Share

WATCH: Jason Webb victorious in Supadrift thriller

Cape Town - The fourth Round of the 2016 WPMC Supadraft Western Cape Regional championship delivered top-class entertainment at the Killarney International Raceway on August 13 - even though only 12 entries started on the day.

Jacques Lemmer was eager to defend his victory in Round 3 and made his intentions very clear from the get-go. The 2016 points-leader Juan Stemmet did not have his regular Nissan back following the failure that caused him to retire in the previous round, yet still entered using a more standard car for the sake of gaining points.

Defending the championship

Reigning regional champion Daniel Blaser found himself back behind the wheel of his CVP Drift Nissan and was eager to get his title-defence pointing in the right direction again. Jason Webb was absent in Round 3, but the Team Monster Energy Nissan driver was ready to demonstrate why he’s the reigning national Supadraft champion.

READ: Comeback kid Lemmer victorious in WCape Supadrift regional

Qualifying saw a few unlucky-exits for some very serious contenders. Faheem Salie in the Mike’s Place Toyota Supra didn’t get going at all in any of the sessions which resulted in a definite non-qualification for him.

WATCH: Wheels24 reader Ryan Balie put together this epic drone coverage of the SupaDrift regional Round 4 event at Killarney.


Noer Asmodien’s Toyota Supra looked menacing, but following two unsuccessful qualifying attempts he was also forced to pack up early. Most probably the two unluckiest entrants were Bronny White and Yaseen Damon. Both looked very impressive during practice and the demonstration-runs later the afternoon, but unfortunately they both had a spin and an off-track sighting during their two qualifying runs.

IMAGE GALLERY: Supadrift Western Cape Regionals - 164 thrilling pics

This would see only six drivers qualifying for the eliminators which resulted in a changed format to determine the winner of Round 4.

Tommie Berowski impressed during the day, but a match-up against the BMW of Lemmer would always be a tough call - the latter progressing with relative ease. This would also not be the first time that Webb was pitted against Izak van Zyl in the Dynotech Toyota. This duo has been delivering intense battles throughout 2016.


Jacques Lemmer looked strong throughout the day, but had to settle for second place.
Image: Reynard Gelderblom

Pulling out all the stops

This time round it was Webb who emerged victorious and on route to a semi-final. The third eliminator saw the two CVP Drift team mates going head-to-head. Blaser is one of the toughest competitors on the regional-scene and it would take a lot from Christopher Long to beat his team mate. There was nothing between this pair following their first two attempts with a “One More Time” being quite correctly called by the judges. The second time around Long pulled out all the stops to emerge victorious.

READ: Supadrift regionals set to rev up Killarney

No motorsport season in Cape Town would however be complete without the weather playing a part at some point. With only three competitors left in the running and the track temperature cooling down as the evening set in, a light burst of rain also provided another variable to work into the equation with the surface becoming very slippery.

By being the leading qualifier Lemmer automatically progressed to the final – leaving Long and Webb to fight in out for the second-spot. The slippery surface made for some entertaining moments, but in the end it was Webb who delved into all of his experience to outwit Long. Finishing third already meant that Long would take home one trophy, but he also received the award for driver-of-the-day – an acknowledgement which no one could contest.


Podium from left to right: Jacques Lemmer, Jason Webb and Christopher Long. Image: Reynard Gelderblom

This led to a final which some predicted very early-on. Both Lemmer and Webb impressed throughout the day with almost nothing between them.

The first battle saw Lemmer leading Webb around the track. Both drivers scored very well, but with Webb keeping the Nissan as close as possible to Lemmer’s BMW, the latter would have his work cut out for him at the switch. Although trying everything in the book, Lemmer could not get as close to Webb resulting in a very easy decision for the judges.

Victory on the day belonged to Webb, but take nothing away from either of them. Yes the conditions did play a part, but these two were in a class of their own throughout the day and they’ve certainly put themselves into strong contention for the 2016 championship - an exciting second-half of the championship lies ahead.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()