Female competitors stole the spotlight at the Pellie Smith Circuit Festival at Potch Dam on November 7, with two relatively new all-female teams claiming the top two positions in the Stock Standard class.

The event, which marked the final North West powerboat race of the 2026 season, saw top competitors from Gauteng’s Zodiac Club and North West’s High Performance Boat Club (HPBC) go head-to-head for honours.

Hosted by the Potch Dam Boat Club, with Mega Theron Motor Group as the main sponsor, the festival delivered plenty of excitement, speed and nail-biting racing.

In the Stock Standard class, Senshe Smith and Chante-Ze Muller of team ByeBoys, competing in boat S 777, claimed first place. Katy Ann Marais and Carly Saaijman in boat S 888 followed closely in second place.

The well-known father-and-son combination of Edwin and William Butler, representing team Butler Boys in boat S 24, secured third place despite experiencing engine problems.

There was also plenty of action in the faster classes, with Side Quest’s West-Lee Taylor and Chanté-Lize Jonck in boat S 83 showing impressive speed during practice, alongside the experienced Cloete brothers of Reinke Besproeiing in boat S 19.

Unfortunately, Side Quest’s race came to an early end after a co-pilot fell overboard during the first heat. The second heat also saw a collision involving boats S 888 and S 138, driven by young development racer Lian Louw.

In the Pro Stock class, Kobus van Biljon and Lucan Rudman of team Eleksol in boat 28 delivered an outstanding performance to take the victory.

Dieds Fourie and Carlo Boshoff made an impressive Pro Stock debut, finishing second, while Marais and Nicole Engelbrecht in boat 38 claimed third place. Protea racer Jean Louw and Ashley Butler finished fourth after experiencing engine difficulties.

The Modified class was won by Calvin Marais and Timothy Walker in boat M 88, followed by Paul Meyer and Adrian Bosman in boat M 76.

Jonathan Schmid and Brandon Dos Santos in boat M 35 secured third place despite suffering engine failure after winning the opening heat.

The event was attended by Christo de Jager, president of Powerboat Racing South Africa (PBRSA), while Lisbe Louw, president of the North West Powerboat Association, served as Assistant Officer of the Day (Assistant OOD).

In a major upset, Gauteng claimed the overall club victory over North West for the first time in three years, bringing the province’s 2026 racing season to an exciting close.