What Extreme Festival 2024 Round 3 Preview
Where Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria
When Saturday 18 May 2024
Community South Africa National
Advantage Wolk, but anything can happen this weekend!
Robert Wolk’s South African Touring Cars rivals had better get cracking at Zwartkops if they are to prevent the Chemical Logistics WCT BMW 128TC driver from escaping to a premature title this year.
Two meetings into the season, the Johannesburg driver sits thirteen points clear of teammate, Julian van der Watt’s Investchem WTC Volkswagen Golf GTI TC. His closest outside rival, Saood Variawa’s Gazoo Toyota Corolla TC is nineteen points off the pace.
It’s a little closer in SATC SupaCup, where just a point separates Volkswagen Motorsport SupaPolo duo, the wily Jonathan Mogotsi and rookie Charl Visser in that title race. Keegan Campos’ Campos Transport Turn 1 Insurance SupaPolo is not too far behind, and it could have been far closer were it not for a Kyalami penalty. But watch out for Kyalami maiden winner Dominic Dias’ Chemi entry in SupaCup.
Getting back to the premier class action, Robert Wolk has also thumped his SATC advantage home by taking five of the six pole position and fastest lap bonus points so far in 2024. But then the Gazoo team’s Zwartkops home base is always a leveller, and Saturday should be no different.
Variawa has indeed won two of the season’s four races so far, with van der Watt and Wolk taking the other two. But Saood’s wins have been half-point reverse grid victories with Wolk close behind each time. Robert and Julian’s victories and second places were meanwhile full cream feature wins, in races where Variawa struggled.
Even more testing for the Gazoo team is rookie Anthony Pretorius’ privateer OMP LTR Toyota Corolla TC sitting a stunning championship fourth. Not to be underestimated, Pretorius is another product of Polo Cup, where he won a few races in that cauldron last year. His step up to South African Touring Cars has however been most impressive.
So much so that Pretorius has outscored his factory Toyota rivals, veteran Michael van Rooyen and another Polo Cup expat, Nathi Msimanga. Rookie, Andy Schofield returns to the wheel of his FlySafair Chemical Logistics BMW 128TC after he missed the previous round. He’s looking forward to more progress at Zwartkops this weekend.
Getting back to the SupaCup, the abovementioned quartet should make the running up front. But it won’t be too long before champion Bradley Liebenberg turns his Kyalami pole pace into race winning potential in the new Gazoo Toyota Sparco SupaStarlet. Bradley knows how to win. And he’s ready to show all those Volkswagens how to.
Others to watch for in SATC SupaCup include brothers Keegan Campos and Calvin Dias, Kalex lass Karah Hill, Cape lads David Franco’ Graphix Supply World SupaPolo and Tate Bishop’s Angri LTR machine, Tato Carello’s Carello Auto version, and Dean Venter VDN Auto M-Town entry.
It was explosive the last time that the South African Touring Cars visited the tight and twisty Zwartkops Raceway. Saturday’s National Extreme Festival races are once again more than likely to deliver edge of the seat thrills. Diarise it now!
Issued on behalf of South African Touring Cars
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