What Extreme Festival 2024 Round 5 Preview
Where East London Grand Prix Circuit
When Saturday 27 July 2024
Community South African National Championship
Extreme racing to celebrate a 90-year GP Circuit milestone
2024 is a significant year for the East London Grand Prix Circuit. It is 90 years since the first Border 100, otherwise known as the First South African Grand Prix, raced there in 1934. That far longer racetrack shared several aspects of the current circuit, which also happens to celebrate its 65th birthday this year. So what better way to celebrate those incredible milestones than at the biggest race meeting of the circuit’s 2024 season at the Saturday 27 July Extreme Festival.
Motor racing has come a long way in that time and it’s interesting to note that not even the likes of Jim Clark, Graham Hill and Jack Brabham’s Lotus, BRM and Repco Brabhams could circulate at anything close to the pace of today’s Extreme Supercars Powered by Dunlop, or the South African Touring Cars, in the days when the Formula 1 World Championship was decided at the Grand Prix Circuit back in the ‘60s.
The Extreme Supercar frontrunners should lap the Grand Prix Circuit at around 1 minute 17 seconds when Arnold Neveling and his Audi R8 attempts to keep Lamborghini Huracán trio Stuart White, Jonathan du Toit and Xolile Letlaka, Charl Arangies’ Mercedes AMG GT and a field of Porsches, McLarens, Ferraris and more at bay on Saturday. Jack Brabham set a fastest ever Formula 1 lap of 1 minute 25 seconds before his Repco V8 suffered a fuel pump failure to let Mike Spence’s Lotus through to win the final Grand Prix to race in East London in 1966.
Moving on to the South African Touring Cars this weekend, Robert Wolk’s BMW leads the way to East London from teammate Julian van der Watt and his Volkswagen Golf. They have a comfortable enough margin over Toyota quartet Michael van Rooyen, Saood Variawa, rookie Anthony Pretorius and Nathi Msimanga in the championship chase, with Andy Schofield next up in another BMW. The Touring Cars can lap East London in 1 minute 24 seconds. Which is about as quick as those F1 cars were in ‘65!
There’s another intriguing title chase going down in the South African SupaCup. Keegan Campos leads that chase from Volkswagen factory duo, Jonathan Mogotsi and Charl Visser. But it was Tate Bishop who won last time out. Their SupaPolos must now deal with Gazoo Toyota SupaStarlets driven by champion Bradley Liebenberg and Sa’aad Variawa, so there’s fresh carmaker interest in SupaCup, too. But how does SupaCup shape up in pace on the East London Grand Prix Circuit? Well at 1 minute 30 seconds, they’d be chasing Jim Clark, who was fastest when his Lotus broke to hand the Formula 1 World Championship to Graham Hill and his BRM there in 1962!
South Africa’s leading single seaters, the Investchem Formula 1600s would have also been most competitive in the 1966 East London SA Grand Prix, although Denny Hulme’s Brabham was running without wings and on treaded tyres. Let’s see if 2024 title leader KC Ensor Smith, title rival Jagger Robertson, Jason Coetzee, Karabo Malemela, Siya Mankonkwana, Shrien Naidoo or any of the other wings and slicks F1600s can match Hulme’s 1962 1 minute 26.2 lap this weekend! Ian Schofield, Graham Hepburn, Duncan Vos and the Formula Fords will lap at around the same pace as Clark and Hill did in the ’62 SAGP.
Astron Energy Polo Cup cars lap East London at a similar pace to what Formula 1 cars did when Stirling Moss won the late 1960 Grand Prix in his Porsche. That will however be furthest from championship leader Jason Loosemore’s mind as he takes on title challengers, Nathan Victor, Ethan Coetzee, Mo Karodia, Kyle Visser and the rest on Saturday. Masters men, Wayne Masters, Derick Smalberger, John Kruger and the rest will also fight their own battle on the Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday.
Also on the East London Extreme Festival menu, the SunBet ZX10 Masters motorcycles
should see log leader Clinton Seller back to take on PE leader Damion Purificati, Trevor Westman, David Enticott and Graeme van Breda, Hein McMahon and the rest. GR 86 lad Dawie van der Merwe loves East London and arrives there unbeaten in the Toyota Gazoo Racing Cup, with Niko Zafiris and Dylan Pragji on his tail. And can any of his peers beat Sean Nurse in the GR Corolla Media Cup. Paul de Vos starts as Yaris Cup favourite.
Whatever happens, not only will the Extreme Festival draw comparisons with racing history as it celebrates a most significant East London milestone this weekend, but the fifth round Extreme Festival will see the second half of the 2024 explode into action at the popular Eastern Cape racetrack on Saturday 27 July. See you at the Grand Prix Circuit! Otherwise catch it live streamed at https://extremefestival.co.za/live/ on the day.
Issued on behalf of Extreme Festival
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