Experience unmatched drama at the Extreme Festival

The National Extreme Festival thrilled fans with intense racing action and drama at the balmy Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday, May 18.

Featuring South African Touring Cars backed by SupaCup, three rounds of Polo Cup, Extreme Supercars, Formula 1600 single-seaters, SunBet ZX10 Masters motorcycles and the Toyota Gazoo Cup, it was a day packed with excitement.

Nathi Msimanga led the first South African Touring Cars race from start to finish, but a jump-start penalty handed the win to title leader Robert Wolk in his BMW, followed by Michael van Rooyen in a Toyota, Julian van der Watt’s VW, Anthony Pretorius’s Corolla, Andy Schofield’s BMW and Msimanga after Saood Variawa’s Toyota retired. A dramatic opening lap of race 2 saw collisions between Msimanga and Variawa, and Pretorius and Wolk, resulting in retirements for Pretorius and Msimanga. Van Rooyen secured an easy heat and overall win, followed by Van der Watt, Schofield and the recovering Wolk and Variawa.

Jonathan Mogotsi claimed a lights-to-flag victory in the first SATC SupaCup race, ahead of Keegan Campos’s VW SupaPolo and Bradley Liebenberg’s Toyota SupaStarlet, with Charl Visser making a late move on Tate Bishop to take fourth. Campos won the second heat, with Mogotsi and Liebenberg completing the podium. Campos leveraged the recovering Touring Cars to overtake Visser for third, followed by Bishop, Jason Campos, David Franco and Karah Hill.

Stuart White dominated the opening Extreme Supercars race, driving his Lamborghini to an easy victory. GT3 winner Jono du Toit and Charl Arangies’s Mercedes-AMG GT3 disrupted a Lamborghini 1-2-3, with Xolile Letlaka fourth. Gianni Giannoccaro finished fifth in his Nismo GT-R, followed by Marius Jackson’s Audi R8, Class B winner Nicky Dicks’s Porsche and Class A winner Mark du Toit in another Lamborghini. White secured another effortless win in race 2, ahead of Jono du Toit, Arnold Neveling’s Audi R8, a recovering Arangies and Giannoccaro. Mark and Dicks again won their classes.

KZN’s Jason Loosemore triumphed in the first Astron Energy Polo Cup race, beating locals Mo Karodia, Ethan Coetzee, lady racer Tyler Robinson and PE’s Jeandre Marais. John Kruger won the Polo Masters, followed by Derick Smalberger and Wayne Masters. Nathan Victor led the second race from pole, with Karodia, Loosemore, Coetzee and VW rookie Kyle Visser in sixth despite a late safety car. Smalberger won the Polo Masters from Kruger, with Masters third. Loosemore took the final race, with Karodia passing Coetzee for second. Smalberger was fourth, followed by Roshaan Goodman, Rory Atkinson and Victor. Kruger won the Masters from Masters, with Smalberger taking overall honours as Loosemore won the Cup overall from Karodia and Coetzee.

Rookie Jagger Robertson continued his dominance in the Investchem Formula 1600, winning the restarted opening race from KC Ensor-Smith, Karabo Malemela, Jason Coetzee and Alex Vos. Robertson then made it a double with a close race 2 win over Ensor-Smith, taking control of the title chase. Siyabonga Mankonkwana finished third, followed by Vos, Malemela and Coetzee.

Clinton Seller extended his winning streak in the SunBet ZX10 Masters motorcycles to eight consecutive victories. Hein McMahon, Trevor Westman, Jason Lamb, Graeme van Breda, David Veringa, Johan le Roux, Keith Agliotti and others trailed behind. Seller continued his dominance in heat 2, winning ahead of McMahon, Lamb, Westman, Van Breda, Veringa, Byron Rathquel, Adriaan van Dalen and Agliotti.

Judd Bertholdt emerged as a double winner in the Volkswagen Rookie Cup, taking a hard-fought first race win from Dhivyen Naidoo and Jayden Goosen. After Goosen’s jump start penalty, Bertholdt was promoted to win the second heat from penalised Naidoo and Uzair Khan. Dawie van der Merwe remained unbeaten in five Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Cup races, winning over Setshaba Mashigo and Ryan Naicker. Sean Nurse again took Corolla GR Media honours, with Devon Scott winning the Yaris double.

The National Extreme Festival heads to its midwinter Eastern Cape stop at Aldo Scribante in Gqeberha on Saturday June 29. PE race fans, mark your calendars!

Source: MotorsportMedia