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The Engen Xtreme motorsport team head into the penultimate round of the Sasol GTC Africa championship at Kyalami in Johannesburg on Saturday, 4 November in a dominant position.  With seven of the nine rounds completed, Engen Xtreme driver Michael Stephen leads the race for championship honours, with 43 points separating him from second-placed Sasol GTC Racing Team driver Gennaro Bonafede. Stephen’s teammate Simon Moss is third 89 points behind Bonafede. Engen Xtreme team principal, Terry Moss is confident the experienced Stephen will successfully defend his Sasol GTC Africa championship, having been crowned champion in the inaugural season last year. “Michael is displaying the very reason he is such an accomplished competitor and multiple champion,” says Moss. “He is intensely focused on the championship and he doesn’t get distracted. This makes him not only a tough competitor but also very, very difficult to beat.” Round 8 marks the second visit of the season to Kyalami for the drivers, with Round 2 held at the iconic venue back in April. At that event Stephen qualified on pole and was leading race one when a technical problem forced him to nurse his Engen Xtreme Audi A3 to the finish. After some work on the car, Stephen turned the tables in race two to take the win and proceed to dominate the series. “Mike has outscored Gennaro at every round, bar one, since round two at Kyalami to control the championship and I have no reason to expect a different outcome this time around,” adds Moss confidently. Stephen’s talented young teammate Simon Moss is focused on closing the gap on Bonafede to try and ensure an Engen Xtreme 1-2 in the 2017 championship. “With four races over the last two rounds of the season at 50 points per race win, there is a very real opportunity for Simon to realise this goal and close the 89-point gap on Gennaro,” says Terry Moss. “Simon has delivered a number of surprises this season. He is growing with each race and settling down as a talented racing driver. As he gains more focus, he has been steadily reeling in his competition to the point where I would not be surprised if he delivers his best overall result ever in this series at Kyalami.” Moss can focus entirely on securing his second-place goal as he currently enjoys a significant 139-point lead over fourth-placed Johan Fourie. The final round of the 2017 Sasol GTC Africa takes place at Zwartkops on 25 November. |
