• Richard Fuller made his debut on the series last weekend.
• Mackie Adlem and Thomas Reib shared racing victories.
• Round 4 of the series will take place July 9-10 at the Red Star Raceway.
• For more auto stories, visit Wheels24.
Mackie Adlem and Thomas Reib shared the victories of the Mobil 1 V8 Supercar in lap 3 at Zwartkops Raceway last weekend (June 18-20), while Richard Fuller finished the day on the podium in his series debut.
The results of the Passion for Speed racing weekend mean that the championship is even halfway through the season.
Qualifying took place on Friday afternoon and saw Thomas Reib (# 9 Mobil 1 / Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina) his first pole position for the 2021 season, while Julian Fameliaris (# 20 Lube-Net Chevrolet Corvette) was in the front row was. Championship leader Franco di Matteo (# 3 Deltec Batteries Jaguar XKR) set the third fastest time. Mackie Adlem (# 1 Adlem Auto Racing Jaguar XKR) finished fourth after spending most of Friday afternoons replacing his car’s gearbox. Richard Fuller (# 12 Reventon Auto Ford Mustang) announced his presence in the series by qualifying in fifth place ahead of Warren Lombard (# 6 PepBoys Automotive Ford Falcon) who had to replace the differential on his car.
Into the action
The son-father pair Terry (# 21 Fuchs Lubricants Ford Falcon) and Larry Wilford (# 77 Fuchs Lubricants Chevrolet Corvette) started from the fourth row. JP Nortje (# 111 N4 Autocraft / AMTEC Chevrolet Corvette) qualified for ninth place after setting the fastest time in the day’s only practice, while Carl Nel (# 15 Gears For Africa Ford Mustang) returned to the series completed the top 10. Andre de Lange (# 33 Roofsure / Creative Ink Media Jaguar XKR) and David Coetzee (Mobil 1 / ELKSA Competition Ford Falcon) shared the sixth row. Steve Herbst (# 7 PPG Coatings / Prei Instrumentation / QI Systems Chevrolet Corvette) finished his first qualifying in 2021 in 13th place ahead of Sam Dahl (# 98 Arcprotech Ford Falcon) on his first visit to the Zwartkops Raceway. The starting field was rounded off by Johnny Eekhout (# 24 Johnspeed Cobra Chevrolet Corvette).
André de Lange
What developed into a close fight in the final phases of Race 1 was neutralized on lap six after the safety car was deployed. This was caused by Fameliaris twisting into the tire wall after breaking a tie rod on the outside of Turn 1. The race ended under the safety car.
READ | Mobil 1 V8 Supercars title fight for the Passion for Speed headline at Zwartkops
Until then, Reib maintained the lead and fought against the challenges of Di Matteo, who for his part persistently looked for a way for Adlem. This made Reib the first driver in 2021 to achieve more than a single victory. Fameliaris was at the end of that battle before retiring. Fuller held Lombard for fourth place, Larry Wilford was also in the running after overtaking Terry Wilford, who finished seventh. Nel and De Lange overtook Nortje in the early stages. Coetzee finished 11th ahead of Herbst and Dahl, who fought a good duel before using the safety car. Eekhout had mechanical difficulties and was eliminated after one lap.
Warren Lombard
But this resulted in an excellent reverse grid second race as the sun set over Zwartkops Raceway. Due to time constraints, the race was shortened to 10 instead of 12 laps, with Dahl starting from pole position. He lost the lead shortly afterwards to Herbst, who held it briefly before De Lange moved to the front of the field. A good fight developed at the front, with Fuller next to take the lead before being overtaken by Adlem, who took his first win of the season. Fuller finished the race in second.
Richard Fuller
This made him the first driver since third-placed Lombard to clinch a podium on his debut weekend. This was also Lombard’s first podium since his debut in the 2019 season finale and achieved his best result to date, leaving Di Matteo, Reib and Coetzee behind in midfield. Terry Wilford defended Nel for seventh place, while Herbst and Dahl completed the field further back.
After his early lead, De Lange dropped to fourth place in the running order, but had to retire on lap 4 with a deflated right front tire. Eekhout also retired on lap 6 after his car had smoked heavily on the first few laps. Larry Wilford and JP Norje were in midfield but both retired on lap 7 with mechanical problems.
Mackie Adel
Di Matteo Racing’s stable worked hard to fix Fameliaris’ car and get it ready in time for the grid for Race 2. However, they did not get a chance to do a test before the race. He pitted the car on the warm-up lap and discovered a problem with the right front wheel not turning. It turned out that this was due to a broken tie rod.
The second half of the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars season begins July 9-10 with Round 4 at the Red Star Raceway.
