Anton Pommersheim managed to retain his BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series Turbo Cup championship championship lead this past weekend (7-8 August) at the Aldo Scribante Raceway on a weekend that will be remembered for Lee Thompson’s dominance in Gqeberha.
This was only the second time that the series visited the Gqeberha circuit as part of the Extreme Festival’s annual coastal round rotation for the regional roster, the first having been in 2023. While the majority of the drivers have not competed at the circuit prior to Round 5, some could bank on their experience in the Series, and various other championships.
Thompson is one such driver, having competed at the circuit on numerous occasions, and that experience certainly came in very handy. In Thursday afternoon’s unofficial paid practice sessions, the gearbox on his BMW E92 M3 GT Turbo broke, resulting in him being unable to participate in any of Friday’s official sessions, and even with Saturday looking to be in doubt. Friday also saw Pommersheim, for whom this was the first outing at the circuit, struggle with differential issues on his BMW E46 M3 Turbo. One of his rivals in the Turbo Cup, Bennie Luyt, had to withdraw due to family-related reasons. Miraculously, both Thompson and Pommersheim were ready to compete on Saturday morning.
Qualifying saw Thompson take the Dunlop Pole Position, in what was pretty much the shakedown session for his car. He pulled out a lap that was 2.746 seconds faster than that of Class A rival Pommersheim, already showing the signs of what was to come. Leon Loubser was the third and final Class A driver to line-up, meaning that this group would not be eligible for a full allocation of points. This would also be the case with Class B, limited to four entrants, with leader Renier Smith being a notable absentee. Ethan Coetzee took the the pole spot, ahead of Lenard Archer, Wessel Mostert, and Dean Ball. Oz Biagioni pipped Reinhardt Miller to the top of Class C, with Anand Naidu, Varish Ganpath, and Kyan Boodaya next to line up. In Class D, Sayen Moodley, who already played his Breakout Joker in Friday’s practice sessions, headed up Gerald Anthony, Shriyav Naidu, points leader Michael Grobler, and Craig Herbst.
In Race 1, Thompson had a relatively easy win over Pommersheim and Loubser. Coetzee had his work cut out to keep Mostert at bay, but went on to take his second win in the class. Archer beat Ball to the final podium spot. Miller got ahead of Biagioni to take the win, while Nicky Dicks fended off Anand Naidu for the final podium spot. Both Ganpath and Boodaya retired. Moodley had an easy win in Class D, while Anthony kept Herbst behind him to take the runner-up spot. Grobler and Gerhard du Plessis completed the top five.
Race 2 saw Thompson again dominate Pommersheim and Loubser. This time, Mostert beat Coetzee in Class B. Ball completed the podium, while Archer retired early in the race. Biagioni beat Miller to the Class C win in a photo-finish as they crossed the line. This time, Anand Naidu completed the podium ahead of Dicks. Moodley made it two Class D wins on the day, while Herbst fended off Grobler for second place. Shriyav Naidu and Gerald Anthony completed the top five.
The ZF-Aftermarket Overall Results Thomspon beat Pommersheim and Loubser, as he did in both races. While Mostert and Coetzee were tied on 14 points in Class B, Mostert had the better accumulated race time, which saw him take the win. Ball took third place. Miller and Biagioni tied on 18 points in Class C. Miller had the better time to secure the win, but Biagioni’s efforts, particularly in the second race, saw him take the ITOO Driver of the Day award. The 11-point tie for third was settled in Anand Naidu’s favour with his better time than that of Dicks. Moodley’s double win saw him take Class D from Herbst and Anthony.
Pommersheim’s lead over Thompson in Class A is now down to 12 point, with the latter 19 ahead of Loubser. Coetzee moves into the lead of Class B, nine points ahead of the absent Smith, with Mostert 8.5 behind the latter in third. Luyt’s absence saw he drop out of the top three in Class C, which is now headed up by Miller. However, it is a slender lead, just one point over Biagioni, and Anand Naidu one point behind him. Grobler hung onto his Class D lead, nine points clear of Herbst, who has a 10-point advantage over Anthony. Pommersheim’s Turbo Cup lead has now been sliced to five points over Grobler, who holds a seven-point lead over Thompson.
Round 6 of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will see the field return to Zwartkops Raceway for the fourth time this season on 11-12 September.