News and results of RGM vehicles: sponsored, supported, or just tuned by us

News from Kyalami 17th October 2009 - Ninth & final round of the Production Car Series

Kyalami- The final fling

The final production car race of the year arrived much sooner than in previous years, yet it promised to be a humdinger in true production car tradition with more than one championship still to be decided.

Favourite in class A was Johan Fourie leading the championship in his Audi A4 with BMW’s Anthony Taylor and the RGMotorsport tuned Nissan 350Z of Leeroy Poulter on his heels. Class T didn’t disappoint and promised to be a nail-biter with Gary Formato leading the RGM Golf GTI of Graeme Nathan by one point after the latter had to miss a round as punishment for “over enthusiastic” driving.

Graeme soon levelled the playing field by putting his GTI on pole position to claim an extra point over the Ford to start the day’s racing on even terms. The class A qualifying netted some impressive lap times with the Subaru of Dawie Olivier snatching pole away from Taylor with the RGMotorsport supported Audi of Melvill Priest slotting into fourth.

Race one started in dry conditions but this soon changed when the heavens opened turning the race track into an ice rink with drivers scrambling for grip. This didn’t dampen the RGMotorsport drivers’s spirits and we walked away with the spoils in both classes with Melvill taking the Class A win and Graeme taking the flag in class T enabling him to regain the championship lead from his arch rival Gary Formato who finished in second place.

True to the norm the reverse grid start for the second heat resulted in mayhem with faster cars flying through the field in this the last heat of the 2009 season. Graeme was the first casualty after a coming together with the Ford of Shaun Duminy, he left the track at high speed causing too much damage to continue and retired thus handing the championship to Formato who now only had to finish. The Ford driver stayed out of trouble and took an easy victory in class T. In Class A- The all wheel drive Subaru of Olivier revelled in the wet conditions with a flying Poulter chasing him down in the dying moments of the race.

As it stands Fourie took the Class A championship with Formato walking away with the spoils in class T. Both championships are under investigation by the controllers for possible irregularities and should be resolved soon.

As always the off season will be beehive of activity with race cars being further developed or new cars being built. RGMotorsport’s expertise will once again be utilised to find even more elusive ponies while broadening our experience even further. Passing this valuable information onto our customer’s cars enables us to set a new benchmark in tuning technology.             

News from Phakisa 5th September 2009 - Eighth Round of the Production Car Series

Winning ways- National Phakisa Production car races

With the National production car championship drawing to a close with only three events left the motorsport brigade descended on the small mining town of Welkom in the Orange Freestate. Despite it’s isolated location, the Phakisa track was built to international standards and even hosted a round of the world moto GP championship featuring long straights and fast sweeps where not only the cars are put to the limit but the driver’s mettle gets pushed to the extreme.

The RGMotorsport tuned racecars put in strong performances in both classes from the word go. In the early morning qualifying it was Leeroy Poulter who lined up in second place, less than a tenth of a second off the pole position time. In class T the RGMotorsport GTI’s filled the first three spots on the grid with Graeme Nathan taking pole position after missing the previous race meeting.

Race one was extremely close in Class A with Leeroy finishing in second place unable to pass the Audi of Michael Stephen while Greame Nathan won class T by a country mile, finishing twelve seconds ahead of his title rival Gary Formato in the Ford ST.

The customary reversed grid for the second race caused the normal chaos with swapping of paint and bent body panels being the norm. Marco da Cunha in the second SAM racing 350Z did well to come through with a strong finish by grabbing third place behind Shaun Watson-Smith and Anthony Taylor.

Graeme Nathan flew through the field to get into the lead on the fourth lap and win from Heinz Bose with a healthy 2 second margin. These great results catapulted Graeme’s RGMotorsport tuned Golf GTI back into the championship lead giving him a great shot at winning back to back National championships.

The penultimate round will be held at the fast Killarney racetrack in Cape Town, it’s going to be an action packed event so make sure to come past if you are in the area.

News from Zwartkops 15th August 2009 - Seventh Round of the Production Car Series

Sweet success at Zwartkops:

The National Production car brigade arrived at the short and twisty Zwartkops racetrack not knowing what to expect from other competitors. This track is known for its competitive and close racing being a result of tight hairpins and fast straights.

Over robust driving during the previous round at Kyalami resulted in some harsh penalties being handed out with some drivers having to start from the back of the grid and RGMotorsport’s championship leader Graeme Nathan having to sit out this round of the series.

With all drivers being well aware of the organisers keeping a watchfull eye on them it meant that good placings would only be a direct result of competitive laptimes and cars tuned to maximum potential.

