MICHAEL HAS A GREAT WEEKEND AT HOME RACE
Round 3 of the Production Car National Championships took place at the Aldo Scribante circuit in Port Elizabeth on the 1 May 2010. During the Friday practice sessions, Michael set the pace in the first session and was third in both P2 and P3. With a flat wheel in P3, Michael was confident of more time to be found in the car and was positive for Saturdays qualifying and races.
In qualifying on Saturday morning, Michael Qualified 4th and 3rd for race 1 and 3 respectively, after being blocked on his flying lap in qualifying. Michael with disappointed as he believed a front row start was possible, however remained positive as he knew he had good race pace.
RACE 1
In race 1, Michael was stuck on the outside going into turn 1 and got passed by Leeroy Poulter and was relegated to 5th position. Michael wasted no time and passed Leeroy on the 2nd lap but had fallen back from the leaders. Once passed Poulter, Michael charged down Fourie but could not find a way passed in the last three laps. Michael finished race one in 4th position, which would put him in 3rd place on the grid for the partially inverted 2nd race.
RACE 2
Michael had a good start to race two and managed to maintain 3rd position into turn 1. Michael was determined to get to the front quickly and passed Da Cunha into hairpin on lap 1. He then chased down Poulter and passed him on lap 4 of the race. Once Michael was in front, he had good race pace and consistency and pulled out a 1.8s lead to take victory in front of his home fans.
RACE 3
Race 3 grid which is determined by the 2nd fastest time in qualifying, saw Michael start from 3rd on the grid. Michael held his position at the start and followed closely behind Talyor and Groenewald in the opening laps, waiting for his chance to attack for the lead. At the halfway point, Michael tried to set up an overtaking move on Taylor which resulted in a big off in Hanger bend. Michael rejoined the track and managed to work his way back to 3rd. He closed on Taylor in the dying laps of the race, but ran outs of lap to continue his charge leaving him to finish in 3rd place.
OVERALL
Michael finished the day in 2nd position overall, only 0.039s behind Anthony Taylor.
" All in all a good weekend! We managed to win race 2, score a podium 3rd position in the 'double points' race 3 and and collect points for 4th position in race 1. This moves us to 2nd place in the championships, only a few points behind Taylor. Consistency will be the key to winning the championship this year! Michael would like to thank the Terry Moss Racing, Engen Xtreme Audi Team for the efforts they put in to make the race results possible," quoted Michael.
Michael has had two race wins this year, and has finished on the podium 5 times in the first three race meetings of the year. Michael also currently lies 2nd in the Class A championship standings.
