Occupying the top two spots on the Sasol GTC championship standings, Engen Audi drivers Michael Stephen and Simon Moss will look to continue their rich vein of form this weekend.
Heading into round six of the championship at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday, Stephen, on 192 points, is eight clear of teammate Moss and Sasol BMW Motorsport’s Gennaro Bonafede, who are joint second on the table with 184.
Another Nelson Mandela Bay driver in the form of Volkswagen Motorsport’s Daniel Rowe is in fourth position on 154 points heading into the weekend’s racing.
With the next two rounds set to play out in Gauteng over two weeks, the Engen Audi team went a different route when it came to setting up their cars ahead of the races, meaning their machines would need some extra maintenance, team principal Terry Moss said.
Stephen, who is also the team’s performance manager, said: “Time is limited for our team after the Zwartkops race to get ready for the Kyalami Motoring Festival 14 days later.
“So we have done a thorough inspection.
“A wet race, like our last one at Aldo Scribante, also calls for extra attention to ensure all the wiring of the cars is in order.”
Moss will be looking for a good performance at Zwartkops, where he picked up his maiden GTC win last year.
He also continues to hunt down Stephen with the aim of retaking the championship lead he held earlier this season.
“Although Zwartkops is the home ground of all our competitors, I know we are very strong at Zwartkops and I’d like to take back the championship lead I had until two races ago,” Moss said.
“A stronger lead would have been nice, but we’re still the team to beat, and although we had our fair share of bad luck so far, we should be happy.”
Rowe will need some big performances from the remaining races in the season if he is to force his way into top three contention this season.
Rowe has already banked victories at Killarney in Cape Town, Zwartkops and most recently at home in the Bay in July, marking him as a danger man in the series.
“Zwartkops is a tricky place, quite narrow and technical.
“We have uncovered more pace to assist our one-lap performance, so qualifying is going to be interesting.”
Rowe’s teammate, Mathew Hodges, at the bottom of the standings, has endured a challenging first half of the season but signs of recovery were evident in Port Elizabeth and he, too, will be looking for a strong performance at Zwartkops.