Team Ford Racing was victorious at the second round of the
Bridgestone Production Car Championship in Cape Town. Changing weather
conditions made it exceptionally difficult to judge the class T pace during
Friday’s practice sessions.
By Saturday morning, the rain had cleared and the team relied on their experience from previous years to set up the Castrol Ford Focus STs.
Gary Formato qualified second, with Shaun Duminy fifth.
The first race started with much excitement as Formato challenged arch rival Graeme Nathan (VW GTI) for the lead into turn one. His challenge was successful. Formato lead the race for the remaining eight laps, to take his first victory of the day.
Slightly behind this action, Shaun Duminy also had a good race and was up to third place by the end of the first lap, keeping Nathan's teammate, Jacques Joubert at bay. Duminy maintained this position to the finish line.
The partially inverted grid saw Duminy start third and Formato fifth for the second race.
The reversed grid always makes for exciting racing and this race was no exception. The race got underway from a standing start and it was a Ford / Volkswagen sandwich into turn one with Joubert, Duminy, Nathan and Formato taking the corner four abreast.
By the end of the second lap, Joubert lead Formato, Nathan and Duminy. Two laps later, Nathan made his way into second place and eventually claimed the lead. Formato took the flag in second, with Duminy fourth. The positions were however amended after Nathan received a 30 second jump start penalty. This gave Formato the win, whilst Duminy claimed another podium in third.
Based on the fastest second race lap times, Formato lined up second and Duminy fourth for the start of race three.
Nathan took the early lead with Formato hot on his heels in second. Duminy had a great start, moving up to third place. By the end of the second lap, Formato challenged for the lead, a position he was able to obtain and hold to the chequered flag, securing his third win for the day.
Duminy looked comfortable in third, when three laps from the end, his front right tyre blew causing extensive damage to the fender. He nursed the car home in fourth.
"It was definitely a race that highlighted the importance of consistency and reliability. Two major rivals (van Rooyen in the Opel and Bonafede in the GTi) dropped out of the race with technical difficulties," commented Duminy. "We have once again proven to have a winning combination of reliability and performance."
"I am happy with the weekend's results and think we have shown the competition that we are serious about defending our 2011 Championship Title," concluded Formato.
The next Round of the WesBank Super Series will take place in Port Elizabeth on 28 April.
STORY BY FORD
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