SAM racing’s Marco da Cunha received a back of the grid penalty and all hopes were on our remaining RGMotorsport tuned class A cars of  Melvill Priest an Leeroy Poulter. Melvill made his intention clear by setting the pace from the word go. He qualified in Pole position and led the race from start to finish, winning by a healthy margin and setting the quickest laptime of the day. Leeroy kept his nose clean by finishing in fifth position.

Melvill had another storming race but had to retire after a suspension failure while Leeroy kept our name high by storming through to second place with the quickest lap in the second heat. His results were good enough to give him first overall for the day and right in the hunt for overall championship honours. .

News from East London 6th June 2009 - Fourth Round of the Production Car Series

RGMotorsport-Taking the Lions share.

The picturesque East London Grand Prix circuit is world famous not only for its scenic views overlooking the Indian Ocean but mostly for being one of the most daunting race tracks ever built. This title is bestowed upon it thanks to the high speeds achieved on the ultra long straight and two notorious sweeps namely Potters Pass and Rifle Range bend where the Production Car competitors reach speeds nearing 250km/h while racing door to door!

It is a known fact that racers without mega horsepower often give this event a miss as they simply would have no chance. This fact obviously played right into the hands of the RGMotorsport tuned vehicles that are always at the forefront when it comes to sheer power output.

Topping the timing sheets on Friday was the RGM tuned Audi of Melvill Priest in Class A while Graeme Nathan’s Golf did us proud in Class T.

Qualifying results shuffled the order with another RGM tuned race car, this time it was the Nissan 350Z of Leeroy Poulter grabbing pole position for the first race by nearly a second. Melvill was moved to the back of the grid after a driving infringement. His flying lap would have been good enough to secure a RGMotorsport dominated front row.

A string of victories has resulted in Graeme Nathan’s penalty weight catching up with him and he had to start in third position behind the two Ford ST’s of Shaun Duminy and Gary Formato.

In the first race Leeroy took charge and led from flag to flag with the opposition having no answer to his 350z’s devastating top speed down the long straight. Melvill did well to claw his way up to fifth from the back of the grid while Graeme remained in third position scoring valuable points towards his Championship.

The second heat was yet another RGM benefit with Melvill steamrolling his way to front of the pack with  SAM racing’s Marco da Cunha taking the runner up spot in the second RGM tuned Nissan 350z. Graeme did well in the Class T race and finished the hard fought battle in second place, one step closer to winning his second class T championship and setting a new lap record in the process.

The East London event was not only a showcase of RGMotorsport’s tuning prowess but also our attention to detail in making our race cars reliable. The long straights took its toll on many competitors and while the opposition was changing blown engines we could focus our energy on making our cars even quicker!

The next round of the championship moves to Kyalami on the 27 of June where the RGM tuned race cars will be out in full force continuing in their winning ways.

News from Killarney 9th May 2009 - Third Round of the Production Car Series

Graeme Nathan in the RGM tuned Kaye Eddie Estates Golf 5 Gti

Going down to Killarney as the Class T Championship leader Graeme knew that all the pressure would be on him. The penalty weight disadvantage didn’t prevent Graeme however from having an awesome qualifying performance with a time of 1:22.09 which put him on pole for the first heat. The race was a very tight affair and Graeme managed to come home in a highly credible 2^nd place. Heat 2 was started with the reverse grid positions putting Graeme 2^nd from the rear and this ensured that there was going to be some awesome racing ahead. Graeme worked his way up through the field in his typical stylish and professional manner and managed to cross the line for a very hard fought 2^nd place which gave Graeme a 2^nd overall for the day. Well done to Graeme & his team. With the weight penalty issues sorted out for the East London race on the 6^th June, we are hoping to see Graeme back where he belongs in his RGM tuned Gti. 1^st, 1^st and 1^st

Mike van Rooyen & Peet Visagie had a mixed racing weekend in there RGM tuned Gti’s

Coming from a very successful race weekend during the 2^nd round at Kyalami, everyone knew hard work lay ahead for these two up and coming drivers in their RGM tuned Golf Gti’s. Mike van Rooyen qualified 4^th and Peet Visagie 6^th. Racing was hard and tight in heat 1 and Mike crossed the line in 5^th position & Peet 9^th position. Heat 2 saw the  grids reverse for the start and an unfortunate accident put paid to Mike van Rooyen’s race day. Peet crossed the line in 8^th position giving him a 6^th for the day. Good luck for East London guys!

Leeroy Poulter & Marco da Cunha join the RGM stable

RGMotorsport welcomes these two Nissan 350z’s from Class A to its tuning division.

