Superb racing despite blustery conditions at Killarney Raceway
Formerly known as the Cape Southeaster Races, Killarney International Raceway’s traditional season-opening mid-March National Championship Extreme Festival lived up to every expectation with brilliant motorsport on a windy autumn afternoon.
Leading the pack, Robert Wolk and his BMW started the new South African Touring Cars era stylishly with a comfortable victory in the feature race over Nathi Msimanga’s Toyota, Julian van der Watt’s Golf, and Anthony Pretorius’ Corolla, following a collision between Toyota teammates Saood Variawa and Michael van Rooyen. This positioned them on the front row for the reverse grid race 2, where Variawa moved ahead of van Rooyen. Overall winner Wolk nearly caught them before time ran out, with Van der Watt finishing fourth.
In the background, rookie Polo Cup champion Charl Visser made a remarkable start to his Volkswagen Motorsport SupaCup career by fending off Keegan Campos for a debut SATC SupaCup victory. Jonathan Mogotsi came third, followed by Tate Bishop, David Franco, and VW refugee champion Brad Liebenberg in his new Toyota SupaStarlet. Mogotsi reversed the order in the second race, leading Campos to the finish line, with Visser fourth and Liebenberg following suit, concluding in the same order overall in a promising debut for the new Toyota.
Qualifying his Lamborghini Huracán on pole, Stuart White, a South African international GT3 racer, dominated the field in the first race of the Extreme Supercars Driven By Dunlop. Franco Scribante’s Porsche came in second, followed by Jonathan du Toit, Arnold Neveling’s Audi R8 GT3, and Dayne Angel’s Ferrari 458. Scribante outperformed White in heat 2, with du Toit, Silvio Scribante’s Huracán, and Neveling following suit. Franco Scribante secured another win in the final race, with White, Neveling, Du Toit, and Silvio Scribante finishing behind. White, however, did enough to clinch the day’s victory over Scribante.
Despite none of the largest Astron Energy Polo Cup grid ever having won before, Nathan Victor, leveraging his local knowledge, secured a lights-to-flag maiden win, holding off Jason Loosemore’s challenges. Mo Karodia managed to fend off the best rookie, Kyle Visser, for fourth place, followed by Ethan Coetzee and Jeandre Marais.
John Kruger came from the back of the over-50 Masters grid to claim victory over Wayne Masters. Loosemore narrowly defeated Victor in a photo finish in heat 2, with Karodia, Coetzee, Visser, and Marais following. Kruger secured victory again in the Masters category.
Hailing from Durban, Shrien Naidoo secured his maiden Investchem Formula 1600 victory, with KC Ensor Smith and Jason Coetzee trailing behind. Nicholas van Weely secured third place in a fierce battle, followed by Alex Vos, rookie pole man Robertson, and Ewan Holtzhausen. Duncan Vos led the Formula Ford Kent race, with Rick Morris, Ron van Weely, and Allen Meyer following. Coetzee emerged victorious in the second Formula 1600 race, with Robertson, Naidoo, Ensor Smith, and local lad Storm Lanfear close behind. Ian Schofield claimed victory in the second Kent race.
Clinton Seller dominated the opening SunBet ZX10 Masters motorcycle race, with Allan Jon Venter and Trevor Westman securing second and third, respectively. David Enticott finished fourth, followed by Hein McMahon and Class B winner Graeme van Breda. At the same time, Johan Le Roux clinched Class C. Seller continued his dominance in race 2, followed closely by Westman and Venter. McMahon finished fourth, followed by Jayson Lamb and Brian Bontekoning in Class C and Piers Canute in Class B.
In the Volkswagen Rookie Cup race, Dhivyen Naidoo secured victory in a close battle with former karting rivals Jayden Goosen and Judd Berthold, followed by Uzair Khan and Josh Moore. Naidoo repeated his success in the second race, with Berthold, Goosen, and Moore trailing behind. Goosen claimed second place for the day, followed by Berthold.
Dawie van der Merwe, a Polo Cup refugee, claimed victory in the debut Gazoo Racing Toyota GR86 Cup, with karting graduate Niko Zafiris, Setshaba Mashigo, and Dylan Pragji following suit. Sean Nurse emerged victorious in the GR Corolla Media Cup, with Hannes Visser finishing a distant second. Van der Merwe continued his dominance in race 2, with Mashigo, Zafiris, and Ryan Naicker following suit, while Nurse secured another victory in the media cup.
The National Extreme Festival heads to the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit for a three-day event from April 11 to 13. Make sure to mark your calendars for this blockbuster weekend!
Source: MotorsportMedia
Photos: Abri de Bruyn/Cloudnr9
