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Local racers contest brand new national championship series

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On Tuesday 9 August 2016 at Zwartkops Raceway, the Terry Moss Racing Engen Xtreme Audi A3s of Michael Stephen and Simon Moss will contest round five of the Extreme Festival – in a brand new national championship series.

Stephen and Moss will compete in the Sasol Global Touring Car (GTC) championship with their new Engen Xtreme Audi A3 Sedans at the series debut at Zwartkops – the first event in a six-round championship that will see the GTC field competing into December.

“It has been a very crowded and busy few months, preparing these new Engen Xtreme Audi A3s,” says multiple national motorsport champion Michael Stephen. “Creating a new race car is always a time-consuming undertaking. The result of all this work is visually spectacular and the Engen Xtreme Audi A3s are going to look every inch the thoroughbred race car out on track.”

With such a tight construction schedule there hasn’t been an opportunity for a complete test cycle in the run-up to the first event. This will make the first race meeting unpredictable with the practise sessions providing an opportunity for tweaking to be done prior to race day.

Despite limited testing, the Terry Moss Racing team is confident that their experience will be an important factor at this season opener.

“We will be out to make our mark on the championship from the outset,” says Stephen. “There are six rounds to run this year and we aim to use all the skill and knowledge accrued from years of winning national championships to be contenders for the first title.”

While the Sasol GTC championship features a common chassis, suspension and gearbox, each race car uses its own engine. In the case of the Engen Xtreme Audi A3, it is the proven 2.0 turbo, producing 325kW and 600Nm of torque.

“The Engen Xtreme Audi A3 sounds great and looks even better,” says Simon Moss. “There’s still work to do to make them compete at their best, but we will sort the rest out as we go. Right now, it is time to get racing!”

Zwartkops Raceway will be the focus of the national motorsport community on Tuesday. Round one of the Sasol GTC championship is going to be an exciting challenge that will have fans on the edge of their seats as this highly-anticipated series finally gets underway.

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.