A near two-month break in the 2026 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will conclude this coming weekend (7-8 August) with Andre van Vuuren looking to strengthen his marginal points lead at the Aldo Scribante Raceway.
This event, the fifth round of the season, is this year’s coastal trip for the Series, marking the first time since 2023 that the field will compete in Gqeberha.
Van Vuuren not only leads the NA Cup, but also Class B of the time-based series, in which no driver has broken into Class A yet. As often happens with coastal trips, the field will see a reduced number of entrants. However, at present, Class B will consist of five entrants, and maintaining this number in this weekend’s official practice sessions will guarantee that all drivers are eligible for full points. These five consist of the top five, with Van Vuuren being joined by Ignus du Plessis, Olerato Sekudu, Richard Gerntholtz, and Bernard de Gouveia. Van Vuuren increased his lead over Du Plessis to 11 points in Round 4, but this is also where his five-race winning streak was ended by Sekudu, 12 points behind Du Plessis. Gerntholtz is a further two points adrift, but 15 ahead of De Gouveia. For De Gouveia, who is one of 2025’s combined Series champions, it has been a challenging season thus far, despite starting the year with his only two podium finishes. A factor that will count in his favour this coming weekend is that he is the only driver in this quintet with prior experience at the circuit.
The top four in Class C are likely to extend their advantage as well. This group is headed up by Nicholas Herbst, who holds a commanding 29-point lead over Tihan van Rooyen already. Claudio Jardim is a further six points adrift, with Ruan van der Walt and Kent Swartz both trailing him by one point. Swartz, who competed at the circuit twice in the last 15 months on the national calendar, will not be in action this weekend. Jardim will head into the weekend as the only driver in the top five with prior circuit experience. Shane Grobler is another who raced there in 2023, and will lead the pack looking to displace Swartz, consisting of Ferdi van Staden and Mitch Coetzee as well.
Class D could potentially see a significant shake-up this weekend. While Reinhardt Miller has a 17-point lead, he has not entered for this weekend’s NA Cup outing but will be competing in the Turbo Cup. Henry Platt will look to make hay in his absence, while keeping clear of Justin Brown, six points adrift. Fourth-placed Chloe Stuart will also not be in action, with Philip Mostert Jnr eager to build on his current form after taking his maiden race win. Dirk van Loggerenberg, a regular since making his debut in the season opener, will also look to catch up. Lorenzo Guailtieri will make his second outing in the OG Track Taxi and is one of two drivers in the class with prior circuit experience, albeit prior to 2023 in the South African Endurance Series. The second will be Paul Berry, one of the Algoa Motorsport Club regional competitors, making his third appearance in the series. The first was the 2023 Aldo Scribante Raceway round, and the most recent was 2025’s coastal visit to the East London Grand Prix Circuit.
Berry will also not be the only driver from the region joining the NA Cup brigade, with three Series debutants also coming from Gqeberha. They are Duncan Phillips, Steven Phillips, and Timothy Ball.
In the NA Cup, Van Vuuren has 78 points, with Herbst on 69, Du Plessis 67, Miller 59, and Sekudu 55.
Saturday’s first race, consisting of 10 laps, will start at 10:55, with the second 12-lap encounter scheduled for 13:55. Saturday’s full Extreme Festival race programme is set to commence at 10:05, and will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.
Published by: Reynard Gelderblom
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