The Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series will head to the rustic Midvaal Raceway on 20 June for the fourth round of the 2015 racing season. With three exciting rounds behind them, this ever popular racing series will be joining the Northern Regions Racing Tour for an action packed race day with no less than eight categories racing on the day.
With the overall and individual class championships well underway, the racing is expected to be fast and furious. Recent upgrades to the track surface have also enticed a few series stalwarts to dust off the cobwebs to add a bit of excitement to their respective classes. There are a number of new drivers coming into the series as well and their progress will be watched with great interest.
The Individual class battles
Mishal Sing (E92 M3) has had a strong start to the season and currently leads the Overall and class A championships. Devin Robertson (E90 320i Turbo) scored valuable points at the previous event but is still thirty points behind the current leader. The welcome return of the Giannoccaro family at the previous event has also put them in the hunt, and with some long awaited improvements to their machines they are expected to be strong contenders on the day. Ricky Giannoccaro (E46 M3 GTR) is mere points behind Robertson, with father Jimmy Giannoccaro (E46 M3 Ti Turbo) a solitary point behind him. Gianni Giannoccaro (E46 M3) has revived his beast in more ways than one and could well challenge for an outright victory on the day.
Riaan Woest (E46 M3) currently tops the points table amongst the class B contenders. He has a narrow nine point advantage over talented youngster Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) who is quickly coming to terms with the turbo charged power of his car this season. Zimbabwean faithful Darren Winterboer (F30 335i) will be back to prove a point and could well challenge for a class victory as well. Dino Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) will also be looking to find some of the form he displayed so much of last season.
The class C contenders have certainly stepped up to the plate this season with some of the best racing of the entire series coming from this class. Feroz Ebrahim (E46 M3 GTR) finds himself at the top of the pile, albeit five points ahead of Fred Kruger (E46 M3). Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i) is hot on their heels with Johan Dreyer (E46 330i) only a few points behind him. Shane Grobler (E36 328i) will be back to prove a point with Noordeen Sing (E30 325i) expected to give a strong challenge in his entry as well. With a handful of other capable drivers in the class, valuable points will be strongly contested.
The class D title chase has also seen its fair share of exciting moments in the early stages of the season. Arri van Heerden (E30 2.7) is the man to beat. He currently has a seven point lead over seasoned campaigner Mike Salt (E36 323i). Series newcomer Craig Ball (E36 328i) finds himself in third position after a brace of good results at the previous race. Mr Consistency Trevor Long (E36 328i) is not too far behind the leading trio but will have to worry about the likes of Edwin Dreyer (E46 M3) and series newcomer Bevan Meyer (E36 325i) who surprised all with his competitiveness at Kyalami. With more than half a dozen other competitors in the class the racing is expected to be closer than ever.
The newly formed Challenge class for near standard cars will see Alan Hilligenn (E36 328i) and Mike Grobler (E36 328i) returning for more fun and games. With only four points separating the pair it is anyone’s race to win or lose. The spec-based class now also welcomes its third protagonist in the form of Jan Eversteijn who has made the step up from the club’s time trial championship.
The Overall title chase
The coveted overall title chase currently lays in favour of class A contender Mish-al Sing (E92 M3) who has an eleven point lead over Riaan Woest (Class B E46 M3). Feroz Ebrahim (Class C E46 M3 GTR) is only two points behind Woest; with class D leader Arri van Heerden (E30 2.7) a mere three points adrift. Fred Kruger (Class C E46 M3), Julian Fameliaris (Class B E36 328i Turbo), Mike Salt (Class D E36 323i) and Stefano Martinelli (Class C E36 328i) are all less than ten points behind the leading quartet and could very well upset the apple cart if they score well in their respective classes.