The first round of the 2016 racing season for the renewed and refreshed Inland Championship saw the popular Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series kick things off at the Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday 5 March with an impressive 25 cars qualifying for the first race of the day.
Qualifying
Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) only just claimed pole position ahead of Carlo Garbini (E46 328i Turbo). Manny Ribeiro (E46 M3 GTR) would line up on the second row of the grid with Riaan Woest (E46 M3 GTR) alongside him.Dino Fameliaris (E36 M3 Turbo) wasn’t too far behind his cousin on the third row with Rick Loureiro (E30 3.2 CSL) rounding out the top six in what promised to be an exciting start to the first race.
Race 1
The charge through the first few corners saw the enthusiastic field all getting through unscathed before emerging out of turn three onto the back straight. Julian Fameliaris took the lead, with Garbini and Ribeiro hot on his heels.
The top six crossed the line for the first time in the same order that they qualified in. The battle behind them was far less orderly however. Mish-al Sing (E30 325is) was fending off attacks from Warren Dodd (E46 M3) with series newcomers Philip Smit (E46 M3 GTR) and Kashen Naicker (E30 325i) joining the party. Dean Kendal (E36 328i Turbo) saw his chances go out the window when a collapsed shock ended his efforts coming out of turn eight on the second lap.
Garbini went missing on the fifth lap after being unintentionally assisted off the circuit through turn two by Ribeiro. Garbini recovered quickly and started reclaiming positions through almost every corner. He was back up to fourth position by lap seven but had his work cut out for him as Woest fought back almost immediately. Shane Grobler (E36 328i) was scything his way through the pack and got past both Naicker and Dodd to pick up eighth position by the halfway point in the race. Smit suffered ABS failure on the penultimate lap of the race forcing him into retirement.
Julian went on to claim a narrow Overall and class A victory over class B winner Ribeiro. A fired up Garbini grabbed third position from Woest on the last lap of the race for some consolation. Seventh placed Sing took the class C honours with Craig Ball (E36 328i) getting the better of the rest of the class D brat pack.
Top 3 Results by class
Class A
1. Julian Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:07.024
2. Carlo Garbini – Best lap: 1:07.142
3. Dino Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:07.921 Class B
1. Manny Ribeiro – Best lap: 1:07.036
2. Riaan Woest – Best lap: 1:08.953
3. Rick Loureiro – Best lap: 1:09.614
Class C
1. Mish-al Sing – Best lap: 1:13.275
2. Shane Grobler – Best lap: 1:12.193
3. Kashen Naicker – Best lap: 1:14.234 Class D
1. Craig Ball – Best lap: 1:15.058
2. Bevan Meyer – Best lap: 1:15.125
3. Neil Reynolds – Best lap: 1:15.367
Race 2
The traditional reverse grid by class for the second race would once again set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons. The charge through the first corner at the start of the race saw the pack fan out three abreast! Garbini grabbed the lead out of turn three ahead of Dino Fameliaris. A fast starting Dodd was fending off Loureiro, Julian Fameliaris and Woest.
Julian soon blitzed his way into third place by the end of the first lap. Loureiro, Ribeiro and Woest then relegated the down on power Dodd to seventh position. Ribeiro then passed Loureiro to slot into fourth position behind the leaders. The class C battle saw Naicker ahead of Andreas Meier (E36 M3) and Jimmy Tsimenoglou (E36 M3), while the class D brat pack saw Troy Cochran (E46 325ti) fending off Jan Eversteyn (E36 328i) and Bevan Meyer (E36 325i)
Garbini was unlucky to have to retire on the third lap with fuel pump issues. With the front end of the field settling into a good rhythm, the faster drivers in the lower classes were still making their way through their respective ranks. Cochran was still leading class D but Ball, Meyer and Neil Reynolds (E39 M5) were closing in quickly. Naicker ruined his chances of a podium finish in class C when he ran wide through turn eight on lap six. Dodd’s challenge came to an end on the penultimate lap of the race when a collapsed left front wheel bearing forced him into retirement.
Ribeiro grabbed the lead on the eighth lap and never looked back. He opened up a healthy gap over the last two laps and took a comfortable Overall and class B win ahead of the Fameliaris cousins Dino and Julian. Dino kept the family flag flying high by taking the class A victory, while Tsimenoglou turned the tables on Sing to take the class C honours. Ball took the double in class D after getting past Cochran late in the race.
Top 3 Results by class
Class A
1. Dino Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:07.580
2. Julian Fameliaris – Best lap: 1:07.365 Class B
1. Manny Ribeiro – Best lap: 1:07.315
2. Riaan Woest – Best lap: 1:09.094
3. Rick Loureiro – Best lap: 1:09.106
Class C
1. Jimmy Tsimenoglou – Best lap: 1:12.324
2. Mish-al Sing – Best lap: 1:13.738
3. Andreas Meier – Best lap: 1:13.105 Class D
1. Craig Ball – Best lap: 1:15.433
2. Troy Cochran – Best lap: 1:15.925
3. Bevan Meyer – Best lap: 1:15.668
The next round of the Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series will visit the very popular Phakisa Freeway near Welkom on the 2nd of April.