Regional Extreme season kicks off at a cloudy Zwartkops
The Extreme Festival Presented by Coca-Cola got its 2025 racing programme underway at an overcast Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday, 1 March. Despite threatening to fall all day, the rain stayed away until the day’s on-track action ended, much to the relief of the event officials, spectators and most of the competitors.
It was a case of the rookie challenging the master at the front of the ATE VW Challenge filed. 16-year old Jayden Goosen (Ferro Energia/ AA Certified Pre-Owned VW Polo) had to wait until half-distance before he found a way past one of the most experienced drivers in the field, Wayne Masters (Performance Masters VW Polo). Once in front, the youngster stayed there despite the wily Masters trying everything he knew to regain the lead. Judd Bertholdt (Sizanani Plastics VW Polo) had to settle for third. Defending overall and Class B champion, Stuart Mack (AutoZone VW Polo), made no mistake on his way to a comfortable class win ahead of Anthony Lessing (Csol VW Polo) and Francis Aldrich ( VaporWorx VW Polo). Adriaan de Beer (Ukwazi Engineering VW Polo) initially led the way in Class C, but succumbed to pressure from Mitch Coetzee (VW Polo) and had to be content with the runners-up spot, just a couple of car lengths adrift of Coetzee at the flag. Kyle Petersen (Insurisk VW Polo) completed the class podium.
Race 2 delivered more of the same, with Goosen and Masters spending the entire 10 laps of the race within a couple of metres of each other. Goosen again didn’t let the pressure from his vastly more experienced rival worry him and held on to take his second victory of the day by just over a third of a second. Bertholt again came home in third. Mack made it two from two in Class B, with Aldrich and Chris Davison (Generator Services Inc VW Polo) in second and third respectively. The Class C fight was again between Coetzee and de Beer, with Coetzee again taking the win. Series newcomer, Stuart Konig brought his Northern Bolt and Tool VW Polo home in third.
The DOE Formula Vee Partnered With CIM Lubricants brigade provided thrilling action with close, sometimes too close as evidenced by the number of damaged nose cones, throughout the field. Defending champion Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Rhema 2) led MD Bester (MXTwo Rhema 2) and Vaughn Hills (MXTwo Rhema 2) over the line in the first race, the trio separated by just over half a second. A couple of seconds back, Gert van den Berg (DOE Quality Parts & Start My Car Rhema 2) led the next trio from Peter Hills (MXTwo Rhema 2) and Shaun van der Linde (Truck City Boksburg Rhema 2), the three of them separated by just over a second.
Things were even closer in the second heat with Jansen leading the way from the start, but he couldn’t hold off the challenge from Bester and van den Berg, both of whom were missing nose cones. Bester took the win from van den Berg with the 2024 champion in third. Kyle Watt (MXTwo Rhema 2), whose first race was spoiled when he damaged his nose cone and had to pit for it to be removed, ended in fourth ahead of Vaughn Hills, who just got the better of Dad Peter. The top six were separated by less than one-and-a-half second this time.
The BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series delivered four action-packed races, with Classes A, B & C competing separately from Classes D, E & F
Bob Neill (Delmon Mining BMW M3 E92 Turbo) and defending class champion Leon Loubser (Monaco Motors BMW M3 E92 Turbo) continued trading the Class A wins in the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series. However, in Race 1, Niell’s win came after a last-corner racing incident between the pair, which left him with no place to go but into Loubser’s back, spinning the latter around. Fabio Fedetto (BMW F82 M4) racked up two further third places.
Nek Makris (BMW E46 335i) took his first Class B win of the season in Race 1, with the defending series and class champion Renier Smith (Fast development BMW E36 M3 Turbo) second. Andreas Meier (CEC BMW E46 335i completed the podium before taking the honours in Race 2 ahead of Smith and Makris.
It was a double win for Salvi Gualtieri (Savspeed BMW E36 328i Turbo) in Class C. Oz Biagioni (Bio Pool BMW E46 M3). and Reinhardt Miller (Amtec BMW E36 325i Turbo) completed the podium in Race 1, Hein van der Merwe (Savspeed BMW E36 328i Turbo) and Nishal Singh (Autonische BMW F80 M3) doing the same in Race 2.
In Class D, Bernard de Gouveia (De Gouveia Accountants BMW E46 M3) fended off Paulo Cavalieri (BMW E46 330ci Turbo) for the Race 1 win, while Michael Grobler (Pest Control Specialists BMW E46 328i) completed the podium in Race 1. In Race 2, the latter fended off Varish Ganpath (Grobler Motorsport BMW E92 335i) for the win, with De Gouveia third.
Claudio Jardim (Mixbox Automotive BMW E36 330i) took the first Class E for the day, from Wessel Mostert (M osco Specialised Contractors BMW E46 M3) and Eddie Rodrigues (BMW E46 330i). Rodrigues won Race 2. Karabo Malemela (NGK Pablo Clark Racing BMW E46 330i) crossed the line in second place but was found to have jumped the start, which resulted in a 30-second penalty added to his time. This promoted Mostert to second and Tihan van Rooyen (Van Rooyen Visions Centre BMW E82 125i).
