When the Dunlop V8 Championship drivers left Red Star Raceway back in August, Thomas Reib (Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Corvette) held a 31-point advantage at the top of the championship table. A visit to the East London Grand Prix Circuit closed that gap. On the return visit to Red Star Raceway on Saturday, 4 October, Warren Lombard (PepBoys Automotive Ford Mustang) eliminated Reib’s advantage, leaving the Mpumalanga circuit with a slender, 2-point lead heading into the final round.
Lombard was quickest in all three of Friday’s practice sessions, while Reib was ironing out the kinks in his newly acquired Corvette. The car, which qualified in pole position for the 2003 Rolex Daytona 24 Hour, only arrived in the country 3 weeks ago, leaving Reib’s crew in a race against time to get it ready. Ready it was, and Reib set the second quickest time on Friday, setting things up for a fascinating duel between the championship contenders on Saturday.
Saturday morning dawned cold and windy, but that didn’t cool the action in the qualifying session. Lombard set the quickest lap time of the weekend to take pole position ahead of Reib. Terry Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants Ford Mustang) was third, ahead of Sam Dahl (ArcProTech Ford Falcon). Auke Compaan (Hurricane Automotive Ford Mustang), the first of the GT2 class cars, was in fifth place, alongside fellow GT2 class driver Wayne Spicer (Wellness Group Chevrolet Corvette). Steve Herbst (PREI Instrumentation Chevrolet Corvette) and Alan Ryan (Wellness Group Ford Falcon) lined up on the fourth row, with late entry Terry Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants Holden) lining up at the back of the grid after he didn’t set a time in the qualifying session.
There was early drama in the opening heat when Spicer spun on the opening lap, leaving teammate Ryan with nowhere to go other than into the side of the Corvette. With both cars stranded on the circuit, race officials brought out the safety car while the marshals removed the stricken vehicles. When racing got underway again, Lombard again led the field away and went on to take a comfortable victory from Reib, with Terry Wilford in third. Dahl crossed the line in fourth ahead of Larry Wilford. Compaan, in sixth, was the first GT2 car across the line. Herbst was classified in seventh despite breaking a valve rocker and not completing the race distance.
In the reverse-grid second race, Compaan led the field away with championship rivals, Reib and Lombard down on the third row. It didn’t take long for the quicker drivers to work their way through the field, and by the end of the second lap, Terry Wilford led the way with Lombard not far behind. Reib took a bit longer to get to the front, but by the half-distance mark, he was not far behind Lombard. Wilford was able to hold off both Lombard and Reib, with Lombard setting the fastest lap of the race on the final tour to make sure that he kept Reib behind him. Dahl again took fourth ahead of Larry Wilford. Compaan’s car cried enough just after half-distance, dropping him out of the GT2 class lead. This allowed Spicer to take the class win from Ryan.
A heat win, followed by a second place, was enough to give Lombard the day’s overall victory ahead of Reib and Terry Wilford. GT2 went to Compaan from Spicer and Ryan.
Lombard now has a slender, two-point advantage over Reib at the top of the championship standings, with Wilford a further 50 points back in third. Compaan, Spicer, and Dahl round out the top six.
The 2025 Dunlop V8 Supercars championship will be decided at the final round, which takes place at Zwartkops Raceway on 7 & 8 November.