Julian Fameliaris (Lube-Net / Di Matteo Racing Chevrolet Corvette) extended his lead at the top of the GT1 championship standings after the sixth round of the 2024 Mobil 1 V8 Supercars championship. The event, held at Zwartkops Raceway west of Pretoria on 13 and 14 September, took place in unseasonably hot weather conditions, in stark contrast to the previous outing in a cold and wet Cape Town.
As he has done on many occasions this season, Warren Lombard (PepBoys Automotive Ford Mustang) set the quickest time across Friday’s practice sessions ahead of Thomas Reib (Mobil 1 / Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina) and Franco di Matteo (NHR Mining / Di Matteo Racing Jaguar XKR), but the order changed in Saturday morning’s qualifying session. There, defending champion Fameliaris grabbed pole position from Lombard with Reib and Terry Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants Ford Mustang) in third and fourth. Wilford, who was giving a set of Dunlop slicks their first outing on a Mobil1 V8 Supercar under race conditions, was competing in the GTX class. Di Matteo was next up, despite breaking a rocker in the Jag’s motor during the session, with Sam Dahl (Arc Pro Tech Ford Falcon) alongside him.
Antonie Marx led the way in the GT2 class, lining up at the head of the fourth row of the grid alongside Auke Compaan (Hurricane Automotive Ford Mustang), with Shaun Holtzhausen (959 Panel Beaters & Spraypainters Ford Falcon) and Steve Herbst (PREI Instrumentation / PPG Coatings / QI Systems Chevrolet Corvette) a row further back.
Unfortunately for di Matteo, he could not get his car repaired before the start of the first heat, leaving his grid slot open. Once the race got underway, Fameliaris led the field from pole position, chased by Lombard in the early stages. Fameliaris was able to slowly pull away from the chasing pack, going on to win by almost five seconds. Lombard had to settle for second ahead of Reib, who had Wilford less than a second behind him in fourth. Dahl crossed the line in fifth.
Marx had a reasonably comfortable win in the GT2 class despite Holtzhausen’s best efforts. GT2 championship leader Compaan had to settle for third place ahead of Herbst.
Reib led the field away in the reverse-grid second race and held the lead from a hard-charging Wilford until shortly before half-distance when Wilford found a way through. A lap later, Fameliaris also got past Reib but couldn’t close down Wilford, who went on to take his first win of the season. Fameliaris took second place and, with, it, the GT1 win ahead of Reib, Lombard and Dahl. This after di Matteo, who had shown he had the pace to run with the leaders in his hastily repaired car, suffered engine failure with three laps left to run after he had worked his way up to fourth place.
Marx claimed another GT2 class win after working his way through the field from the back of the reverse grid. He was again followed over the line by Holzhausen, with Compaan and Herbst in third and fourth, respectively.
In the day’s overall standings, Fameliaris claimed GT1 honours from Reib and Lombard. Marx led the way in GT2 from Holtzhausen and Compaan, while Wilford took the GTX silverware.
With just two rounds left before the championships are decided, Fameliaris holds a 30-point advantage over Reib at the top of the GT1 championship, with Lombard a further 16 points back in third. Campaan still leads the way in the GT2 class with 150 points, but Holtzhausen has moved up into second place with 116 points, just four ahead of Herbst in third.
Nicole Jooste, African Group Lubricants Marketing Manager, commented on the action over the weekend. “The close racing and high ambient temperatures put the Mobil oils used in the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars to the test this weekend, a test they came through with flying colours. With the GT1 and GT2 championships still wide open, we look forward to more competitive racing in the next two rounds.”
The penultimate round of the 2024 Mobil 1 V8 Supercars championship will take place on October 11 and 12 at Red Star Raceway, just east of Delmas in Mpumalanga.