ALFA ROMEO 147 GTA SCORES A DOUBLE WIN ITS FIRST OUTING
Alfa Romeo South Africa scoured an historic pair of wins in the South African Production Car Championship at the weekend (1 May 2004) at Kyalami, with Martin Steyn putting his new Alfa Romeo 147 GTA across the line first in both races, the first time a factory-entered Alfa Romeo has won in South Africa since Nico Bianco's 1984 win on the old Kyalami track in a GTV6 3.0.
The win comes after Alfa Romeo returned both to South African and to motorsport last year in the hands of privateers with the Alfa Romeo 156 GTA.
Alfa Romeo’s domination of the event brought the crowd of more than 27,000 people to their feet.Such excitement has seldom been seen at a race track in recent history and the enthusiasm showed by the Alfa Romeo fans is an indication of the support and passion the brand enjoys.
"We'd like to thank the public for their support and enthusiasm in supporting Alfa Romeo Squadra Corse's efforts," said Giorgio Gorelli, Managing Director of Fiat Auto SA. "We'd also like to thank the team for the huge effort they have put into Alfa Romeo's return to the top of the podium. Without the efforts of the drivers and mechanics, sponsors and team management, we could not have put the 147 GTA on the podium."
The Class A field as a whole has made a lot of progress this season, learning the new Bridgestone control intermediate slick tyres and investing a lot of money and effort into the sport.
"Competition is good for the sport in general," said Gorelli. "Without BMW, both the works and privateer teams breathing down our necks we wouldn't put so much effort into challenging them. Ford as well pulled out an exemplary performance this weekend to keep us on our toes and we are sure that also Mercedes-Benz is working hard on their car. It is this kind of rivalry and competition that brings the crowds out to see better racing.”
Alfa Romeo Squadra Corse won't be resting on their laurels from the weekend's success.
"We understand that our victory will have the other teams making even more of an effort to return to the limelight. It just means we have to do even more homework to try and stay on top," said Hein De Necker, team manager for Alfa Romeo.
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