On Friday, Shaun Dodd (Amtec) swapped to a BMW E82 130i after his BMW E36 328i suffered mechanical issues. He won the first Class F race from Justin Brown (Grobler Motorsport BMW E36 328i) and Caren Nienaber (V-Tek Motorsport BMW E30 325i). Although Dodd crossed the line first in Race 2, he was also found to have jumped the start, resulting in Brown taking his maiden win, with Dodd second and Ferdi van Staden (BMW E36 330i) third.
Warren Lombard got his quest for the 2025 Dunlop V8 Supercars championship underway by repeating his feats in the final round of the 2024 season back in November. There, the Pepboys Automotive Ford Mustang driver won the day’s first heat from pole position and he did exactly the same thing at the opening round this year. In a race that was cut short by one lap after Steve Herbst (Prei Instrumentation/ PPG Finishes/ QI Systems Chev Corvette) and Alan Ryan tangled at the final corner, Lombard was followed over the line by GTX class winner Ben Morgenrood (Ben Morgenrood Ford Mustang) with Thomas Reib (Café 9 Automotive Chevy Lumina) third on the road and second in the GT1 class. GT2 class winner Antonie Marx (Holden) was next up in fourth place ahead of Sam Dahl (ArcProTech Pty Ford Falcon). Auke Campaan (Hurricane Automotive Ford Mustang) rounded out the top six.
The entire grid was reversed for the second heat, with Wayne Spicer, in the Wellness Group Jaguar XKR formerly raced by multiple champion Mackie Adlem, leading the pack away. Reib was the quickest to find his way through the traffic with Lombard not far behind. Morgenrood wasn’t going to let them have things all their own way and moved into second place until Lombard again found his way past the veteran. At the flag, Reib took the win from Lomard and Morgenrood, who was again the leading GTX car. Dahl ended in fourth ahead of Spicer who took GT2 honours. Herbst was a few seconds back in sixth.
Lenard Archer piloted his (ACD Welkom Hyundai Getz) to a comfortable win in the opening SuperHatch race. He ended the race almost eight seconds ahead of Tyron Pillay (TPAS VW Golf 3) with Keagan Nathan (Nathan’s Motorsport VW Polo) rounding out the podium. Mark du Toit (Trans Africa Racing BMW) got the better of Melanie Spurr (Origen Oil VW Polo), who recovered from an early spin to finish fifth ahead of Ishmael Baloyi (Trans Africa Racing Honda Civic).
The second SuperHatch heat was combined with the first heat for Classes C, D and E of the Ferro Energia 111/GT Sports and Saloons. This time, Pillay took the honours from Spurr and Archer. Nathan had to settle for fourth ahead of Christopher Gerber (Executive Auto Spray VW Polo Vivo), who just got the better of Francis Aldrich (VaporWorx VW Polo).
In the Classes C, D and E of the Ferro Energia 111/GT Sports and Saloons opening race, most of the leading contenders, Mike O’Sullivan (All Thing Motoring International Honda Ballade), Spurr, and Chris Smit (Merx /Toptrans Porsche 944) all went quicker than the Class C breakout time, leaving Pillay to take the Class C win from Archer and Nathan. Christopher Tait (Sportex VW Polo) claimed the Class X win.
The opening heat for the GT, A and B classes of the Ferro Energia 111/GT Sports and Saloons category was run as a standalone race. At the front of the field, George Economides (Wealth Avenue Volkswagen Golf Turbo) and Mark du Toit (Trans Africa Racing BMW Z4) fought for the win, with Economides taking it by slightly over half a second. Marnus du Plessis (Forklift Mining & Spares Nissan Primera) took third. Wayne Robb (Ford Focus 225 ST) edged Wouter Roos (Origen Oil VW Golf) to take Class A, with Lindsay Clur (Nathan’s Motorsport VW Golf) in third while Shaun Vermaak (Hands-On Poperties – Gapcon Developments BMW F22 235i) took Class B after Wayne Lebotschy (Shield VW Golf) experienced problems late in the race.
In the second heat, where all of the classes were combined, Economides again led the GT class from du Toit and du Plessis. Robb was comfortably ahead of Roos and Lucas Bezuidenhout (Pretoria Noord Toyota Lexus IS 200) in Class A, with Lebotschy winning Class B from O’Sullivan and Smit. Pillay again got the better of Archer to claim Class C. Class D went to Gerber with Tait again leading the way in Class X.
The Extreme Festival Presented by Coca-Cola now heads south to Cape Town, where the opening round of the national series will take place at Killarney International Raceway on 7 & 8 March. The next outing for the regional roster will be at the double header Extreme Festival at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit on 10-12 April.
The post Regional Extreme season kicks off at a cloudy Zwartkops appeared first on Zwartkops Raceway.