Summarize

Bullion IT Racing duo Jurie Swart and Giordano Lupini knew they were heading into the Compcare Polo Cup lion’s den up at Zwartkops in Pretoria after a dominant opening round performance at home in Cape Town. But a difficult qualifying session put both lads even further on the back foot as neither progressed into the top six shootout. They however delivered stellar race performances, as each made up several positions for a decent team points haul.

“We were quick in race trim in Friday practice, but I felt uneasy with our single lap pace,” Jurie Swart explained. “That, along with a less than ideal track position reflected in our qualifying result when I just missed out on the top six shootout. “Worst of all, it is really difficult to overtake on Zwartkops, but my good race pace helped me to go from seventh to fourth in the first race and I was happy with that. “I drew fifth for race 2 and while I had the pace, that's where I stayed.”

It was a similar scenario for Giordano Lupini in the red car. “I had decent long stint pace, but I could not get enough temperature into my rear tyres and I had a moment on my hot lap,” Giordano confessed. “So I ended up qualifying tenth for both races. “Happily, the races went much better. “I made two good starts and fought like hell to bring it home seventh in race 1 and 8th in heat 2. “It was great, close and clean racing and I’m chuffed to have made up places despite the difficulty to pass here.

“I had the pace for a top four or six today, so to have managed seventh is not too bad after all. "Most importantly, we scored some decent points and we go home in fairly good shape.” Jurie Swart’s efforts in the blue Bullion IT Polo were enough to hold on to the provisional championship lead. “Now we just need to knuckle down and find out why we battled so in qualifying and move on to the next round at Aldo Scribante.”

"At the end of the day, we had a good run and kept fans on their feet, which is what it is all about,” Giordano concluded. “We'd once again like to salute Bullion IT for the support and also thank our several fans and friends who made the trip up to Pretoria to support us this weekend. “That really was special!” Bullion IT CEO Clive Strover was delighted at his team’s Zwartkops progress, in spite of their challenges. “The lads had us cheering all the way — great racing all round!” 

Jurie and Giordano now prepare for round 3 at Aldo Scribante in Gqeberha at the end of June, a track that's far friendlier to overtaking and opportunity, and one that both drivers cannot wait to race on.