Round 7 –
Zwartkops – 10 October 2009 |
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Although Darryn Lobb has already won the Shelby
Can-Am championship, the battle for the remaining podium
positions is far from over. Alan Eve (Sunshine Testing) fired the first salvo by posting the fastest time in qualifying and had Durban’s JP Bredenhann (PanelRite/Bigfoot Express) starting alongside him. Row two was occupied by Rui Campos (Hugo Boss) and Thomas Reib (Coolstar Beverage) as Sean Greve (Vulcania Reinforcing) and Brian Algar (Thuthuka Welding) completed the top six. Eve made the opening race his own as he controlled it from start to finish without ever being under threat. Bredenhann was never far behind, but was also never close enough to mount an attack and he crossed the line a few car lengths ahead of Campos. A good scrap for fourth saw Reib, who always goes well at Zwartkops, chased across the line by Algar and Hanno Pengilly (Azura Retreats). Bertil Hofmann had been going well and worked his way up to sixth, but as he came to start lap eight he lost the back end of the GP Energy Drink car coming onto the pit straight and ended his race against the pit wall. With the race two grid formed according to a reversal of the top eight fastest lap of race one, Craig Shorter (Execuline) started from pole and had Pengilly for company. Shorter led the first six laps until Pengilly found a way past and Campos followed him through so Shorter dropped to third, but not for long, as he was down to sixth by lap ten. On lap 12 Algar lost fourth place when he pitted with a punctured right rear. There was more drama a lap later when Reib and Shorter had a coming together at the fast sweep that leads up the hill. Reib ended his race in the tyres while Shorter spun harmlessly into the gravel and quickly regained the circuit. Campos closed right up to Pengilly in the last two laps, but Pengilly was calm and Campos wasn’t able to mount a challenge. At the flag it was a delighted Pengilly who scored his first win, a mere half a second ahead of the reigning champion. Bredenhann kept the pair honest as he took third just over a second behind Campos. Greve was a lonely fourth, finishing seven seconds clear of Hoffman with Eve in sixth ahead of Shorter who was later penalized 20-seconds for unsportsmanlike like behavior. That elevated Durban’s Andrew Strike (RST clothing) to seventh ahead of Greg Walker (Bizfone) and Andrea Cavalieri (Imperial) as Shorter was classified tenth. The Shelby Can-Am series moves to Kyalami on 14 November for the final round of the championship. |