Wesleigh Orr second for SAM Racing in race one at Kyalami
Former Rotax Max and Rok world karting champion Wesleigh Orr drove his Global Consulting Solutions Formula Volkswagen to a comfortable second place in the opening race of round two of the FVW championship at Kyalami on Saturday.
“We were on the pace in Friday’s official practice and were confident of a shot at pole position in Saturday morning’s qualifying,” said team manager Lee Philips. “The qualifying tyres didn’t work as well as we expected – normally the grip improves with each lap, but this time it worked the other way around.” The 21-year-old had to be satisfied with third place on the grid behind Morgado and Simon Moss.
Orr got ahead of Moss on the opening lap and chased pole sitter Cristiano Morgado throughout the 10-lap first race, keeping the gap to around half a second for the first few laps until dropping back to finish 1,5s in arrears when the chequered flag came out. He was less than three tenths of a second off the fastest lap of the race set by Morgado.
“We changed the anti-roll bar setting before the race and it worked well for me in the first half of the lap, but not up at WesBank Corner (turns 9 and 10) and the rest of the lap,” explained Orr. “Otherwise the car was good.
Da Cunha made up two places on lap one from seventh on the grid and held fifth place right up to the penultimate lap. A recovering Moss passed him in the Bowl (turn 12) and he crossed the finish line in sixth place.
Orr struggled to get going at the start of race two and dropped back from second on the grid to third behind Morgado and Moss on the first lap. He pushed hard to make up the lost ground and recorded the third fastest lap of the race after Morgado and Moss on lap 4 as he closed to within half a second of Moss.
He then started experiencing handling problems. An engine cover bracket had broken and the cover had come loose on one side, folding over on itself and becoming partly wedged under the rear wing. This created an air trap and disturbed the aerodynamic balance of the car, dropping Orr back to fourth behind Gordon Connelly at the end of lap 5. He reluctantly called it a day after completing one more lap.
Da Cunha, starting from seventh on the grid, dropped back to ninth after a small mistake saw him spin behind Tasmin Pepper. He put in a big effort to catch up, but another spin saw him cross the finish line in 10th place.
SAM Racing acknowledges and thanks its sponsors for their continued support: Tubular Technical Construction, Exa Motor Group, Ferodo, Global Consulting Solutions, Exa Platinum Rentals, Signs For You, Top Car Paint & Panel, Tri Dent Middelburg, Hi Tech Mag Repairs, Sax Shocks and Fish & Meat City.