Saturday (18 May) will see the National Extreme Festival tour’s first 2024 appearance at Zwartkops Raceway, the home of the Extreme Festival. Eight national categories will head up the entertainment around the Pretoria-based circuit.
Former double champion Robert Wolk (Chemical Logistics BMW 128ti) will start the third round of this year’s South African Touring Cars Championship with 57 points and a 13-point advantage over Julian van der Watt (Chemical Logistics Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI). The defending champion, Saood Variawa (Toyota Gazoo Racing Corolla), is just five points adrift, setting up a battle that will consist of all three manufacturers participating in the series. While Wolk and Van der Watt have a Race 1 win each, Variawa has won both the second races from the first two rounds.
2024 debutant Anthony Pretorius (OMP / Lee Thompson Racing Toyota Corolla) will also be a driver to watch for. Particularly in the previous round at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, he has looked menacing at the front of the field, and a maiden podium could well be on the cars at Zwartkops Raceway. The weekend will also see the return of Andrew Schofield to the grid, after former three-time champion Michael Stephen substituted for him in FlySafair BMW 128ti at Round 2.
Behind the South African Touring Cars pack, the SATC SupaCup battle will continue. Jonathan Mogotsi, with 62 points, leads his Volkswagen Motorsport SA Polo SupaCup teammate, the reigning Polo Cup champion Charl Visser, by a single point. The pair shared the wins in the season opener, while third place Keegan Campos (Campos Transport / Turn 1 Insurance Brokers Polo SupaCup) is still winless in 2024 but trails the leaders by only eight points.
Defending champion Brad Liebenberg, in sixth place, is the sole non-Volkswagen Polo SupaCup competitor. With 2024 being the debut season of the Toyota Gazoo Racing Starlet SupaCup, he is eager to give the manufacturer their first win at their home circuit.
As part of the SATC SupaCup, Roberto Franco and Andre Bezuidenhout are tied on 43 points in the Masters battle.
The Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop field will compete in their fourth round of the 2024 season. This is the only category to have raced at Zwartkops Raceway earlier this year which they did when they got their championship underway at the Passion for Speed event. There, Jonathan du Toit (Trans Africa Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO) and Franco Scribante shared the wins, but Stuart White (Into Africa Racing/Sparco SA Lamborghini Huracan), who joined the series at the second round in Cape Town, has proved to be a force to be reckoned with, taking both heat wins in the last round at Kyalami. 2023 Champion Charl Arangies should make his return to the championship at Zwartkops in his Stradale Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT3 and, based on past performance, should be right up with the leaders. Others who could feature close to the front of the field include Xolile Letlaka (Into Africa Racing/Sparco SA Lamborghini Huracan) and Arnold Neveling in his Goscor/Bobcat Audi R8 GT3.
The Astron Energy Polo Cup will also dish up a host of fierce rivalries. Nathan Victor (Summit Racing) and Jason Loosemore (Security Fencing & Alarms) shared the all-Volkswagen Polo GTI category wins in the first two rounds. Respectively, they have 76 and 73 points to their names. Ethan Coetzee (JRT Racing Experience) and Mohammed Karodia (Fast 5 Motorsport) will also look to add to their podium finishes.
Reigning Volkswagen Rookie Cup champion Kyle Visser (Volkswagen Rookie Cup) is the highest-ranked season debutant and will be searching for his maiden podium.
Wayne Masters (AlphaESS), with 80 points, enjoys a 16-point advantage over Derick Smalberger (Sabertek) after his double win in Round 2. John Kruger (Habot Oils), who won both races in the season opener, will look to play catch-up to the leaders.
Unlike the other categories on the roster, the Astron Energy Polo Cup will have three races for this round.
The Gazoo Racing South Africa Cup will add more single-manufacturer tin-top excitement to the programme. This will be the third championship round for the GR 86 and GR Corolla classes and the second for the GR Yaris class, with the latter rebranded at Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit to incorporate the Toyota South Africa dealer network.
Dawie van der Merwe is yet to be beaten in the GR 86 class and has accumulated 28 points, nine clear of second-placed Niko Zafiris. Dylan Pragji had two trips to the podium in the previous outing, while Setshaba Mashigo will look to make a return to it following a challenging second outing. Defending champion Sa’aad Variawa will make his first appearance of 2024.
Like Van der Merwe, GR Corolla class leader Sean Nurse will also aim to continue his unbeaten run in 2024. Alex Shahini, with 15 points, moved into second place on the points table following Hannes Visser’s horrific incident at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Third-placed Visser will, however, be back to add to his 14 points.
Paul De Vos won both the previous GR Yaris class races, giving him 14 points. However, Mario de Sousa, Johann Snyman and Andries de Villiers are the only drivers from that round on the entry list. They will be joined by Devon Scott and Theo Brits this weekend.
The Investchem Formula 1600 Championship will be the sole single-seater category on the programme. After two rounds, season debutant Jagger Robertson (Liqui Moly / Sparco) has 33 points and heads up the championship. Robertson won both the Round 2 races and is four points clear of Klayden Cole Ensor-Smith (African Heating). The latter is the only driver in the top four still searching for his first win.
Jason Coetzee (DAW Racing / Mint Wrapworks / Fuchs Lubricants) and Shrien Naidoo (Production X) will look to return to their victorious ways from the season opener. Coetzee trails Ensor-Smith by two points, while Naidoo is eight adrift.
Unlike the previous two rounds, the Investchem Formula 1600 brigade will not be joined by the Formula Ford Kent field at Zwartkops Raceway.
The SunBet ZX-10R Masters Cup will be the sole two-wheel category on the programme, with this being their fourth round. Clint Seller (King Price Extreme Kawasaki ZX10) has dominated the category this year and has yet to be beaten, opening up a 58-point lead at the top of the overall championship standings over Trevor Westman (Project 60 Kawasaki ZX10). AJ Venter and Damion Purificati are next up on the championship log but will both miss this round. Both of them are in Europe, Venter concentrating on preparation for the Isle of Mann TT and Purificati supporting wife Nicole as she gets her FIM Women’s Circuit Racing World Championship challenge underway.
Hein McMahon (K9 Law Enforcement/X-pro Security Solutions Kawasaki ZX10) is next up, just ahead of defending champion Graeme van Breda (Stefanutti Stocks Kawasaki ZX10), who leads the Grand Masters class. Van Breda is just a point ahead of Veterans class leader Jayson Lamb (Tyremart East London/Max-4 Cars Kawasaki ZX10). While nothing is ever certain in motorsport, the SunBet ZX-10R Masters Cup is guaranteed to provide spectacular action.
After being the only Extreme Festival category not featuring at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit, the Volkswagen Rookie Cup will enter its second round this weekend. Dhivyen Naidoo won both races at Killarney International Raceway and will look to build on his 20 points. Jayden Goosen is five points adrift, with Judd Berthold, Josh Moore and Uzair Khan also in the running. Their driving coaches, Daniel Rowe and Matt Merton will join these drivers on the circuit.
Saturday’s 15-race programme starts at 10:05. Spectator tickets can be purchased at the Zwartkops Raceway entrance gate or by emailing info@zwartkops.co.za. The full race day will also be broadcast live on https://extremefestival.co.za/live/
Issued by Brandsponential on behalf of Extreme Festival
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