Campos on top
in East London |
|
Shelby Can-Am championship leader Rui Campos was
on form as he put the Q8 Oils liveried car on pole and won both
races comfortably. East London’s high-speed track is one of the few venues that allows these sports prototype bodied cars free reign in terms of full throttle. Wind affects this coastal circuit quite badly which means on a blustery day Potters Pass and Rifle Bend both require inch perfect precision, a deep breath and total commitment. It wasn’t too windy and Campos was the only driver to break the 1 minute 23 seconds barrier as he secured pole with just more than a second to spare over Brian Algar (Etana). Row two was occupied by veteran Alan Eve in the Metal Used Spares version and former kart champion and Formula GTI star Barry Ingle. Justin Allison and reigning Shelby champion Darryn Lobb (Hollard Insurance) wrapped up the top six qualifiers. The opening race was a snappy nine-lap sprint which Campos won by almost four seconds. The interest was in the battle that raged behind him between Algar, Ingle and Eve who all flashed across the line in that order blanketed by 1.2 seconds. Fifth went to Lobb with Allison three seconds behind. Race two was a 45-minute affair combined with the GT Supercar field and this time Campos had his work cut out as his winning margin was just over six seconds. Initially it was Andrew Strike (Strike 1 Racing) who led, but six laps later Lobb moved to the head of the field. The yellow flags came out on lap eight and the Shelby front-runners used the opportunity to make their pit stops. That left Nicholas Walker (Eco Construction/Sunoco) as the leading Shelby driver and a few laps later he moved into the overall lead. Campos then took the lead on lap 19 when Walker made his pit-stop. Ingle and Eve did the chasing. Ingle was impressive considering it was his first real race in nearly a decade. Fourth in the Shelby field was Ferdi van Niekerk junior (DuoPlus ADSL Modems) who put in a consistent performance to take fifth behind Nic Chapman’s Ferrari in the overall result. Next home was Strike with Algar crossing the line as the sixth Shelby Can-Am contender. Lobb had been in contention for a top three placing but on lap 13 he was hit by Doug Macdonald (Fantastic Racing) at Beacon hairpin and sent into retirement. It was a big impact and it was initially suspected that Lobb had broken his arm but a trip to hospital showed he’d escaped with a severe bruising. The next round of the Shelby Can-Am championship takes place at Kyalami on 13th August. |