Sat 25th June, Aldo Scribante Raceway– Great race action made up for the icy winds and wet conditions at the Aldo Scribante Raceway, where the Regional Saloon Cars held the 4th round of their Championship.
Driving for the second time in the car, first time at the Port Elizabeth Circuit, Fabienne impressed again as she set some good pace during rainy weather. Walking in her father’s footsteps, Fabienne is making fine progress in the touring car championship just as former saloon car champion Peter Lanz, who had won several championships for the VW saloon cars.
During the three heats Fabienne’s car suffered technical issues with misfire and teammate Geoff Stephen also had a difficult day as his differential was not functioning properly, he had to work extra hard on the track and fought his way to take 2nd position for the day in Class B.
The first corner of heat 1 was a reminiscent of Stannic Group N, when Derek Boy made a charge down the inside, got forced wide and touched the grass in the braking zone. Fortunately everyone managed to avoid the spinning Golf, and Fabienne put her karting skills to good use, managed to muscle past Reggie Pyoos and Ayrton Good in the heat of the action.
Heat 2 again saw Group N type action as Derek Boy made a great start, working his way up to 2nd as he entered the ‘Esses’. Geoff Stephen tried to take a look on the inside exiting the 2nd corner but a combination of cold tyres and having to run a tight line saw the back of his car step out as he got next to Derek. Derek Boy was once again launched into the infield, hitting the tyre barriers and damaging his front suspension in the process. Nic Naude suffered a scary high speed spin on the exit of Hangar whilst in 3rd place, leaving Geoff Stephen in a relatively comfortable 2nd place, with Justin Allan enjoying a good drive into 3rd, and Staci Allan, having resolved her fuel pressure problems, finishing in 4th. Fabienne was keeping the Engen Golfs of Good and Pyoos honest despite the persistent misfire, and finished a creditable 8th.
The new format sees the regional Saloons participating in 3 heats on the day, and what a cracker the final turned out to be. Ryan Boy Again lead from the start, and Geoff Stephen, Nic Naude and Justin Allen entertained all with an inspiring door to door battle which ultimately ended in that order. Derek Boy, having repaired the suspension, finished in 5th behind the big battle, and this time it was Staci Allen who had a carbon copy spin through Hangar like Nic Naude had in heat 2. This allowed Fabienne Lanz to take line honours for the girls, winning Class X for the day.
“I improved quite a lot at this race. I was more comfortable in the car , although it was a tough one to get used to the front wheel drive after just having race the Rotax DD2 the weekend before” commented Fabienne.