Bonfede bites back

Bonafede, who drives for the Audi Sasol team leads on 28 points, two points ahead of Michael Stephen and three ahead of team-mate Hennie Groenewald.

This makes Bonafede the man to beat on 29 March with the second round of the championship at Killarney in Cape Town.

A consistent performance at the season opener at Zwartkops earlier this month netted Bonafede two second places and two fastest laps, which put him at the head of the points table.

“I haven’t really thought that much about it, but it is a good feeling to be leading,” said Bonafede.

But Cape Town bodes well for him, it is one of Bonafede’s favourite circuits.

“It is fast. I really enjoy Killarney. The track flows nicely and although there are only seven corners, you need to be totally committed and very precise in order to make up time,” he said.

“A good lap is over in around 1 minute 16 seconds at an average speed of over 150km/h. I don’t think many people realise that it is faster than both Phakisa and Kyalami. Only East London, with its ultra-long straight is faster.”

A skilled team is behind the helm of his success. Vic Maharaj, who made his name during the halcyon days of Touring Cars, is the racing team manager and ultimately responsible for the cars of Bonafede and Groenewald.

Development of the cars is ongoing and the team made several changes between the end of last year up to the Zwartkops races to improve the car.

During the race weekend they also tried different set-ups to improve the feel of the car. From suspension settings to slight tyre pressure settings.

“We did this right up to the start of the second race of the day, especially if the weather changes like it did at Zwartkops,” Bonafede said.

Weather in Western Cape can be unpredictable at this time of year and this is something Bonafede, unlike rivals, doesn’t mind. “Wet or dry, it doesn’t really bother me. I won at Kyalami in the pouring rain and I won at Killarney in the dry.”