Summarize

It’s a big week for Dunlop Tyres in South Africa. It starts with Thursday’s new SP Sport Maxx 060+ Ultra-High Performance Tyre launch at Killarney on the eve of the weekend’s penultimate National Extreme festival races at the Cape Town racetrack.

The new SP Sport Maxx 060+ represents the finest in Japanese ultra-high performance. Boasting an asymmetric tread pattern for excellent dry and wet grip and a special tread compound for enhanced control, longer life and exceptional high-speed stability, Dunlop will unleash its new tyres to the media at that ideal venue on Thursday. From there, Dunlop’s three top racing series will celebrate the arrival of SP Sport Maxx 060+ with fresh branding on all cars.

“There is no doubt that motorsport improves the breed and that’s one of the cornerstones of our broad involvement in motor racing,” Dunlop events manager Joanne De Freitas points out. “This weekend’s Extreme Festival races offer us the unique opportunity to both launch our new SP Sport Maxx 060+ Ultra-High Performance Tyre at Killarney, while also welcoming our new tyre to market right here at the racetrack.”

While the new SP Sport Maxx 060+ is primarily a road tyre, it draws directly from Dunlop’s vast racing experience to deliver dependable, reliable ultra-high performance. Race data from around the world is used in every aspect of engineering a road tyre and Dunlop’s race involvement in three of South Africa’s premier race formula, as well as in top regional classes, not only reinforces the brand, but better develops the tyres.

SA’s premier Global Touring Cars top Saturday’s Dunlop SP Sport Maxx 060+ celebration bill. Robert Wolk’s Toyota arrives in a handy championship lead over teenager Saood Variawa’s similar car. Another Toyota man, Michael van Rooyen won last time out, and Bradley Liebenberg will be keen to strike in his VW Golf 8 GTI. Two Cape Town heroes, Julian van der Watt’s Ford Focus and Andrew Rackstraw’s Audi S3 will be keen to impress. Toyota man Mandla Mdakane is out to continue his good form too.

It's youth versus experience in the all-Polo SupaCup, which races behind the GTCs. Teenager Leyton Fourie and old fox Jeffrey Kruger will continue their close title fight. Arnold Neveling, Keegan Campos, and home star Danie van Niekerk are out to impress too. Add VW duo Jonathan Mogotsi and Daniel Rowe, wildcard Regard Roets, JP van der Walt and Tato Carello. Nick Davidson, Rui Campos, Iain Pepper and Paul Luti fight for Masters’ glory.

Another top Dunlop-shod SA racing class is the CompCare Polo Cup. Cape fans will be backing four local young guns in that championship top six. Jurie Swart, teenagers Tate Bishop and Charl Visser and Franschhoek racer Giordano Lupini have turned this former bastion of Gauteng racing into a WP advantage. The locals will have to deal with PE lad Clinton Bezuidenhout, who leads Swart by a point overall, and Mbombela driver Dawie van der Merwe. Top Gauteng lad Nathi Msimanga is seventh in that title chase.

Dunlop awards each of the drivers who qualify on pole position in those three classes with a cash prize, while the overall winners in each class get a special Dunlop trophy too. All the Extreme Festival’s tyre needs are handled by Dunlop’s crack ATS Race Tyre Crew out of their mobile race workshop, while the Dunlop girls add a certain je nei sais quoi to any race weekend. 

Dunlop’s national classes are not its only South African track racing involvement. Dunlop supplies all the tyres for the Cape Alert Engine Parts GTi Challenge. That’s being fought out by the three class leaders, A man Jurie Swart, B lad Tate Bishop and C racer Chase Herholdt. Dunlop also supplies the Jozi Pabar VW Challenge with tyres. That’s also a fight between class leaders, Rory Atkinson in A, B racer Hannes Scheepers and Ian Walker in Class C. And Jeffrey Kruger and Thomas Falkiner are dicing for the Dunlop-shod Lotus Challenge title too.

All eyes however remain on Killarney this weekend, starting with Thursday’s Dunlop’s premier SP Sport Maxx 060+ tyre launch. Then it’s a spectacular Saturday of action where Dunlop’s top race drivers will celebrate the new tyre’s arrival while fighting it out for national championship glory in SA’s biggest track classes. Now that’s a winning start!