formato took fourth and fifth places respectively.
The third and final race of the day saw Van Rooyen lead the Class T field for 12 laps. With only three laps to go, overheating tyre problems slowed him down. Duminy took third place, with Formato also suffering from overheating tyres and was the final runner.
“From a championship point of view it was a frustrating weekend for us. With the success penalties we are currently carrying it is difficult to challenge at the front of the field. Our sights are still firmly set on the Class T Championship, we will be working hard on development in the coming weeks to try and overcome the challenges we are faced with,” concludes Formato.
The next round of the Championship will take place in Cape Town on 2 October 2010.
Qualifying:
- Michael van Rooyen Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Gennaro Bonafede VW GTI, Ferodo
- Kieren Quarmby VW GTI, Interfile
- Graeme Nathan VW GTI, IndyOil
- Gary Formato Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Shaun Duminy Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
Race 1:
- Michael van Rooyen Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Graeme Nathan VW GTI, IndyOil
- Kieren Quarmby VW GTI, Interfile
- Gary Formato Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Shaun Duminy Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Gennaro Bonafede VW GTI, Ferodo
Race 2:
- Gennaro Bonafede VW GTI, Ferodo
- Shaun Duminy Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Kieren Quarmby VW GTI, Interfile
- Gary Formato Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Heinz Bose Mazda 3 MPS, MFC
- Graeme Nathan VW GTI, IndyOil
- Niyaaz Modack VW GTI
- Michael van Rooyen Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
Race 3:
- Graeme Nathan VW GTI, IndyOil
- Kieren Quarmby VW GTI, Interfile
- Shaun Duminy Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Gennaro Bonafede VW GTI, Ferodo
- Heinz Bose Mazda 3 MPS, MFC
- Michael van Rooyen Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
- Niyaaz Modack VW GTI
- Curt Alchin VW GTI, Bodyman
- Gary Formato Ford Focus ST, Nando’s Team Ford
Overall:
- Kieren Quarmby
- Graeme Nathan
- Shaun Duminy
- Gennaro Bonafede
- Michael van Rooyen
- Niyaaz Modack
- Gary Formato