Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series – Round 03 – Kyalami – 2020-09-05
As motorsport in SA slowly regains a semblance of normality, albeit without spectator support, various categories have made successful returns to the track. The Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series was one of the first to do so back in July at Zwartkops, and the circus is back on Saturday 5 September at that most illustrious venue, Kyalami, as part of the BMW Car Club Gauteng Track and Race Day.
Headlining the entries in Class A will be brothers Rick and Paulo Loureiro in their Combined Racing BMW F30 335i’s. Rick recently relocated to Cape Town but returns to tackle the majestic Midrand venue. Adrian Dalton makes a welcome return in the Xtra Clothing and Shoes BMW E46 M3 CSL challenge to the siblings. Len-Henry Gobey has entered the Lesavert /G&H Transport BMW E86 Z4 M, while Elwyn Steenkamp is another late comer in a BMW E46 M3 Turbo.
In Class B we have grown used to fireworks at every outing, and this one should be no exception. Current champion Andreas Meier (#TrainedAmateur BMW E36 STC) will head a quartet of hard chargers who have come to know each other well. Jan Eversteyn (African Surprise BMW E46 M3), Carlo Garbini (Kimbo Coffee BMW E46 330 Turbo) and Oz Biagioni (Bio-Pool Maintenance BMW E46 M3) will relish the chance of another battle at the premier international facility.
In Class C there will be another tightly contested fight for honours between Ian Kotwal (Retoria Motors BMW F22 235i), Troy Cochran (Arrow Automotive BMW E36 M3), Salvi Gualtieri (Sav Speed BMW E36 328I Turbo), Neil Reynolds (Valve Hospital BMW E36 M3), Renier Smith (#BeldiePolisie BMW E36 M3), Rob Gearing (diebel Alt BMW E30 325 is) and Jonathan Matos (BMW E36 328i Turbo). Trevor Long (BMW E36 M3) also makes a welcome return after a year’s absence recuperating from a back operation. The busiest of the classes often produces scintillating racing between evenly matched machinery.
Class D should be headed by Varish Ganpath (Prodigy BMW E46 325CI), with Bernard de Gouveia (de Gouveia Accountants BMW E36 328i) also looking for a good points haul and silverware. After his excellent outing at Zwartkops in the previous round, Matthew Wadeley ((#BeldiePolisie BMW E36 M3) will look forward to another opportunity to turn the tables on his fellow protagonists. A late entry for this round is that of defending class champion Alan Hilligenn (C3 Shared Services BMW E36 M3).
Class E is led by young Nicholas van Zyl (Luxury Fragrances for Rides BMW E87 130i) and he leads the overall standings too. Hoping to give him a hard time will be, Bertie Rietveld (Bertie Rietveld Knives BMW E36 328i) Rupert Giessing (Bridgestone BMW Car Club E36 328i) and Manny Ribeiro (Bridgestone BMW Club E46 330i Touring). Father and son duo Craig and Nicholas Herbst (Greenhouse Solar BMW E46 330i) will share their entry with the latter competing in Class D after breaking out of the Class E time at Zwartkops.
4 drivers will be allocated a class berth based on their qualifying times. They are David Coetzee in his Elksa Competition/ Sav Speed BMW E36 328i Turbo, returning after a lengthy absence, the Citizen Motoring’s Mark Jones who will pilot a SavSpeed BMW E90 335i, Dino Fameliaris in a BMW E46 Touring 330 Turbo and William Einkamerer who will drive a borrowed BMW E46 330, while his BMW E92 335i undergoes some weight saving changes.
International Race Supplies has sponsored a fire extinguisher system for a lucky draw winner on Saturday, while iToo and Les Michaelis Insurance Consultants will offer Track Day Insurance.
The Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series will have 2 practice sessions and one qualifying session from 11:30 to 11:45 on Saturday morning before the two races which will start at 12:55 and 16:10. The rest of the day’s events will be for time trial sessions for BMW Club members and will kick off at 07:30.
Story by Tony Alves.
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BMW Car Club Gauteng
Website: www.bmwcarclub.co.za
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Twitter: @BMWCarClubGP
