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Third round of this year's championship will be headed by the ATS 200, a 200 km endurance race.
Anton Pommersheim (Eagle Granite M3 Turbo) could spray champagne after Saturday’s BMW M Performance Parts races. Photograph: Dave Ledbitter.
The Zwartkops Raceway outside Pretoria will host round three of this year’s Regional Extreme Festival Presented By Coca-Cola on Saturday, with the event to include one of inland competitors’ annual highlights.
The highlight in question will be the ATS Zwartkops 200, the season’s only endurance race for Ferro Energia 111 GT Sports and Saloon Cars.
The 200 kilometre race will include a mandatory three-minute pit stop, during which teams have to change at least one wheel on their cars, without the use of power tools.
The race has attracted 39 entries, with pre-event victory favourites to include Wouter Roos and Peet Visagie (Origen Oils Volkswagen Golf GTI), Mark du Toit (TAR BMW Z4), Ishmail Peck (National Motorsport BMW 130i), Piet Potgieter (Nathan’s Volkswagen Golf), Mike O’Sullivan (All Things Motoring Honda Ballade), Wayne Robb (Ford Focus ST) and Craig Priestley (Tactical Fluid Volkswagen Polo).
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Others to watch will include Melanie Spurr (Origen Oils Volkswagen Polo), Ishmael Baloyi (TAR Honda Civic), Louis Scholtz (Car Care Clinic Honda Ballade), Lenard Archer (ACD Welkom Hyundai Getz), Jonathan du Toit (TAR Honda Civic), Jonathan Visser (Auto Express Volkswagen Polo) and Shaun Vermaak/Strati Yannakis (Gapcon BMW M235i).
Heading up the supporting programme over two races each, the BMW M Performance Parts Series will be split in two categories due to the number entrants.
Topping the list in classes A, B and C should be people like Leon Loubser (Monaco Motors 335i), Renier Smith (M3 Turbo), Nek Makris (335i), Bob Neil (Delmon Mining M3 Turbo), Anton Pommersheim (Eagle Granite M3 Turbo), Andreas Meier (#CEC 318i STC), Carlo Garbini (Kimbo 328i Turbo) and Fabio Fedetto (M4).
Bernard de Gouveia (De Gouveia Accountants M3) should be the man to beat in the races for cars in Classes D, E and F.
He will face off against drivers like Dawie Olivier (International Race Supplies 330i), Gerhard du Plessis (Deep Civils M240i), Nick Naidoo (Waldans Cartage 1 Series M Coupe), Craig Herbst (The Blue Store 335i), Eugene Gouws (Master Mowers M3), Neil Reynolds (Valve Hospital 330i) and Andre Scheepers (Curvent 325i Turbo).
Wayne Masters (Performance Masters) should be the man to beat in the largely Polo campaigned ATE Volkswagen Challenge.
He will be chased by drivers like Jayden Goosen (Ferro Energia), Elna Croeser (ATE Brakes), Dean Ross (Norbrake), Ian Walker (Mellow Velo), and current championship leader Stuart Mack (AutoZone).
The Dunlop V8 Supercars should see current title leader Warren Lombard (Pepboys Automotive Ford Mustang) fighting to maintain a narrow points lead over Thomas Reib (Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina).
Others who could challenge for podiums should include Wayne Spicer (Wellness Group Jaguar XK8), Franco di Matteo (Di Matteo Jaguar XK8), Terry Wilford (Fuchs Ford Mustang), Ben Morgenrood (Morgenrood Auto Ford Mustang), Auke Compaan (CMI Lubricants Ford Mustang), Richard Fuller (PotAround Ford Falcon) and Steve Herbst (Prei Instrumentation Chevrolet Corvette).
The all-new Liqui Moly Super Vee category will kick off with a 21-car grid, led by drivers like Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza), Blane de Meilon (Lantis), Morgan Jacobs (Liqui Moly Stealth), Nick van der Westhuizen (N+W Stealth), Kanya Mahajana (Sting) and Mark Tucker (Forza).
With 26 drivers facing the starter, the DOE CIM Lubricants Formula Vee races should see ultra close spectacle, with top competitors likely to include title defender Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Rhema), Peter Hills (MXTwo Rhema), Gert van den Berg (DOE Parts Rhema), MD Bester (MXTwo Rhema), David Austin (DA Rhema), Anton van der Merwe (MonitorNet Rhema) and Vaughn Hills (MXTwo Rhema).
The Zwartkops gates will be open from 06h00, with racing to commence at 09h30.
Admission will cost R140 per adult and R100 per student, with kids under the age of 12 going in for free.
Food and drink will be on sale or you may take your own and you are welcome to set up camp and braai on the grass embankments.
Everybody is invited to visit the pits and the circuit’s Mini Moke trains will run between spectator areas and the pit gate throughout the day.
The full event programme will be available on the Extreme Festival Presented By Coca-Cola website closer to the weekend.
All relevant spectator information can also be accessed via the Extreme Festival Links page.
The day’s events will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.
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