Summarize

Zwartkops Raceway’s National Extreme Festival crowned the bulk of South Africa’s Dunlop-shod National circuit racing champions on Saturday, drawing the curtain on a fiercely contested 2026 campaign.

Julian van der Watt claimed the premier South African Touring Cars title, Jason Loosemore sealed SATC SupaCup, Aqil Alibhai took the Investchem MSA4 championship, and Charl Arangies wrapped up Extreme Supercars driven by Dunlop honours. Sebastian Dias was crowned Volkswagen Rookie Cup champion, joining Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Cup winners Kobus Reynecke, Devon Scott, and Nabil Abdool in the Dunlop winners' circle.

“Dunlop proudly salutes our 2026 National Extreme Festival champions,” Dunlop Tyres Marketing Manager Joanne de Freitas confirmed. “It has been an exceptional, but at times very tough and demanding season of racing. Huge congratulations to Julian, Jason, Aqil, Charl, and Sebastian, as well as Kobus, Devon, and Nabil on your titles won on Dunlop tyres. Every team, driver, and technician has done us proud, and we thank the entire paddock for an unforgettable year of racing.”

Keegan Campos started the Dunlop-shod South African Touring Cars weekend on the front foot, putting his BMW 128ti on Dunlop Pole Position to take the Award before storming to an emphatic Race 1 victory over Toyota Corolla duo Jason Coetzee and Michael van Rooyen. Van der Watt played the long game in his Volkswagen Golf, holding on to grab the reversed-grid Race 2 win from van Rooyen and Campos. That was more than enough to secure van der Watt his maiden SATC Drivers' Championship, while outgoing champion van Rooyen took the overall day.

In SATC SupaCup, Jason Loosemore was completely dominant in his Volkswagen SupaPolo. Loosemore grabbed the Dunlop Pole Position Award and converted it into a clean sweep of both race wins ahead of Rory Atkinson, Judd Bertholdt, and David Franco to seal both the round victory and the 2026 SupaCup championship in emphatic style.

Extreme Supercars driven by Dunlop brought its 2026 season to its conclusion in Pretoria. Charl Arangies took the opening heat in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 to put the overall championship beyond reach. Outgoing champion Jonathan du Toit fought back brilliantly in his Lamborghini Huracan GT3 to claim both Race 2 and Race 3 and take overall honours on the day, but Arangies did enough to lift the crown. Karah Hill swept Class A in third in her Audi R8, while Shayur Harpal took Class B in his Porsche 911 GT3.

Investchem MSA4 delivered a dramatic championship finale. Aqil Alibhai dominated Race 1 after claiming the Dunlop Pole Position Award, heading home principal title rival Mikel Bezuidenhout. The drama escalated in Race 2 when the two championship protagonists collided into Turn 4 on lap five, sidelining Bezuidenhout. Alibhai kept his cool to fend off Guido Bidoli, taking the heat win and officially securing the 2026 Investchem MSA4 title. Nicholas van Weely swept the board in Formula Kent.

The Dunlop-shod Volkswagen Rookie Cup was another duel that went down to the wire. Sebastian Dias controlled Race 1 from the front to win from Luke Hill, before Sebastian Venkov took Race 2 ahead of Keyaan Dwomoh and Dias. Dias’ third place was enough to secure the championship and earn a factory-supported Volkswagen drive for 2027, while Venkov took the round victory on aggregate.

Toyota Gazoo Racing SA Cup delivered three worthy champions. Reagile Mailula swept the GR86 class to score a breakthrough maiden main-circuit victory, but Namibian Kobus Reynecke did enough to clinch the GR86 championship. Devon Scott won the Dealer Challenge to wrap up the Corolla class title, while already-crowned Media Challenge champion Nabil Abdool stamped his authority in his GR Yaris with another dominant double victory.

While the majority of the National titles were wrapped up at Zwartkops, the Dunlop-shod Astron Energy Polo Cup must wait for its champion. Christopher Tait snatched the Dunlop Pole Position Award in Friday's Superpole shootout, but Hannes Scheepers and rookie Mauro Da Luz shared Saturday’s race wins. Scheepers took overall round honours by under a second from Da Luz, extending his lead over Charl Smalberger to 42 points. 

Scheepers needs just two points to secure the title at the Kyalami 9 Hour finale. Wayne Masters and Derick Smalberger shared the Polo Masters wins, with Smalberger taking the day overall to also leave the veteran chase wide open for Kyalami.

Dunlop now prepares to crown its final 2026 circuit champions at the Kyalami 9 Hour on 13–14 November, while the regional titles will be decided at Zwartkops’ Northern Regions finale on Saturday 7 November.