Summarize

Until Saturday’s Aldo Scribante Extreme Festival round, former British Formula 4 driver Aqil Alibhai and 2025 series runner up Mikel Bezuidenhout had shared out the eight previous 2026 Investchem MSA4 single seater races, four apiece between them across the four previous rounds. Alibhai however broke the tie at the Gqeberha round, but Bezuidenhout was second each time to keep the chase wide open between the two.

Alibhai started the weekend on the front foot with pole position alongside an impressive effort by Kokoro teammate Chase Haskins on the front row of the grid in his CloudCTO version. Mikel Bezuidenhout’s Huawei MSA4 sat inside of the second row next to Guido Bruno Bidoli’s FAST entry. On form young lady driver Anastasia Gerasis’ Apex Cordsets car shared the third row with another surprise further up the grid than may have been expected in Aadam Kajee and his 76 Legacy WORR machine.

He kept regular frontrunners, WORR teammate Renzo Ribeiro’s Metal Used car, Kent Swartz Production X lad Shrien Naidoo and Karabo Malemela’s KMFT Morita car on the fourth and fifth row. Wianko Fourie, Gianna Pascoal, Liam Polome’s 76 Legacy WORR entry, Red Dot Vantage Ndzalo lad and Khoza and Chemical Logistics lass Simphiwe Mohlahlo closed off the grid.

Aqil Alibhai made no mistakes off the start, while Mikel Bezuidenhout, Renzo Ribeiro and Aadam Kajee all made up places after Haskins and Bidoli tangled early on to exit left. None of the survivors would bother Alibhai up front, however, but Liam Polome made up four places through the race to end up fifth ahead of Shrien Naidoo, who passed Anastasia Gerasis en route. Kent Swartz followed from Wianko Fourie ahead of Karabo Malemela, who topped a fine dice for the lesser placings from Gianna Pascoal, Ndzalo Khoza and Simphiwe Mohlahlo. 

Alibhai made a clean start to once again lead race 2 from lights to flag from Bezuidenhout. Bidoli kept out of trouble this time to take third. Behind them, Anastasia Gerasis drove a fine race to find a way past Chase Haskins on her way to fourth ahead of Kent Swartz and Shrien Naidoo. Karabo Malemela enjoyed another tussle with Liam Polome, this time for eighth, while Ndzalo Khoza reshuffled the order at the back to pass Mohlahlo and Pascoal on the final lap after Ribeiro, Kajee and Fourie did not start.

Overall, Alibhai took the day from Bezuidenhout while Anastasia Gerasis became the first lady driver to stand on an Investchem MSA4 podium in third. Anastasia follows the likes of 1976 Formula Ford Champion and driver to Europe winner Desiree Wilson, ’75 third placed racer Judy Witter Charlton, Glenda Mann, and a handful of other South Africans of the fairer sex to impress in single seaters over the years. 

Alibhai meantime consolidated his title advantage over Bezuidenhout, but it’s certainly still all to play for. Investchem MSA4 now heads to Cape Town for the Killarney International Raceway’s penultimate sixth round National Extreme Festival on Saturday 19 September.