Orr Grabs 2nd Place
SAM Racing approached the East London event with mixed feelings - on the one hand, David Perel's multiple season sponsor had thrown a huge curved ball by announcing that their 2008 racing budget would only be available for the team in April 2009 & on the other, multiple karting world champion & A1GP Rookie driver Wesleigh Orr had approached us and agreed to complete the balance of the 2008 Formula VW season with a team he felt could deliver race winning performances. Everyone involved committed to resolving David's dilemma, although this meant that he would have to sit out until a new corporate partner had been found to assist in funding his campaign. A 3rd car was ordered & we eagerly await David's return to driving duty. Paulo da Cunha, with his Tubular supported car, was quietly confident having successfully raced Formula Fords in East London. On a high after a convincing performance @ Zwartkops, Paulo couldn't wait to stretch his 230hp FVW's legs through the world renowned Potters Pass!
As there were only 2 weeks between Zwartkops & East London, the technical team worked 7 days a week, for more than 12 hours per day, to prepare the single seaters for the ultra fast East London Grand Prix circuit. The "complex" which comprises a tight right hand corner, followed by a double left then right again around the national kart circuit is demanding with regard mechanical grip as this is where lap times are made or lost! Too much mechanical grip though and straight line speed would be compromised on the main straight, Potters Pass and Rifle Range bends where these really quick cars approach the braking zone @ Coca Bana in excess of 255km!
Wesleigh & Paulo set about testing various setup parameters to optimise qualifying & race pace. After all 3 of the allocated practice sessions, Wesleigh was 2nd on the time sheets (0.004 seconds behind Gavin Cronje and 0.2 seconds ahead of Cristiano Morgado) and Paulo was a firm 6th quickest. During qualifying, Paulo was dealt an unfair blow when his cars differential expired without him posting a laptime for the grid. Wes, on the other hand, traded top spot with Cronje & Morgado eventually qualifying 2nd, a mere 0.03 seconds behind Morgado & 0.13 seconds ahead of Cronje! The technical team toiled well into the night changing Paulo's gearbox and come morning, we were quietly confident that we were in good form for the race.
Race 1
The rolling start approached Potters Pass in a tight bunch at virtually full race pace. Wes was 2nd behind Morgado when 3rd placed Cronje slowed suddenly with an apparent flat left front tyre. Paulo, starting last as a result of not posting a qualifying lap, made up 2 positions virtually every time he crossed the start line. For the 1st time in the Formula VW series inaugural season, the lead cars passed each other regularly as race lap times tumbled. By mid race, da Cunha was in a very respectable 8th place. Finishing order was Morgado, followed by Orr 1.1 seconds adrift & da Cunha in 8th.
Race 2
The field sprinted on its rolling start towards Potters with Morgado leading from Orr & Cronje. Whilst Orr & Cronje swapped chances leading each other, Morgado built up a 2 second lead. da Cunha in the meantime had it all to do again, fighting his way through a very determined mid field pack, eventually finishing 7th and a very credible 6th overall for the day. Wes eventually finished a very close 3rd to Gavin Cronje and 2nd overall for the day!
“Paulo showed the grit that is sometimes required when qualifying doesn't quite go your way. Wes demonstrated that, with the support of a team driven to succeed, he can & will win” said Lee Philips, SAM Racing Team Principal. “This weekends performance is attributable to our whole Formula VW crew, comprising of race engineer, Claudio Piazza Musso & race technicians, David Clulow and Gareth Pretorius. On a weekend like this, where we hosted our key sponsors, it is really great to leave the event with such a result”.
“I am really fortunate to be surrounded by such a focussed and committed group of people” said an elated Paulo da Cunha.
“Now I am with a winning team that works towards a common goal” said Wesleigh Orr, who further stated that “with SAM Racing, both Global Consulting Solutions and I can now go places”!
The technical team now have 4 weeks to prepare and further develop its open wheeled race cars for a return to Kyalami on 5 July. We would like to thank our sponsors namely Tubular, Global Consulting Solutions, Ferodo, Exa Motor Group & Signs for You for their support, without which none of this would have been possible.