Kyalami– The final V8 Supercar race of the2012 season turned out to be extremely disappointing, mostly due to the second race being called off due to torrential rain that hit the track. This made the first race the only race of the day for the V8 Supercar class. As this was the first time since March last year that the WesBank Super Series had raced at Kyalami, this was a blow for both the competitors and the spectators.

Clare’s first race saw her start 7th on the V8 grid, and she had an excellent start, storming down the straight as the lights went out. Unfortunately, the new format of V8 GT cars mixed with Shelby CanAm sports cars is proving to have its challenges, and contact with a wayward Shelby coming into turn 3 left Clare in the kitty litter with a somewhat worse for wear car. Although she was able to get the RAM Mustang going again, Clare found herself at the back of the field with a lot of ground to make up. She made up a few positions but decided to save her tyres for race 2, rather than push her damaged car too hard.

Clare Vale on the race weekend: ”I was super excited before Race 1, as with Franco di Matteo’s help and advice, the understeer that has plagued our RAM Mustang had been eliminated and the car was awesome to drive. It was very disappointing that a first lap incident destroyed our chances of a good finish, and the final blow was the cancellation of Race 2. A very full program meant that the day ran late, and the heavy downpour and loss of visibility forced the Clerk of the Course to cancel our race. A rather sad end to the final WesBank Super Series event, but big thanks to my team who’ve worked so hard this season and to all the people who’ve given so generously of their time and knowledge to make my car much more competitive!”