While this past weekend’s (19-20 May) Global Touring Cars (GTC) SupaCup results may not have been what Jean-Pierre van der Walt was striving for, his pace around Zwartkops Raceway provided a just indication of what can be expected for the rest of the season.
Friday saw him looking much more confident in his Platinum Wheels Volkswagen Polo SupaCup, before Saturday’s superb performance in the qualifying session. He set the sixth-fastest time, only 0.6 seconds off the Dunlop Pole Position time.
Race 1 saw him make an excellent start, from where he moved up a position. He gained another position on Lap 8 before a boost pressure pipe came off the turbo. This forced him to retire from the race. Race 2 saw him looking strong in the battle for the midfield lead, but he was involved in an accident with Tato Carello and Calvin Dias on Lap 5. Although Van der Walt could continue and finish the race in sixth place, a post-race penalty saw him lose three positions.
“The results were not what we wanted, but there are many positives for us to smile about from this weekend,” said Van der Walt. “Our pace this weekend was good. A lot of work went into this by the Lee Thompson Racing team, which paid off. We were able to contest for meaningful positions this time around, and I know I could’ve found some more in the car as well. So we have laid a good foundation for the rest of the season.”
Van der Walt’s next GTC SupaCup outing will be at Aldo Scribante Racetrack in Gqeberha on 16-17 June.
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix
Picture Caption: JP van der Walt
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.