Summarize

Dunlop Tyres’ 2026 Extreme Festival racing season blasted off with a cracking Zwartkops Northern Regions meeting at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday. With four of the six categories racing exclusively on Dunlop Tyres and the other two categories also predominantly so shod, the ATS Dunlop Tyre Team was also at full pace as it supported a most entertaining day’s racing.

“It seems an eternity since we last raced at the end of 2025, so it was great to be back in action at Zwartkops,” Dunlop Tyres motorsport coordinator Nicole Stopforth explains. “The racing was worth the wait with great action across the board. Most competitors starting the season on fresh rubber kept our ATS Dunlop Tyre Team busy all weekend in  fun and electric atmosphere. Dunlop salutes our Pole Position Award winners, all the race winners and everyone who contributed to a truly great start to the season.”

Topping the action, Thomas Reib made his intentions crystal clear as he claimed the Dunlop Pole Position Award for the Dunlop V8 Supercars. Rieb then steered his Corvette to a compelling first race win from veteran Larry Wilford, who also raced the first ever V8 race 30 years ago, and Warren Lombard’s Mustang. Reib had to work harder for his second race win as he came from fifth to beat Sam Dahl’s Falcon and Franco di Matteo’s Mustang. Rieb thus takes an iron grip on the early championship with 51 points over Dahl and Larry Wilford on 39, with Lombard and Terry Wilford’s Mustang in pursuit. 

While experience reigned in the V8s, it was the youngsters who controlled the ATE VW Challenge. Class A rookie Josh Moore claimed the Dunlop Pole Position Award before fighting Anthony Lessing all the way through a thrilling first heat, with Chris Tait in close pursuit. Young debutant Keegan Nathan dominated Class B, while sophomore Stuart Konig overcame Bryce Pillay in Class C. Moore then dominated Race 2 from Lessing and Francis Aldrich, Nathan took Class B and Pillay held Konig off in the Brat Pack. So Moore takes a 7 point early championship advantage from Lessing  with Nathan a point further back from Pillay and Aldrich.

Saturday was the second round of the BMW M Performance Parts Series. Class A man  Anton Pommersheim wasted no time to grab the Dunlop Pole Position Award before clearing off to win both races from Sav Gualtieri and Lenard Archer in race 1, and Gualtieri and Bob Niell in the second. Ethan Coetzee and Bennie Luyt shared Class C and Alan Hilligenn and Craig Herbst  D honours. Andre van Vuuren, Ignus du Plessis and Reinhardt Miller all won both their non turbo Class B, C and D races. So Pommersheim provisionally leads the Turbo chase from Craig Herbst and Bennie Luyt, while Ignus du Plessis is ahead of the Non Turbo chase from Reinhardt Miller and Andre van Vuuren. 

Gert van der Berg sounded a warning by outqualifying double champion Lendl Jansen to claim the Dunlop Pole Position Award for the DOE Formula Vees partnered with CIM Fuel. Van der Berg then pulled a mighty final lap move to pounce on Jansen and Brandon Hills for the opening race win. Jaco Schriks was fourth from Peter Hills and Theodore Vermaak. Brandon Hills then overcame van der Berg and Jansen to take the second heat, with Peter Hills, Schriks and Vermaak next home. Which provisionally leaves Gert van der Berg in an early championship lead by four points over Brandon Hill, with Lendl Jansen another four adrift.

The Dunlop Tyres Team is already en route to Cape Town for Killarney’s National Extreme Festival season opener this coming Saturday 14 March. The Regional Festival returns for round 2 at Red Star Raceway near Delmas on Saturday 16 May.