After a two-month winter break, the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars return to action on 9 and 10 August when the fifth round of the 2024 Championship takes place at Killarney International Raceway.
Fiercely competitive racing at the last round of the championship back in June didn’t change the gap between the two leading contenders at the top of the championship log. and Julian Fameliaris (Lube-Net / Di Matteo Racing Chevrolet Corvette) still has a 13-point lead over Thomas Reib (Mobil 1 / Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina). Warren Lombard (Pepboys Automotive Ford Mustang) was able to close the gap to the leading pair slightly after taking his first win of the season in the second heat at Zwartkops.
Mechanical problems spoiled Terry Wilford’s (Fuchs Lubricants Ford Mustang) Zwartkops outing, but he still occupies fourth place on the championship log. He has spent much time in the break working on his car and should be up with the leaders in Cape Town. Franco di Matteo (NHR Mining / Di Matteo Racing Jaguar XKR) had a good run last time out and is only three points behind Wilford, while Sam Dahl ( Arc Pro Tech Ford Falcon) will make the trip from Finland to join the field after missing the last round.
Despite a few problems in the last round, Auke Compaan (Hurricane Automotive Ford Mustang) still has a comfortable lead at the top of the GT2 championship standings. Steve Herbst (PREI Instrumentation / PPG Coatings / QI Systems Chevrolet Corvette), who suffered a hub failure in the second race at Zwartkops, which limited his points haul, remains in second place in the class championship and will be looking to add to his points tally, as will Larry Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants Ford Falcon). East Londoner Bevan Schwarz has indicated he will travel to Cape Town to join the GT2 class in his Alco Trucks Chevrolet Corvette.
Former champion Ben Morgenrood (Ben Morgenrood Ford and Mazda Mustang) has also said he will make the trip to Cape Town.
The Cape Town-based V8 Masters series will join the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars at Killarney. There, Rui Campos (Campos Transport) will be joined by Jason Ibbotson (Autohaus Angel), Sean Moore (Ziegler Logistics), Denis Gaiduck (Knorhoek) and Ken Finneran (Blokkoin).
Apart from the grid filling up ahead of Cape Town, commercial interest in the series has also grown. The series recently introduced a new associate partners, AquaJet, with another brand joining forces in due course. This shows the commercial value of partnering with the country’s most captivating circuit racing series.
African Group Lubricants’ Marketing Manager Nicole Jooste is excited about the prospects ahead of the Cape Town weekend. “Cape Town is always a significant event for African Group Lubricants, with the geographical area being a major distribution point for us. At the same time, the arrival of the Mobil 1 V8 Supercars is always well-anticipated by the local motorsport fans, who are known to fill up the Killarney International Raceway to capacity. This adds to the excitement as we start the second half of the 2024 season, where we will again see the importance of embarking on the journey to success by relying on the world’s leading range of lubricants.”
On Saturday morning, the drivers will make their way onto the circuit at 09h05 for their qualifying session. This will be followed by their first race, an eight-lap affair, at 12h20, while the reverse-grid second race, which will be contested over ten laps, is scheduled for 16h10. Spectator tickets will be available at the Killarney International Raceway entrance. The entire Extreme Festival race day programme will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.
Issued by Brandsponential on behalf of African Group Lubricants
Photography by: Jason Hanslo
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