Rowe sets track alight with electrifying race
A LARGE crowd saw exciting racing when the Sasol GTC Championship visited Kyalami for round four of the series at the weekend.
And the internationally renowned Midrand circuit held a number of surprises for the GTC drivers, who collectively have 30 South African motorsport championships between them.
Race one results were:
1. Gennaro Bonafede, 2. Michael Stephen, 3. Simon Moss, 4. Mathew Hodges, 5. Graeme Nathan, 6. Daniel Rowe, 7. Mandla Mdakane, 8. Mark du Toit, 9. Ryan Quan-Chai.
Race two results were:
1. Gennaro Bonafede, 2. Michael Stephen, 3. Graeme Nathan, 4. Michael Van Rooyen, 5. Daniel Rowe, 6. Shaun Duminy, 7. Mark du Toit, 8. Ryan Quan-Chai, 9. Mandla Mdakane, 10. Mathew Hodges.
But the drive of the day went to young Port Elizabeth driver Daniel Rowe who is setting the track alight with his performances.
There’s no stopping Rowe and his Volkswagen Golf GTI.
When the Sasol GTC Africa field contested the first race weekend at Kyalami, Rowe brought the performance he has shown in Cape Town, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria to stand on the podium again.
Rowe’s performance in the GTC Production category surprised even him – especially with a bit of trouble in qualifying that saw him struggle to get a clear track.
“The first race I managed to break away in the first lap already and from there just maintained it,” Rowe said.
“Race two I had a good start but struggled in the beginning, but got that sorted and concentrated on getting the car to the finish to take home the points.
“I didn’t expect to compete at Kyalami and have this margin on the other competitors, but we’ve got great pace, the car handles well and everything just worked perfectly.”
Race one saw Rowe’s teammate in the GTC Production category, Mandla Mdakane follow him home for second place just seconds behind.
The pair also claimed first and second overall in the GTC Production category.
The Volkswagen Jetta GTC entries of Mathew Hodges and Graeme Nathan were strong in race one, crossing the finish line in fourth and fifth place, with Nathan stepping on to the podium in race two, claiming third.
The pair were also third and fourth overall for the Kyalami race weekend.
In addition to the GTC races, Volkswagen Motorsport also staged two special races at Kyalami. One was a celebrity race with invited guests Sasha Martinengo, Ntando Kunene, Garth Collins, John Smit, Jacob Moshokoa, Graeme Richards, Naas Botha and Jack Parow.
The second was a media race with Dennis Droppa, Janine van der Post, Lindsay Smyth, Andrew Leopold, Mark Smyth, Michele Lupini, Mark Jones and Sean Nurse. Both fields competed in Volkswagen Polos.
At the end of the celebrity race, it was Parow who claimed the chequered flag, followed by Botha and then Richards. The media race victory went to Nurse, with Jones second and Lupini third.
Round five of the Sasol GTC Africa championship will see the Volkswagen Motorsport competitors return to Zwartkops Raceway on November 26.