Gennaro Bonafede and Devin Robertson got the Ferodo racing team’s 2010 season off to a great start with a race win, two second places and a third from five races in the opening round of the WesBank Super Series of national championships at Khayalami on Saturday.
Bonafede (Ferodo Volkswagen Golf GTi) made the best possible debut in the Bridgestone Production Car Championship when he finished second in class T in the two 8-lap sprint races and won the 10-lap race three. The 19-year-old second-year university student from Dainfern in Gauteng made a confident move up from the Engen Volkswagen Cup championship to qualify third behind last year’s class T runner-up Graham Nathan (VW Golf GTi) and reigning champion Gary Formato (Ford Focus).
In race one he recovered from fourth at the end of lap one to finish 1.4 seconds behind the experienced Nathan and 1.9 seconds ahead of Formato. He repeated his runner-up spot in race two, taking the chequered flag just six tenths of a second behind Nathan. Race three was the best of the day, with the youngster upstaging his vastly more experienced rival with a bold overtaking manoeuvre on the final lap, outbraking Nathan into turn 9 (WesBank Corner) and holding on to take the chequered flag by less than six tenths of a second.
“It’s been a dream start to my first season in the senior production car category,” acknowledged Bonafede, son of multiple champion rally co-driver Vito. “A big thank-you to Nathan’s Motorsport for preparing a great car. I just loved driving this car and had a blast all weekend. I can’t wait for the next round in Cape Town in March.”
Nathan leads the championship with 46 points with Bonafede second on 33.
Robertson’s bitter sweet weekend started well with fastest lap in qualifying and three championship points on Saturday morning. He drew start position 5 for the first of the two 8-lap races and did well to finish third behind reigning champion Mathew Hodges and Miguel Pasqualli. He drew second place on the grid for race two, but the Ferodo Polo developed gearbox problems on lap three and Robertson started dropping back through the field, finally finishing 14th.
Despite not scoring any points in race two, the 17-year-old matric pupil from Alberton in Gauteng lies joint third in the championship with Robyn Kruger after the first of the nine rounds, 15 behind leader Hodges on 30 points. Kosie Weyers is second with 21 points.
“I battled to select fourth gear and this ruined any chances I had of scoring more points,” said a disappointed Robertson. “We’ve got a good car - the Ferodo Polo was strong all weekend until the gear selection problems - so we’re confident about fighting for the championship.”
The next round of the WesBank Super Series is at Killarney in Cape Town on March 13.
Story by: Peter Burroughes Communications
Pictures from: motorpics.co.za
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