A swelteringly hot Zwartkops Raceway turned up the heat even further this past Saturday (14 September) with almost 12 hours’ worth of fiercely contested Regional Extreme Festival races.
A late programme change saw the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series opening the day’s on-track activities with the Class A, B & C race. This race was red-flagged on the penultimate lap following Class C’s Troy Cochran spinning off and beaching his Arrow Automotive BMW E36 M3 on the outside of Turn 4. Ryan Naicker (Fast Development BMW E92 M3 Turbo took a lights-to-flag win in Class A, while Leon Loubser (Monaco Motors BMW E92 335i) took second place from Bob Neill (Delmon Mining BMW E92 M3 Turbo). Renier Smith (Fast Development BMW E36 M3 Turbo) took a comfortable win over Lorenzo Gualtieri (Pick n Pay Oakfields BMW E46 328i Turbo) after Andreas Meier (#CEC BMW E36 STC 320iT) and Nek Makris (BMW E46 335i) both retired on the second lap. Reinhardt Miller (Amtec Racing Fuels BMW E36 328i Turbo) saw off Lenard Archer (ACD Welkom BMW E90 335i) and Devin Robertson (Big Boss Auto BMW E36 M3) for the Class C win.
Classes D & E were the second-last group on the programme, with Shane Grobler (Grobler Motorsport BMW E30 330i) beating Claudo Jardim (Mixbox Automotive BMW E36 330i) in a good battle for the win, with Eddie Rodrigues (EDDIE7RACING BMW E46 330i) completing the Class D podium. Matthew Wadeley (BMW Car Club Gauteng BMW E46 330i Touring) took his second Class E win at the circuit in 2024, beating Zeyad Ismail (Viper Automotive BMW E36 328i) and Mike Grobler (Grobler Motorsport BMW E36/7 Z3).
The second Class A, B & C race was also aborted just before the full race distance was completed, following a series of accidents and debris on the circuit, brought on by a slippery track surface. This saw Class B’s Smith take the race win from Makris, with Class C’s Miller, Robertson and Anand Naidu (SA Autotech BMW F80 M3) next to complete nine laps. However, Naidu received a 30-second penalty for passing under yellow-flag conditions, which promoted Bennie Luyt (ITA Security BMW E46 M3) to third. Neill won Class A, albeit a lap adrift, while Naicker was classified second, despite retiring after six laps with a broken rear suspension.
The second Class D & E race finished behind the Safety Car, following Ferdi van Staden’s BMW E36 330i stopped on the racing line between Turns 5 & 6 with two laps remaining. Rodrigues took the win from Nicholas Herbst (CIM Lubricants BMW E90 330i) and Shane Grobler. Johan Miller (Hei-Jo Transport) broke out of Class E, which handed Wadeley his second win for the day, with Mike Grobler and Ismail completing the podium.
An attrition-filled opening race for the visiting all-APV347is Pirelli V8 Masters saw Barry Ingle (NAC Helicopters) win the Gold Class on aggregate from Fabio Tafani (Club Refrigeration) and Larry Wilford, who made his second-consecutive outing in one of these Owen Ashley produced cars. Mark Voget (Great South) beat Gary Thomson and Joshua Voget in the Silver Class.
The second race also had its fair share of thrills and spills, with Ingle again beating Tafani in the Gold Class, following a good tussle at the front. Carl Nel (Gears for Africa) completed the podium this time, a bit further behind the leading duo. In the Silver Class, Mark Voget also made it two wins for the day, with Stuart Spooner and Brandon Dean completing the podium.
The PABAR VW Challenge saw Wayne Masters (Performance Master Volkswagen Polo) beat Bevin Masters (The CPS Warehouse Volkswagen Polo) in Class A of the day’s first race, with Dean Ross (Norbrake Distributors Volkswagen Polo) holding off Miguel Dias (Performance Master Volkswagen Polo) for the final podium spot. Bjorn Bertholdt (Sizanani Plastics Volkswagen Polo) took the Class X win after an entertaining tussle with Luigi Ferro (Ferro Energia Volkswagen Polo) and Mike Barbaglia (PABAR Volkswagen Polo). Stuart Mack (Creation Wealth Volkswagen Polo) had a bit of breathing space en route to the Class B win, while Mohammed Karodia (Fast 5 Motorsport Volkswagen Polo) battled Shiren Rajpaul (Dubcorp Service Centre Volkswagen Polo) for the final podium spot. Christopher Tait (Sportex Volkswagen Polo) jostled with Andy Gossman (Goose Motorsport Volkswagen Polo) for the Class C win, and Kyle Petersen (Insurisk Volkswagen Polo) completed the podium.
Race 2 was aborted soon after the start following an incident that saw Philip Croeser (ATE Brakes) perched onto the tyre wall outside of Turn 1 while Gossman was beached in the sandtrap. The race was restarted after a significant delay to remove the stricken vehicles and clean up debris.
Wayne and Bevin Masters jostled for the Class A lead. However, after taking the position, Bevin retired. This saw Wayne Masters take the win from Dias, with Mydi Mfana (Performance Master Volkswagen Polo) joining them on the podium. Ferro beat Bertholdt to the Class X win. Mack had to work hard for his Class B win over Karodia, with Anthony Lessing (C-SOL Volkswagen Polo) taking the final podium spot. While Gossman did not make the restart, Tait had to fend off Petersen for the Class C win, with Dimitri Zapheriou (Insurisk Volkswagen Polo) third.
Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Rhema 2) won both DOE Formula Vee Partnered With CIM Lubricants races. He built a small gap over the runner-up battle in both races. Brandon Hills (Mangaza Racing Rhema 2) had the better of Theodore Vermaak (DOE Quality Parts Forza) on both occasions.
The Mobil 1 V8 Supercars saw Julian Fameliaris (Lube-Net Chevrolet Corvette) take both the GT Class wins. In Race 1, Warren Lombard (PepBoys Automotive Ford Mustang) took the runner-up spot, with Thomas Reib (Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina) in third. The latter pair traded positions in the second race.
In the GT2 Class, Antonie Marx (Chevrolet Corvette) beat Shaun Holtzhausen (959 Panelbeaters & Spraypainters Ford Falcon) and Auke Compaan (Hurricane Automotive Ford Mustang) in both races.
However, the standout performance came from the sole GTX Class campaigner, Terry Wilford (Fuchs Lubricants Ford Mustang). Opting to move to the class to test the new Dunlop slick tyres, he finished the first race fourth on the circuit. The second race saw him mix it up with the top trio and take the lead after the halfway mark. While it is a landmark first win for Dunlop Tyres in the series, it is also Wilford’s first race win in just under two years.
The Ferro Energia 111/GT Sports and Saloons and SuperHatch series were the weekend’s main attraction, particularly with the programme including the ATS Motorsport Zwartkops 200 endurance race. This 200km race, traditionally held at the Phakisa Freeway, was hosted at Zwartkops Raceway for the first time.
However, their weekend started with two eight-lap sprint races. The first of these involved Classes GT, A, B & X. George Economides (Wealth Avenue Volkswagen Golf Turbo) won the GT Class, with Dawie Olivier (International Race Supplies BMW E30) holding off Mark du Toit (Trans Africa Racing BMW Z4) for second place. Lucas Bezuidenhout (Pretoria Noord Toyota Lexus) beat Melanie Spurr (Car Care Clinic Volkswagen Golf) to the Class A honours, with Wayne Robb (Ford Focus 225 ST) third. Luigi Ferro (Ferro Energia Volkswagen Polo) took Class B from Michael Grobler (Pest Control Specialsts TBC) and Miguel Dias (PMD Transport Volkswagen Polo). Christopher Gerber (Executive Auto Spray Automotive Volkswagen Polo Vivo) won Class X from Vishva Govender (VMS Paint Honda Civic).
The second race saw classes C & D and the SuperHatch competitors. Wouter Roos (Car Care Clinic Volkswagen Polo) beat Elke van Vledder (ZIP Volkswagen Golf Mk1) in Class C, with Keegan Nathan (Nathan’s Motorsport Volkswagen Polo) further back in third. Rob Clark (Containerforce Self Storage Honda Ballade) took the Class D win from Roland Hopkins (Rietchard Scrap Metal Volkswagen Golf Mk2). Mark du Toit (Trans Africa Racing BMW Z4) won SuperHatch Class A from Ishmael Baloyi (Trans Africa Racing Honda Civic), while Selen Naidoo (Opel Corsa) beat Suman Moodley (Renault Clio 3 RS) in Class B. George Aldrich (Opel Corsa) was the sole Class T2 competitor.
The ATS Motorsport Zwartkops 200 turned into a war of attrition, with pole-sitter Economides in the GT class not even making it onto the grid after his Golf suffered engine damage on the way to his sprint race win. This left Olivier to lead the field away, followed by the Johan van der Vyver/Andre de Lange Devlaw Subaru. Unfortunately, the Subaru expired after eight laps, leaving Olivier with no real challenge on his way to a comfortable win. His closest rival until they made their pit stop was the Car Care Clinic Golf, shared by Elna Croeser and Melanie Spurr. A slightly slow pit stop when Spurr took over the driving duties dropped them down the order, but they recovered to fourth place at the flag. Their misfortune allowed Robb to take over at the head of Class A in the 111 category and second on the road. Grobler’s third place overall gave him the Class B win, while Clark took fifth and Class D honours.
Ferro teamed up with Wayne Masters in the Ferro Energia Polo. A late scare, when Masters pitted to have the left front wheel checked after picking up a vibration, was not severe, and they were able to head back onto the track, claiming sixth overall and second in Class B. The leading SuperHatch competitor, Baloyi, ended seventh ahead of Archer, the second GT category car over the line. Keegan Nathan and Mauro Da Luz brought their Volkswagen Polo home in ninth to take Class C with the second SuperHatch car, piloted by the father and son pairing of George and Francis Aldrich, rounding out the top ten.
The Index of Performance measures how closely the drivers stay to their ideal time throughout the race. Here, Clark took the honours from Olivier and Baloyi, with Robb and Grobler rounding out the top five.
The next round of the Regional Extreme Festival will see 2024’s second visit to Red Star Raceway outside Delmas on 11.-12 October. On this occasion, races will be contested around the anti-clockwise layout of the circuit. The National Extreme Festival roster will head to Killarney International Raceway in Cape Town this coming weekend (20-21 September), the same venue that hosted the season opener.
Issued by Brandsponential on behalf of Extreme Festival
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