The third round of the 2016 Inland Championship was held at the rustic Midvaal Raceway on Saturday 7 May.Once again the Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series produced one of the biggest fields on the day.
Julian Fameliaris (E36 328i Turbo) took the lead ahead of poleman Stefano Martinelli (E36 328i Turbo). Fameliaris romped home to a comfortable Overall and class A victory ahead of Martinelli who took the class B honours ahead of Rick Loureiro (E30 3.2 CSL). Paulo Loureiro (E36 M3) took the class C win ahead of Mish-al Sing (E30 325is) with Alex Desogus (E36 M3) taking class D.
The traditional reverse grid by class for the second race would set the proverbial cat amongst the pigeons. Fameliaris grabbed an early lead once again and went on to take yet another Overall and class A win. Martinelli took the double in class B with Sing taking the honours in class C. Series newcomer Andy Smith (E36 318is Turbo) claimed his first win in class D.
The Midvaal Historics / Trofeo Challenge series almost doubled their numbers for this event bringing along with it some close and exciting racing. Colin Ellison (Alfa Giulia) took the lead in race one with Brendan Parker (Datsun GX Coupe) and Miguel Ribeiro (Alfa Giulia) in tow. A determined Parker grabbed the lead on the last lap to hold on to the Overall and Class E victory. Ellison took the Trofeo Challenge win with Ribeiro taking the Class F Midvaal Historics honours. Martin Venter (VW Jetta 1) took the class G honours with Johan Swanepoel (Alfa Berlina) taking class H.
Parker had an easier time of things in the second race after Ellison slowed with a misfire. He took his second Overall and Class E victory on the trot. Shawn Smidt (Datsun 160Y) came back from a DNS in the first race to claim third overall and first in class D. Ribeiro once again won class F with Peder Jensen (Datsun Sedan) taking the honours in class G. Travis Jensen took the win in class H with Ellison holding on for the Trofeo Challenge laurels.
Emmanuel Athanassiou (VW Corrado Spaceframe) took the Overall and class A victory in the Silvercup category with third placed David Louw (Ford Fiesta Spaceframe) taking the class C win. Seventh placed Gerhard Fourie (Tata Indigo Spaceframe) took the class B honours with Danie Deysel (Honda CRX) taking class D. Athanassiou once again claimed victory in race two with Freek Blignaut (Mazda 323 Spaceframe) taking class B. Paul Saayman (VW Golf) picked up the class C honours with Cobus Groenewald (Toyota Corolla) taking class D.
Three action packed heats in the INEX Legends Championship kept race fans on their feet once again. Divan Myburgh (Pro) took the lead in the first race ahead of Lonika Maartens (Semi Pro) and Keagan Wessels (Pro). A race long battle between the leaders saw Myburgh take the win ahead of Maartens by 0.044 of a second.
A first corner incident split the pack at the start of the second race. Shaun Nel (Pro) grabbed the lead and never looked back. He cruised home to an unchallenged victory ahead of Anton Repsold (Master) and Myburgh.
Seef Fourie (Pro) took the lead in the third and final race and never looked back. He romped home to victory ahead of a consistent Myburgh, with Clinton Bezuidenhout (Young Lion) charging hard to cross the line in third.
The Formula Monoposto group was the top single seater category on the day with a healthy field of cars lining up for the first race. Paul Schultz (Formula Vee) grabbed an early lead ahead of LJ Scholtz (Formula Vee) and John Maurien (Formula GTI). Maurien was up to second by lap two and inherited the race lead on the last lap of the race when Schultz slowed with problems. Maurien picked up the Overall and class D victory ahead of Corrie Le Roux (Formula M) who claimed the class B Formula M honours. Third placed Johan Botha (Formula Vee) took class C with Tony Beecher (Formula Vee) taking class E.
Louis van der Merwe (Formula GTI) took the Overall and class D victory in the second race with Didier Diedericks (Formula M) taking second place and first in Formula M class B. Botha picked up the double in class C with Beecher doing the same in class E.
Poleman Devin Robertson (Chev Corvette) led the Big Boss Auto Super Saloons category at the start of the first race. A suspension failure heading into turn one on the seventh lap pitched his car off the circuit, collecting the front end of Franco Di Matteo’s Jaguar. Mackie Adlem (Jaguar) then picked up the Overall and GTA class victory ahead of Ben Morgenrood (Ford Mustang). Amos Cockerham Senior (Mazda RX8) took the win in GT2 with Adrian Dalton (VW Golf) taking the GT4 honours. Series newcomer Jeff Langeveldt (Honda CRX) claimed the GT5 win in his first outing in the category.
A less chaotic second race saw a repaired Di Matteo take a comfortable Overall and GTA class win ahead of Adlem. Dalton took the double in GT4 with Jody Vianna (Mazda RX8) coming back from a DNS to win GT3. Langeveldt followed Dalton’s example and took the double in GT5 as well.
The first Yokohama MPC race saw Jeff Langeveldt (Honda CRX) grab the lead ahead of Ian Ehlers (VW Polo) and Giles Darroch (VW Golf 1). Adrian Dalton (VW Golf 1 Turbo) was making up positions after a bad qualifying and took second place on lap three. A titanic battle for the lead then ensued between himself and Langeveldt as the pair swapped places on every lap. Langeveldt took a narrow Overall and class A victory ahead of Dalton who claimed the class T honours as well. Darroch crossed the line to win class B with Kenny Darroch (VW Golf 1) taking class C.
Dalton took no prisoners in the second race as he took a comfortable Overall and class T victory ahead of class A winner Langeveldt. Paul Saayman (VW Golf 1) picked up the class B honours with Darroch Senior taking the double in class C.
Two entertaining Historic Single Seater races saw some close racing throughout the field. Chris Clarke took a narrow victory ahead of Stuart Greig and Patrick Dunseith in the first race. Dunseith found some extra pace in race two to take the win ahead of Clark with Greig in third.
With the Inland Championship setting a very popular trend in racing and growing fields in all the categories we look forward to the next round at Zwartkops Raceway on 16 July.