After a two-month break, the downhill portion of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series is set to commence this coming weekend (7-8 August) at the Aldo Scribante Raceway, with Anton Pommersheim the leader, but not the driver in dominant form.
This will be the first time that the Series will visit Gqeberha since the 2023 season, as part of the Extreme Festival’s rotation policy for annual coastal rounds.
Pommersheim is also the driver with the points advantage in Class A. In the first two rounds, he only lost out on three potential points. However, saw him bag only two podiums and barely scrape into classification twice. In those rounds, Lee Thompson started his 2026 campaign and took all but one point. This sees Thompson now trailing Pommersheim by 19 points, still a sizeable margin, but the odds are slightly tipped in Thompson’s favour ahead of the weekend. Between these two, Thompson is the one with many years of experience at the circuit in a variety of cars. For Pommersheim, this will be his maiden outing at the Gqeberha circuit. With Bob Neill missing this round, Leon Loubser is the other Class A driver entered for the weekend, one of the stars from 2023.
And with only three entries, this is where Pommersheim’s other problem lies. The Series’ regulations stipulates that full points will only be awarded for five or more entrants per class. Pommersheim’s battle will not only be against his immediate rivals, but also against drivers in other classes.
Well, Class B not so much, where Renier Smith is leading, but will also be absent on the weekend. It is very likely that Ethan Coetzee will surpass him, while Lenard Archar and Wessel Mostert will also look to do the same. This class will also see the sole local competitor to compete in the Turbo Cup, Dean Ball, whose sole BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series outing was in 2024. Like with Class A, they will also not be entitled to a full allocation of points. Apart from Ball, a regular in the Algoa Motorsport Club regional championship races, Coetzee and Archer both have extensive knowledge at the circuit, obtained in other categories, while this will be Mostert’s first outing.
It is in Class C where Pommersheim’s concerns will start. Bennie Luyt trails him by 15 points, while leading Anand Naidu by three points in the class. Reinhardt Miller, who will focus on his Turbo Cup campaign this weekend, trails the latter by seven points. Former leader Oz Biagioni is tied on points with Miller, while fifth-placed Hein van der Merwe is set to miss the weekend. Nicky Dicks and Varish Ganpath will certainly look to make up ground in his absence. Also in action will be Kyan Boodaya, the only driver in class due for his maiden outing at the circuit, while Dicks is the only other driver not to have raced in the previous BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series outing.
An ever bigger threat for Pommersheim will be in Class D, where the leader, Michael Grobler, trails him by only six points. Grobler has a nine-point lead over Eugene Gouws, scheduled to miss this round, with the latter four points ahead of Craig Herbst. He leads Johan Miller, the only driver with prior experience at the circuit, by six points. Miller leads Gerald Anthony by one point. Also in action will be Gerhard du Plessis, Narser Ismail, Sayen Moodley, and Shriyav Naidu.
Saturday’s first race, consisting of 10 laps, will start at 11:45, with the second 12-lap encounter scheduled for 14:55. 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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