What Regional Extreme Festival Round 5 Report
Where Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria
When Saturday 24 June 2023
Community Gauteng Regional
Splendid racing thrills heats up chilly midwinter Pretoria
It may have been a cool midwinters Saturday, but Zwartkops’ Regional Extreme Festival racing action certainly warmed the hearts of an enthusiastic Pretoria crowd.
A thrilling day of Pabar VW Challenge racing was just one of the categories that kept fans on the edges of their seats. The first Class A race ran to qualifying form as Bevin led Wayne Masters, Rory Atkinson, Waldie Meintjes, Dean Ross, and Mike Barbaglia home. Behind them, Yotti Nousias beat Michael Zapheriou and Philip Croeser to the Class C victory. Racing alone, a huge 24 car field saw Ross Butt take a maiden Class B win from Karshin Naidoo, Ethan Coetzee, and Shiren Rajpaul.
Bevin Masters went on to make it a double as brother Wayne passed Rory Atkinson for third on the final lap of race 2. Yotti Nousias meanwhile kept Philip Croeser in check for the Class C double, before the second Class B heat proved the race of the day. That before the first two cars home, Hannes Scheepers and Ross Butt were penalised for on track misdemeanours to hand third lad home Ethan Coetzee the win from overall class winner Butt, Mo Karodia and Cherise Piazza-Musso.
Class A man Leon Loubser took an easy BMW M Performance Parts Racing Series opening heat win over William Einkamerer. Lorenzo Gualtieri kept Nek Makris and Andreas Meier in check en route to Class B honours, and Alan Hilligenn made Class C his own over Troy Cochran and Nicholas Fischer. Racing separately, Reinhardt Miller trotted to the Class D win from Neil Reynolds and Cobus Bohmer, while Arri van Heerden took Class E from Dewald Smith.
BMW Race 2 saw Leon Loubser do the double from Robert Nell and William Einkamerer. Lyle Ramsay took his turn to take a close B win from Nek Makris and Andreas Meier, and Hein van der Merwe beat Nicholas Fischer and Troy Cochran to Class C. George Economides emerged to take the second Class D and E race from Nicholas Herbst and Reinhardt Miller, as while Arri van Heerden and Dewald Smith repeated the Class D first heat outcome.
Lendl Jansen and Jaco Schriks struck back to take the opening DOE Formula Vee powered by CIM Lubri Fuel race from champion and resurgent last race winner Peter Hills. Eric Booyens was fourth from MD Bester, Shaun van der Linde, and sons Brandon and Vaughn Hills as Kyle Watt and Theodore Vermaak rounded out the top ten. Jansen and Schriks delivered another thriller in race 2, with MD Bester third from Brandon Hills, Kyle Watt, and Peter Hills. Theo Vermaak followed from Vaughn Hills, CF du Toit, and Marcel Blignaut.
Racing three times, Louis Scholtz’s Honda romped to the first Car Care Clinic 111 GT Sports & Saloons win from GT rivals, Phillip Meyer’s Porsche 924, George Economides’s Golf, Louis Cloete’s Beetle, Dawie Olivier in a BMW and Class X winner Regard van Zyl’s Alfa Romeo. It was closer as Scholtz did the double in race 2 from Economides, Cloete, Meyer, Olivier and van Zyl, before Cloete took the finale to clinch the day from Meyer, Olivier, Class A winner Piet Potgieter’s Golf, X winner van Zyl and Wouter Roos’ Golf. Wayne Lebotschy’s Golf won B, and Polo trio Mel Spur, Didi Matjila and Tiaan Esterhuysen took classes C and D, and E.
The Mozambican Kia Picanto Cup provided variety as two drivers shared each car over four heats. Paulo Collinson and Nico Banze beat Manuel Barbosa and Mauro Almeida, and Remi Guigue and Pedro Oliveira in heat 1. Collinson and Banze pipped Luis Moreira and Frederico Jonet and Marco Da Cunha and Rui Vilela in heat 2. Pedro Garcia and Silvio Coelho then took the third race from Da Cunha and Vilela, and Barbosa and Almeida. And Remi Guigue and Pedro Oliveira took the final from Luis Moreira and Frederico Jonet, and overall winners Collinson and Banze. They took the day from Da Cunha and Vilela, and Garcia and Coelho.
The Superhatch regulars shared the track with the Ben Morgenrood HRSA Youngtimers, as Karel Stols’ Etios stormed to the opening race win from Jonathan du Toit’s Civic, Francis Aldrich’s Corsa, and Honda duo Seten Naidoo and Dhiren Ganasen. Mike O’Sullivan‘s Ballade was best of the Youngtimers from Jannie van Rooyen’s Jetta and Brain Luyt’s Ballade. Race 2 delivered the same top three as Ganasen and Naidoo swapped places behind as O’Sullivan beat van Rooyen and Luyt to Youngtimers honours. Henry van Vledder’s Golf won Class X and Christiaan van Wyk’s Figo Class B.
While some classes will race elsewhere in between, the 2023 Regional Festival circus now takes a break before its annual away races will thrill Nelson Mandela Bay at the Aldo Scribante Racetrack in Gqeberha on Saturday 1 September.
Issued on behalf of Zwartkops Raceway
Photography by: Colin Windell
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