Youngest champion crowned at Kyalami

Published Oct 29, 2012

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A teenager following in family footsteps had motor racing scribes delving into the record books after clinching the VW Polo Cup championship at the final round of the 2012 WesBank Super Series at Kyalami at the weekend.

Two wins saw Kelvin van der Linde follow in the footsteps of his father Shaun and grandfather Hennie, who were both South African champions.

In the process Van der Linde became what is now generally accepted as the youngest National champion in the history of South African circuit racing - beating a record held by his uncle Etienne who was 142 days older when he won the national Formula Vee title in 1994.

The championship, however, ended on a controversial note with the final points standings subject to a Motorsport South Africa court hearing. Reigning champion Devin Robertson was excluded from the results for a technical infringement at the penultimate round of the championship in Cape Town.

Robertson has lodged a notice of intention to appeal the Killarney decision. However, after Van der Linde's two wins on Saturday and a fourth and a fifth for Robertson, reinstatement of the Cape points is not going to change the final championship standings.

Van der Linde virtually sealed the title with a first-race win after a tense battle with Kyle Barnes and third-placed Jordan Pepper, but had it much easier in the second race with Pepper and Barnes swapping places.

V8 SUPERCARS

The V8 Supercar race produced a runaway win for 65-year-old veteran Ben Morgenrood and his Ford Falcon. Another veteran, Larry Wilford, also in a Falcon was second and Wade van Zummeren (Ford Mustang) third with Darron Gudmanz taking the GT Class honours in Willie Hepburn's Corvette.

CHAMPIONSHIPS DECIDED

Two other championship issues were settled with Werner Scholtz (Mygale) wrapping up the Formula 1600 championship, and Rui Campos winning the Shelby CanAm title. The Shelby CanAm series, however, ended on an unsatisfactory note.

With the meeting running late and heavy rain falling in early evening gloom the final race of the day, the combined V8 Supercar and CanAm event, was called off. In unofficial scoring that left Campos, after finishing second to Ferdi van Niekerk in the opening race, one point ahead of Brian Algar who was third.

Scholtz went into the meeting with a one point advantage over reigning champion Mathew Merton (Mygale) and had one and a half feet in the door after winning the first race from James Temple (Mygale) and Jason Campos in a Duratec.

Merton is unlikely to add the Campos brothers to his Christmas card list after clashes with Jason in Race 1 and Keegan Campos, in Race 2, left his title challenge in tatters. Scholtz then put the finishing touches to his title campaign with second place behind Temple in Race 2.

PRODUCTION CARS

The three Production Car races produced three different winners; Hennie Groenewald (Subaru) and Anthony Taylor (BMW F30) took the Class A wins in the two six-lap sprint races, with Gennaro Bonafede (Audi S4) scoring a maiden win in a wet eight-lap feature race.

The conditions favoured the four-wheel drive cars with Bonafede finally getting the better of Groenewald after a good battle. Tschops Sipuka, in another Audi S4, took third.

The Mini team had a good day at the office with two wins and other visits to the podium in Class T. The wins went to Lee Thompson and Gavin Cronje, who between them also scored two seconds and a third, with the other win going to champion Graeme Nathan's VW Golf6, as a final hurrah for team principal Peter Kaye Eddie, who was retiring after 43 years in motorsport.

SUPERBIKES

As always there was plenty of action on two wheels from the SA Supersport and SA Superbike brigades. Steven Odendaal (Szuki), who has spent most of this season racing in Spain, and Ronan Quarmby (Honda) who has spent his year in the World Supersport championship, fought out a terrific battle in the first Supersport race with Brent Harran (Honda) a close third.

Odendaal then left it late in Race 2 to beat Cam Petersen (Honda) in another intriguing clash, with Kawasaki stalwart Dean Vos third.

Sheridan Morais, who also spent most of the season in World Supersport, won the first Superbike race from SA champion Greg Gildenhuys (BMW), who has earned himself a BMW factory ride in next year's World Superstock series. Nicolas Grobler (BMW), who also had a taste of overseas racing this year, was third.

The second race was shortened by two laps when rain started to fall with Dave McFadden (Kawasaki), another World Superstocks regular this year, winning from Chris Leeson (Ducati Panigale) and Gildenhuys. The rain spoiled what had the makings of a terrific race, turning it into an anticlimax.

FORMULA VW

The Formula VW races produced identical results with Simon Moss coming home ahead of champion Jayde Kruger and Nicolas van Weely in both outings.

RESULTS - PRODUCTION CARS - Race 1

1 H Groenewald (Subaru)

2 A Taylor (BMW F30)

3 E van der Linde (BMW F30)

Class T

1 L Thompson (Mini)

2 G Nathan (VW Golf6)

3 G Cronje (Mini)

Race 2

1 E van der Linde (BMW F30)

2 A Taylor (BMW F30)

3 M Stephen (Audi S4)

Class T

1 G Nathan (VW Golf6)

2 G Cronje (Mini)

3 G Formato (Ford Focus)

Race 3

1 G Bonafede (Audi S4)

2 H Groenewald (Audi S4)

3 T Sipuka (Audi S4)

Class T

1 G Cronje (Mini)

2 L Thompson (Mini)

3 M van Rooyen (Chev Cruze)

V8 SUPERCARS - Race 1

1 B Morgenrood (Ford Falcon)

2 L Wilford (Ford Falcon)

3 W van Zummeren (Ford Mustang)

GT2

D Gudmanz (Corvette)

Race 2

Cancelled.

SHELBY CANAM - Race 1

1 F Van Niekerk

2 R Campos

B Algar

Race 2

Cancelled.

VW CUP - Race 1

1 K van der Linde

2 K Barnes

3 J Pepper

Race 2

1 K van der Linde

2 J Pepper

3 K Barnes

Formula VW - Race 1

1 S Moss

2 J Kruger

3 N van Weeley

Race 2

1 S Moss

2 J Kruger

3 N van Weely

FORMULA 1600 - Race 1

1 W Scholtz (Mygale)

2 J Temple (Mygale)

3 J Campos (Duratec)

Race 2

1 J Temple (Mygale)

2 W Scholtz (Mygale)

3 C Shorter (Duratec)

SA SUPERBIKES - Race 1

1 S Morais (Kawasaki)

2 G Gildenhuys (BMW)

3 N Grobler (BMW)

Race 2

1 D McFadden (Kawasaki)

2 C Leeson (Ducati Panagale)

3 G Gildenhuys (BMW)

SA SUPERSPORT - Race 1

1 S Odendaal (Suzuki)

2 R Quarmby (Honda)

3 B Harran (Honda)

Race 2

1 S Odendaal (Suzuki)

2 C Petersen (Honda)

3 D Vos (Kawasaki).

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