The Extreme Festival returns to the coast this weekend (26-27 June) with the Aldo Scribante Raceway set to entertain Gqeberha’s motorsport fans.
This will be one of two Extreme Festival Tour visits to The Friendly City in 2026, with this outing seeing the national roster in action.
Saturday’s race programme will commence with the Investchem MSA4 field. Aqil Alibhai (Kokoro) heads up Mikel Bezuidenhout (Huawei) by three points heading into the fourth round of the championship, after both drivers have racked up three wins thus far. Karabo Malemela (KMFT Morita) will lead the challenge from the strong field of drivers behind them, all still looking to break this pair’s top-spot deadlock.
They will share the circuit with the Formula Ford Kent field, which makes a welcome return to the roster. The top contenders in this group will be Ian Schofield (Investchem Formula Ford Kent) and Rick Morris (Investchem Formula Ford Kent).
Two-wheel motorsport enthusiasts will look forward to the all-Kawasaki SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup races. Damion Purificati (Crystal Lubricants) has won all but one of this year’s six races. That one race was in the season opener, also at the coast, where he finished second. Consequently, he holds a 47-point lead over Hein McMahon, who has not entered this round. James Barson (Proproof Waterproofing) is a further 18 points adrift.
McMahon’s absence could not only be detrimental to his Series title chances, but also the narrow lead of 12 points he currently holds in Class A over Trevor Westman (Team Wayward). Keith Aglioti (TNB Global) will also look to make up ground. In Class B, Purificati is 44 points clear of Henk Kruger (Zeemans Hooligans), with Byron Rothquel (Pool Warehouse) not too far back. Barson finds himself comfortably at the front of Class C, with Reginald Seale (HXCS) 32 points adrift, while Ian Harwood (TRP Distributors) is a further 34 points back.
Gqeberha is home to Volkswagen of South Africa, and 2026 marks the manufacturer’s 75th anniversary in the country. These festivities will be headlined by the Astron Energy Polo Cup, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Although his winning streak in the all-Volkswagen Polo GTI series came to an end with six race wins, Hannes Scheepers (Dainfern Dental Studio) has a 35-point lead over the driver who took the other win this year, Charl Smalberger (Sabertek). Roshan Goodman (Upward Spiral) has impressed throughout the first three rounds and trails the latter by two points.
Behind them, the Masters Class will battle it out. Wayne Masters (Performance Masters) has five wins from seven starts, which sees him 18 points clear in his title defence over his nearest rival, Derick Smalberger (Sabertek), this year’s other winner. John Kruger (Team Red) is 14 points further back.
Also representing the manufacturer’s motorsport interests will be the all-Volkswagen Polo Vivo GT Volkswagen Rookie Cup. This will be their fourth outing of 2026. They had an outing at the circuit back in April for their second round. Luke Hill (Steelform) holds a six-point lead heading into the weekend. His season started off well with three race wins, including one at the Aldo Scribante Raceway. Second-placed Sebastian Dias (PMD Transport) has two wins to his name, those coming in the most recent outing and at the Aldo Scribante Raceway. Third-placed Jack Moore (Puma), 12 points adrift, has also won a race in Round 3.
With three wins to his name this year, Julian van der Watt (We Buy Cars Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) heads up the South African Touring Cars Championship, 14 points clear of 2026 rookie KC Ensor-Smith (African Heating Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI), himself a race winner this season, in his maiden outing. Fellow debutant Jason Coetzee (Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla) is third.
In the all-Volkswagen Polo SupaCup SATC SupaCup, it is Jason Loosemore (Security Fencing & Alarms) who holds a 24-point lead over Rory Atkinson (Volkswagen Motorsport). Loosemore has a 4-2 lead in the win count, while Judd Bertholdt (Union Power Energy) occupies third place.
These two series will share the circuit in their first races on Saturday, with each having a standalone second race.
It is a fierce rivalry at the top of the GR Cup’s GR 86 Class between three young drivers. Connor Weston, Kobus Reyneke, and Emma Dowling are separated by only 10 points. It’s a 3-3 win split between Weston and Reyneke heading into the weekend, while Dowling will be eager to improve on her two runner-up finishes.
Nabil Abdool remains unbeaten in his GR Media Challenge title defence, which sees him 13 points ahead of Craig Nicholson, while Justin Ford is 12 points adrift.
Devon Scott, not entered for Round 4 and also absent in Round 3, still holds a three-point lead in the GR Dealer Challenge over Werner Venter, who is five points clear of Theo Brits. Scott won the first four races, with Paul de Vos being the most recent double winner.
The Extreme SuperCars Driven By Dunlop points table is in for a shake-up this weekend. Heading into the third round of the season, the pair at the top, Roy Obery and Ant Blunden, are set to be surpassed, particularly with Charl Arangies (Stradale Motorsport Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 EVO) only seven points behind Obery. Other drivers who will look to make up ground include Johnathan du Toit (Trans Africa Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO) and Karah Hill (Promigen Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO).
Spectator tickets for Saturday can be purchased at the Aldo Scribante Raceway entrance gate. All races will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.
Published by: Reynard Gelderblom
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