Orr shines, Da Cunha grabs a podium
It was a season finale filled with drama and not a little controversy, but at the end of the day the privately run SAM Racing team came away with a second place for Wesleigh Orr (Global Consulting Solutions FVW) in the second Formula VW race, a fastest lap in race one, and a third overall for the day for Paulo da Cunha (Tubular FVW).
Orr was in top form all weekend, taking second place on the grid for both races after setting qualifying lap times within a tenth of a second of pole sitter Michael Stephen. In the first race he was holding a comfortable second place behind Stephen when he was forced to retire on lap eight with a broken gearbox, but not before setting the fastest lap of the race and a new FVW lap record on lap seven. He was credited with 12th place, three laps down on the leaders.
He kept eventual winner Stephen honest throughout the second race, finishing less than half a second behind at the chequered flag and more than four seconds ahead of Cristiano Morgado, recording the second fastest lap of the race after Stephen. While Stephen won both races from pole position, Gavin Cronje won the championship after a count-out with Cristiano Morgado (they both ended up with the same points, but Cronje won one more race). Cronje was third in race one behind Morgado and sixth in race two.
Orr’s FVW team-mate Paulo da Cunha had one of his best outings of the 10-round season, taking third overall after a fourth in race one and a fifth in race two.
Brother Marco (Tubular/Nissan Dealer Team 350Z) had one of his best drives of the year in race one of the final round of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship. He qualified third behind Leeroy Poulter (Sasol Nissan 350Z) and Johan Fourie (Audi A4 quattro) and took full advantage of the rolling start to jump Fourie for second before the first corner. He held on to second place behind Poulter until the penultimate lap, when Fourie outbraked him at the end of the back straight, and went on to finish third at the end of the 10-lap race. He was later penalised five places by the clerk of the course for overtaking Poulter under waved yellow flags on lap seven.
“I had a really great start,” said Da Cunha. “I was able to stay with Leeroy in the opening laps and I was enjoying the battle with Johan. I did pass Leeroy under the yellow flags. I couldn’t avoid it when he braked hard as we came up behind some slower class B cars and I had to take avoiding action to prevent having an accident. I slowed immediately and let Leeroy re-pass me. There was no advantage gained.”
Somewhat fortuitously, this placed Da Cunha on pole position for the standing start of race two (the top eight finishers from race one start race two in inverted order). But, as has happened so many times this year, the superior traction of the all wheel drive cars resulted in Da Cunha being swamped by the Audi quattros of Priest, Watson-Smith and Stephen and found himself in fifth place at the end of the first lap behind the Audi of Fourie. He went off at turn one on lap two after contact with Fourie and rejoined the circuit in front of a hard-charging Sipuka in the factory Nissan 350Z. The two Nissans arrived at turn two together, with Sipuka on the inside, and made contact, resulting in both cars going off the circuit and into retirement.
Neil Hawkins made his Production Car debut in the second Nissan Dealer Team 350Z supported by Charl Electrical Engineering and Simons Outsourcing, both Cape Town based operations. He qualified 12th for race one, but his day was cut short when he lost control under braking in turn one on lap four, hit the curbing and was catapulted hard into the safety wall. The car was too badly damaged to be repaired in time for race two. “Neil impressed the team with his feedback and very quickly settled with the Nissan in arguably the most talented field of drivers currently racing in South Africa”, said SAM Racing team principal Lee Philips. “We really hope to see Neil back with us for 2009 as he showed us that he possesses the talent to be really competitive”. “Further, it is extremely encouraging to witness the enthusiastic support given to Cape Town based drivers by their own community. Motorsport is indeed alive and well and living in Cape Town!”
“It’s been an exciting season, with many highs and lows,” said Philips. “I’d like to pay tribute to my entire team, who have worked hard – often late into the night – to prepare our cars. The gearbox change on Wesleigh’s FVW between races on Saturday – the guys completed the job in an amazing 1 hr 20 min – is a good example of their dedication and skill. Well done to our drivers for their commitment and achievements during the year. It was not completely the happy ending all round we had hoped for at Killarney, but – as we have done through the long season – we showed that we can contest the top positions in both Production Cars and Formula VW.”
SAM Racing acknowledges and thanks its sponsors for their continued support: Tubular Technical Construction, Exa Motor Group, Global Consulting Solutions, Imperial Chauffeur Drive, Ferodo, Nissan Diesel, Exa Platinum Rentals, Signs for You, Top Car Paint and Panel, Charl Electrical Engineering & Simons Outsourcing.