Summarize

It may have been grey at Red Star Raceway on Saturday morning, but the Northern Regions Extreme Festival presented by Coca-Cola certainly lit things up through the day. The National Investchem MSA4s joined regular Gauteng classes, the Dunlop V8 Supercars, ATE VW Challenge. BMW M Performance Parts Series, the DOE Formula Vees and ACD Welkom 111s  to deliver great racing across the board. 

It was action all the way as title rivals Warren Lombard’s Mustang, Thomas Reib’s Lumina and Terry Wilford’s Mustang lined up at the head of the Dunlop V8 Supercars grid. Lombard made good of the advantage to thunder home to that opening race win from Reib, Wilford, Sam Dahl’s Mustang and GT2 winner Auke Compaan’s Jaguar. But Terry Wilford turned the tables to take the second race from Lombard and Reib, with Dahl veteran Larry Wilford in pursuit.

Investchem MSA4 treated the regional crowd to some great racing. Championship rivals, KC Ensor-Smith, and Mikel Bezuidenhout shared out the two race wins. Ensor-Smith managed to keep Renzo Ribeiro between him and Bezuidenhout in the opening race, while Rick Morris took the old school Formula Ford Kent class win. Bezuidenhout then took the second heat from Ensor-Smith and Karabo Malemela. That sees the title down to the wire at the 24 October Zwartkops finale, while Ian Schofield took the Kent win.

Jayden Goosen sliced his way from the back to win a humdinger of a first ATE VW Challenge race from Anthony Lessing, Ian Walker, and Wayne Masters. Stuart Mack had to deal with Class B by newcomer Mauro da Luz and Francis Aldrich and Class C was all about log leader Adriaan de Beer from title rival Bryce Pillay and Kyle Petersen. Goosen passed fast starter Lessing to take the second heat as Mack won Class B from da Luz and Jonathan Konig. But there was drama in Class C. Pillay took the flag but was later placed behind de Beer on a robust overtake to see the title down to the wire between de Beer, Mack, and Pillay.

The Loureiros returned to the BMW M Performance Parts Series Class A, B and C spat in style as Rick beat Paulo and Leon Loubser to the opening race win. Renier Smith took Class B from Lenard Archer and Andreas Meier, and Hein van der Merwe won Class C from Bennie Luyt and Salvi Gualtieri. Rick then did the double from Loubser and Paulo Loureiro as Smith took the B win from Archer and Ethan Coetzee and Reinhardt Miller turned the C tables on van der Merwe and Gualtieri .

Bernard De Gouveia took the opening BMW Class D, E and F race from Troy Cochran and Johan Miller, where Eddie Rodrigues won Class E from Phillip Emmenis, Ignus du Plessis and Philip Mostert Jr. won Class E from Zeyad Ismail and Mike Grobler. Andre van Vuuren then beat De Gouveia and Gerald Anthony to the second race win as Rodrigues beat Tihan van Rooyen and Claudio Jardim to Class E and Henry Platt won Class F from Grobler and Ismail.

Gert van den Berg beat Lendl Jansen and form man Theodore Vermaak to the opening DOE Formula Vee race powered by Lubri Fuel, followed by Kyle Watt and the family, Vaughn, Peter and Brandon Hills. Vermaak once again proved that form with the second race win over van den Berg, Jansen, Watt, and dad Peter ahead of sons Vaughn and Brandon Hills as van den Berg took the day from Jansen and Vermaak.

Jared Rossouw drove his SupaPolo to a double win over champion Wouter Roos’ Golf in the ACD Welkom 111 race with Class A winner Wayne Robb’s Focus also ahead of Piet Potgieter’s Golf and Lindsey Clur’s X Golf both times. Wayne Lebotschy’s Golf and Mike O’Sullivan’s Ballade shared the B wins; Keegan Nathan did the Class C double in his Polo and Ishmael Baloyi’s Civic and Mark du Toit’s BMW shared the Superhatch victories. 

The Northern Regions Extreme Festival presented by Coca-Cola comes to a head in a traditionally fiery week at Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria. Sounds like the place to be on Saturday 8 November!