This coming weekend (22-23 May) will see Zwartkops Raceway host the Extreme Festival tour’s national roster championship battles with an action-packed race day ahead for Gauteng motorsport fans.
This will be the first of two visits to the circuit, situated on the western outskirts of Pretoria, for the national contenders, with the full series roster lined up to entertain. Apart from the Extreme SuperCars Driven by Dunlop Series, this will be the third championship round for all.
The all-Kawasaki ZX10 brigade, the SunBet ZX10 Masters, will start the programme. Grand Masters Class leader Damion Purificati (Amalgum Welding Shop) has a fairly comfortable lead over Master Class leader Hein McMahon (K9 Law Enforcement), with the latter’s class rival Keith Agliotti (TNB Global) in third.
Trevor Westman (Team Wayward) is third in the Masters Class. Purificati has been unbeaten in the Grand Masters Class, where he heads up Henk Kruger (Zeeman’s) and Byron Rothquel (MagMagic Repairs). In the Veterans Class, James Barson (Proproof Waterproofing) leads Reginald Seale (HXCS) and Jayson Lamb, who has not entered for the coming weekend’s event.
While Purificati has three of the four race wins to his name this year, the weekend will see the defending two-time champion Clinton Seller (King Price Xtreme) looking to open his 2026 account. In the past two years, Seller has been unstoppable in the Series and will look to establish his dominance again soon. He will also compete in the Masters Class.
Having missed the second outing for the national roster at Red Star Raceway, the Extreme SuperCars Driven By Dunlop will be back in action and will be one of two Series with three races on the programme. The top contenders are likely to be Class GT3 rivals, Charl Arangies (Stradale Motorsport Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 EVO) and the defending champion, Jonathan du Toit (Trans Africa Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO). The pair produced three fierce battles at the Killarney International Raceway season opener.
Brothers Gianni (Sparco Audi R8 GT3) and Ricky Giannoccaro (Lamborghini Huracan GT3) are likely to head the fight for Class A honours. They will be joined by Marius Jackson (MJR Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3) and category debutant Karah Hill (Kalex Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO). Ant Blunden (G&H Racing Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo) and Roy Obery (HAVAL Edenvale Porsche MR SP PRO) will be contesting for Class B honours. Uli Sanne (BMW Z4M) will contest Class D.
The second Series to have three races on the programme is the Astron Energy Polo Cup. Baring a pole position and a few fastest lap points, Hannes Scheepers (Dainfern Dental Studio) remains unbeaten in the all-Volkswagen Polo GTI series. Young star Roshaan Goodman (Upward S;iral) is second, with Charl Smalberger (Sabertek), a seasoned campaigner, in third place.
In the Masters Class, the defending two-time champion Wayne Masters (Performance Masters) is leading the way with three wins from four starts. Derick Smalberger (Sabertek), the other winner, is second ahead of John Kruger (Team Red).
In the South African Touring Cars Championship, it is Julian van der Watt (Chemical Logistics Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) who holds a slender lead over his stablemate KC Ensor-Smith (African Heating Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI). Jason Coetzee (Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla), like Ensor-Smith, a 2026 rookie, holds down third place.
Van der Watt has two wins, with Ensor-Smith having taken another. However, a driver to watch for will be Keegan Campos (Veloce Automobili BMW 128ti), on the back of his recent win after joining the Series a round into the championship. Another driver looking to make up some ground is the defending champion, Michael van Rooyen (Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla).
Behind them will be the SATC SupaCup. In his last outing at Zwartkops Raceway, Rory Atkinson (Volkswagen Motorsport Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) won the 2025 Astron Energy Polo Cup title. This year, he will arrive at the circuit on the back of his maiden two wins in his debut SATC SupaCup season, leading Jason Loosemore (Nathan’s Motorsport Volkswagen Polo SupaCup), the double-winner in the opening round. Tyler Robinson (AF Fans Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) is third, and if Round 2 was any indication, her first win is not far away.
Not only did season-debutant Aqil Alibhai (Apex Cordsets) take his maiden wins in Round 2 of the Investchem MSA4 Championship, but he also heads up the other race winner this season, Mikel Bezuidenhout (Huawei). Karabo Malemela (KMFT) holds third place after an impressive few outings this year.
Also back on the programme after their second round, which formed part of an event in Gqeberha, is the Volkswagen Rookie Cup. Luke Hill (Steelform) has won the first three races in the all-Volkswagen Polo Vivo GT series and holds the lead over the most recent winner, Sebastian Dias (PMD Transport). Keyaan Dwomoh (Adhive Group) is third.
Having won the first two races of the season, Kobus Reyneke heads up the all-Toyota 86 class in the GR Cup, albeit with a single point over Connor Weston, the recent double-winner. Emma Dowling has also had a string of podium finishes thus far and is in third place.
In the all-Toyota Corolla Media Challenge class, it is the defending champion, Nabil Abdool, who heads up Craig Nicholson after four successive wins. Justin Ford is third.
In the Dealer Challenge, Devon Scott heads up the points table with four wins, but has not entered for the weekend ahead at the time of writing. The likes of Werner Venter (Toyota Yaris) and Theo Brits (Toyota Corolla) will look to step onto the top step of the podium, a place that Scott has locked out thus far.
Spectator tickets for Saturday can be purchased at the Zwartkops Raceway entrance gate for R150 per adult, R110 per student, and with children under 12 entering free of charge. All races will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.
Published by: Reynard Gelderblom
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