Leeroy Poulter displayed his true champion driving skills during the qualifying session and put himself in pole position with a blistering 1:19.486 lap time. Marco was a credible 4^th on the grid. Leeroy went on to cross over the line in 1^st place for heat 1 and Marco finished in 4^th place. Reverse grids again for heat 2 and some tremendous racing transpired with Leeroy finishing 7^th in the heat and Marco 6^th. Leeroy took 2^nd overall for the day and Marco an excellent 3^rd overall. RGM welcomes these two awesome drivers and we look forward to a successful and fruitful season with the two Nissan 350z’s

All the best for East London

Melvill Priest in the RGM tuned Audi A4

Melvill was coming from a successful 2^nd round at Kyalami and knew that he had to perform well to keep the points building up. Gearbox problems didn’t help with the qualifying times so a 9th place for heat 1 was what Melvill had to contend with. The RGM tuned Audi crossed the line in 5^th place for heat 1 and heat 2 saw a 9^th place finish which gave Melvill a 7^th overall for the day. A lot of time is now being spent getting the mechanical side right for East London and we’re sure Melvill will be back with a bang for round 4.  We wish you the best of luck for East London  Melvill!

News from Kyalami 28th March 2009 - Second Round of the Production Car Series

RGMotorsport knows that the 2009 Class T Production Cars Series is going to be a tough Series. So after coming off an inaugural Class T win at Aldo Scribante the RGM team again dedicated many a late night to making sure all the RGM tuned race cars were in top shape for Kyalami on the 28^th March.

Graeme Nathan in the RGM tuned Kaye Eddie Estates Golf 5 Gti

From the RGM team a very big congratulations to Graeme and his crew for an outstanding day at the races. Graeme qualified on Saturday morning 2^nd on the grid with a 1:57.427 lap time just behind the OPC of Reghard Roets. The racing was now on and the lead changed hands a number of times with Graeme coming home in 2^nd position less than a ¼ of a second behind the OPC.

The grids were reversed for Heat 2 and Graeme was soon in 2^nd position putting the Ford Focus of Gary Formatto under huge pressure and during the 7^th lap Graeme took the lead and stayed there to take the checkered flag for the win. This gave Graeme overall first place for the day and he now has a full 20 points from the first two races. Well done to Graeme! He drove like a true champion and many thanks must also go to Dean for his commitment to making sure Graeme’s Gti was 100% race prepared.

RGM management salutes Graeme and his team as well as the RGM tuning division for a job well done. 

RGM welcomes Peet Visagie and Michael Van Rooyen

RGMotorsport officially welcomes 2 new Gti’s to its tuning stable with Peet Visagie and Michael Van Rooyen’s vehicles now being given the magic touch by the RGM electronic tuning division.

Michael qualified 4^th on the grid and finished in 4^th place for heat 1. Heat 2 saw reverse grids and Michael had an awesome race finishing in 3^rd position which gave him a well deserved 2^nd place overall for the day.

Peet qualified 9^th on the grid and completed heat 1 in 6^th position. Heat 2 saw Peet getting into sync with his RGM tuned Gti and achieving a exceptionally well deserved 2^nd place after a hard fought race. This gave Peet a 3^rd overall for the day

Congratulations to Michael & Peet for the awesome results achieved and RGMotorsport looks forward to many more podium finishes.

Melvill Priest completes an awesome round 2 for the Class A production cars

Melvill managed to qualify 4^th on the grid in the RGM tuned Audi A4 and managed to complete Heat 1 in 4^th place. Heat 2 again saw reverse grids giving Melvill pole .The Audi of Anthony Taylor blasted its way into the lead but Melvill drove an exciting race putting pressure on Taylor constantly and managed to complete the race in 2^nd position giving him a 2^nd overall for the day.

An excellent result for Melvill in the RGM tuned Audi and we look forward to an exciting 2009 season

News from Aldo Scribante 7th March 2009

Graeme Nathan wins the 2009 inaugural Class T Production Car race at Aldo Scribante

Graham Nathan began 2009 the way he ended 2008 – by winning the first race meeting of the Bridgestone Production Car Championship. RGMotorsport once again provided the vital electronic engine mapping that made his VW GTi unmatched in Class T.

Graeme began from pole position in heat 1 and finished the race first, 9 seconds ahead of the Ford Focus of Gary Formato. The 2^nd race with a reverse grid had Graeme working his way through the field. Graeme was comfortably leading when a leak on the cooling system saw his all new VW GTi begin to lose fluid at a rapid rate. Being a true champion, Graeme still managed to bring home the RGM tuned Gti in 2^nd position. That special effort resulted in him scoring an overall 1^st for the day.

RGMotorsport salutes Graeme and his team for this awesome result. Hats off to Dean for the great preparation and many late nights spent building Graeme’s brand new race Golf Gti. A special thank you also to Steven Green for burning the midnight oil to give the Gti your magical touch.

The next round of the 2009 Bridgestone Production Car Championship is at Kyalami on March 28.