Stephen Finishes Third In Championship
The final round of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship was far from a dream weekend for Michael Stephen who struggled to find pace from his exceptionally heavy Audi A4 at Kyalami. The good news however is that Michael secured third place in the championship for the second year running.
Traditionally, when Michael has a poor day on Friday, it all comes together for him on Saturday. This time however it just didn’t work. Michael spent most of Friday’s practice sessions a second off the pace. The team made some set-up changes overnight, but when Saturday’s qualifying session arrived, Michael could only manage ninth place in the highly competitive field.(After a competitor was moved to the back of the grid, Michael started the first race in eighth position.)
The reason for this is quite simple. Michael’s brilliant points hauls in the last few races had earned him a massive 85Kgs of success ballast. Added to this, the Audi A4’s received a 5Kg increase in base weight before the race. This coupled with the Highveld altitude and high temperatures really took its toll on the Audi A4.
“The weight not only effects the straight line speed, but takes a huge toll on the brakes and tyres as well. Anything can happen in the race, but it is going to be a tough one,” commented Michael.
Ever the optimist, Michael started the first race confident of making up some ground. He didn’t have a blistering start, but held his position on a track that had become slippery after a cloud burst. He did well to avoid an accident between Leeroy Poulter (Nissan) and Lee Thomspon (BMW) and continued to fight. By the penultimate lap, Michael was in seventh place. After looking after his tyres, it was time for his move. In the last lap, he passed Leeroy Poulter and team-mate Shaun Watson-Smith to cross the line fifth.
The second race’s partially inverted grid saw Michael start from fifth. In a sporting gesture, Michael allowed Johan Fourie through as Audi continued on their championship quest. This left him in sixth place. On lap six, a pit stop moved Michael down the field. He eventually crossed the line seventh as other competitors retired in the very wet conditions.
“The second race conditions were far from ideal. During the warm-up lap, my windscreen misted up. After a few laps the visibility was so poor that I had to pit. My crew cleaned my windscreen and once back on the track I was able to set the second quickest lap of the race. If not for this unfortunate situation, I believe I could have challenged for the win,” explained Michael.
Although not his best results, Michael had done enough to secure third place in the championship. A commendable feat considering the competitiveness of the class.
“In the end, the championship came down to consistency. My one DNF and two bad races cost me. At this point of the year, I would like to thank my team and sponsors for their continued support and encouragement,” concluded Michael.
