JOHAN MILLER ON TOP OF BMW ///M PERFORMANCE PARTS RACE SERIES FOR FIRST TIME AFTER CAPE TOWN

Class E leader Johan Miller became the new BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series points leader following Round 6 of the 10-round 2024 championship, held at Killarney International Raceway this past weekend (9-10 August).

This is the first time that Miller, only competing in his second full season in the series, has found himself at the top of the overall standings, where he now holds a one-point lead. Former leaders Nicholas Hebst and Andreas Meier were two of a long list of contenders who did not participate in the fly-away round of the series. This year’s calendar allows for two drop-rounds, a system that sees each competitor competing in three or more events, sacrificing his two lowest-scoring rounds. The championship format sees non-entered events also forming part of drop-round criteria. Due to the significant cost layout involved in competing in the fly-away events, these drivers, all privateers, decided to forfeit these points. Miller was one of three entered drivers who had the opportunity to emerge on top after the weekend.

With Fabio Fedetto not participating, Leon Loubser, one of the drivers with his sites set on the overall lead, was assured of retaining the Class A lead after the weekend. However, a cautious approach in wet conditions only saw him adding four points to his tally, now at 69 points and eight clear of Fedetto. Bob Neill added eight points, with his new total of 47, and he retained third place. The only change in the top five occurred with the two biggest points takers in the class, Nian du Toit and Ryan Naicker, swopping positions. Du Toit, who repeated his dominant performance from the season opener by taking both race wins and fastest lap points, doubled his total to 44. Naicker, who finished second in both races, added 16 points to total 40.

Class B was the only class to see a new leader emerge, the third in as many rounds. Renier Smith, third at the start of the weekend, moved to the top after being the only top-five entrant. Taking a cautious approach in the wet, two third places was enough for Smith to bring his total to 73 points. This is the first time that Smith has occupied the top spot in a class since the 2022 season finale, a weekend that saw him break out of Class C, which he led for most of the year, in the final race. While tied on points with former leader Nek Makris, the tie is broken in Smith’s favour due to a superior win count of three-to-one. Meier, with 70 points, dropped one position, while the top five were completed by Oz Biagioni, who scored 44 points, and Carlo Garbini, who scored 33 points. Mansoor Parker, who won both races at his home circuit and took the fastest lap points, slotted into sixth place after his first 2024 outing.

Class C also only saw a game of musical chairs in the top five, but with Gary Martins, on 59 points, retaining the lead, a position he was sure to keep despite not entering for Round 6. Reinhardt Miller started the weekend in fifth place, but emerged second and seven points behind Martins after his double victory and one fastest lap. These were his first wins in Class C, and he sees himself ahead of the absent Jan Eversteyn, who also has 52 points but only one win. Hein van der Merwe, also not competing and with 49 points, dropped one position, while Bennie Luyt added five points to take his total to 41.

Class D looked like being in for a few upsets at the start of the weekend, but Nicholas Herbst, who did not compete, retained the top spot with 76 points. This came after 62-point George Economides withdrew from the event, and with Cobus Bohmer, on 56 points, also not entered. Behind them, two drivers made significant gains. The first was Claudio Jardim, who retained fourth place but took a win and second place, which now sees him one point adrift of Bohmer. Shane Grobler added 11 points to become the only driver in Round 6 to break into a class top five. He gained four positions and took his total to 37 points, one clear of Craig Herbst, who didn’t enter. The other race winner, Trevor Long, gained three places to slot into ninth.

Johan Miller retained his Class E lead, with his 77 points seeing him 20 clear of the new second-placed driver, Matthew Wadeley. The latter swopped positions with former class leader Zaheer Seedat, the 55-point driver who did not make the trip to Cape Town. Tihan van Rooyen, on 44 points, and Zeyad Ismail, on 25 points, retained their positions despite also not competing. Series debutant and double-race winner with two fastest laps, Ernest Page, slotted into sixth place.

On the Series points table, Johan Miller climbed four positions and has a one-point lead over Nicholas Herbst. Smith gained five positions, and Makris dropped one, with this pair three points behind Herbst. Meier dropped two places and is three points behind the previous pair and one point clear of defending champion Loubser, who dropped one place but increased his margin over Economides to seven points. Fedetto trails the latter by one point and dropped one place, while Martins, two points adrift, retained ninth place. Wadeley, two points adrift, dispatched Bohmer out of the top ten.

Round 7 of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will take place at Zwartkops Raceway on 13-14 September as part of the Extreme Festival.

Issued by Brandsponential on behalf of BMW Car Club Gauteng

MSA Publishes media releases from a host of different sources on our website as a service to the sport. It is not practically possible to vet/approve every release that is published. Some news items and articles are written by correspondents and do not necessarily represent MSA’s views.