Gennaro Bonafede Press Release
After almost three seasons in the thick of
battle at the sharp end of the Bridgestone Production Car class T championship,
21-year old Gennaro Bonafede will be stepping up to the challenge of class A.
He bows out of class T on a high note after
driving the Ferodo backed Volkswagen Golf 6 GTI to a win at Phakisa earlier
this month and currently holds third in the championship fight.
He makes his debut in class A at the wheel of
the Audi S4 that was raced earlier this year by Johan Fourie. The car will
appear in an exciting new Ferodo livery and is being prepared by Vic Maharaj’s
VMP Motorsport concern in Randburg which also prepares the Audi raced by
Melvill Priest, and drivers will share data, ideas and resources.
Initial testing of the Audi was encouraging
and it didn’t take long to make the decision to race the Audi. “I’ve only done
a couple of tests, but we decided to grab the bull by the horns and race the
car. Basically we will treat the remainder of the season as extended tests
under race conditions. There’s no better way of getting used to a car than by
racing it,” said a very enthusiastic Bonafede at a Zwartkops test.
“This way we will get some seat time under
race conditions so we are in a position to start 2013 with a much better
understanding of the car and in a position to race for wins.”
As for his prospects, Bonafede, an official
Monster Energy athlete, was at pains to point out how different the driving
styles are. “The brakes are very, very good. Power feels quite similar but the
Quattro system is just amazing. Its insane how quickly it accelerates out of
the corners. Even the lines you take in corners are different in the Audi
compared to the front wheel drive Golf.”
There’s no doubt that Bonafede’s progress in
the Ferodo Audi S4 will be watched very closely by rival Audi drivers, but as
Maharaj pointed out, “it is his first race in the car and we aren’t looking for
results. It is really a case of getting a feel for the car and technique
required to get the best out of it.”
Article and photos by Steve Wicks
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