Round 6 of the 2024 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series this past weekend (9-10 August) saw a host of Cape Town-based drivers dominate the championship’s maiden outing at Killarney International Raceway.
Most regular title contenders, all privateer entrants, skipped the fly-away round. However, this did not detract from the on-track action. In anticipation of the Series’ first trip to Cape Town, a bunch of local drivers were ready to pounce in what has become one of South Africa’s most exciting circuit-racing categories. It was also not just the pecking order that would be hard to predict. Even on Thursday, the unofficial practice day ahead of the event, it became clear that the weather would play a major part throughout the weekend.
However, Friday’s qualifying session took place with the circuit as dry as it would be for the weekend. Cape Town’s Nian du Toit, who made a victorious debut in this year’s season opener, made his intentions clear by taking the Class A Dunlop Pole Position, more than two seconds clear of Ryan Naicker. Marco Retter, another familiar Capetonian, beat defending champion Leon Loubser to third place on the grid. Class B saw Mansoor Parker, also from Cape Town, making his first 2024 appearance with first place on the grid. Renier Smith qualified second, while Gqeberha-based debutant Dean Ball took third place. Reinhardt Miller headed up Class C, with Cape Town’s Anwar Levy celebrating his return with second on the grid. Varish Ganpath completed the top three.
Claudio Jardim took the ATS Motorsport Pole Position for Class D, with familiar faces Trevor Long and Dewald Smith joining him at the front. Class E saw Cape Town debutants Ernest Page and Faizel Jacobs head up Matthew Wadeley.
This second group started Saturday’s race programme with a clear indication that things were set to be turned upside-down. Class D’s Cape Town newcomers Ebrahim Levy and Dexter Bruce held the advantage in the early stages, while Jardim had his work cut out against Page and Jacobs. Just on the halfway mark, Levy spun and dropped places. Page, who passed Bruce a lap earlier, took the lead and opened an advantage over Bruce, Jacobs, and Jardim. Bruce retired with two of the 10 laps remaining, which elevated Jacobs to second momentarily. However, on the final lap, Jardim passed him for the on-track position.
While not entirely uncommon in the series, it is not often that a driver from the top class on the circuit does not go on to be the first to finish. Page took the race and Class E win, with second-placed Jardim winning Class D. It was similar for the runner-up spots, with Jacobs ahead of Long. Wadeley completed the Class E podium after holding off class points leader Johan Miller. Seventh on the circuit, Smith completed the Class D podium after a good tussle with Shane Grobler. Gqeberha debutant Reynard Potgieter completed the Class E top five. After his early dominance, Levy salvaged fifth place in Class D.
The first Class A, B & C race took place with the first of the day’s major showers in progress. Du Toit continued where he left off in the season opener by dominating the opening race, which saw him take the Class A win with a very hardy 15-second margin over Naicker. Renzo Torrente, another Cape-based newcomer, completed the podium, with Retter fourth. Bob Neill finished fifth.
Parker took the Class B win, with Ball second, while Smith took the final podium spot further back. Nieyaaz Modack, who looked impressive on the opening lap, retired after completing two laps. Like in the previous race, the class results were again significantly intertwined. Miller took the Class C win by crossing the line mere seconds behind Parker, while Oliver Hintenaus and Daanyaal Coetzee made it two more Cape Town debutants with podium finishes. Ganpath and Levy completed the top five.
Further rain and concerns over daylight availability necessitated more programme changes, with both groups combined for the afternoon’s second race. This marked the first combined field since Round 3 at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit.
On a reasonably wet surface, Du Toit continued where he left off in Race 1 by taking the Class A honours with an even more considerable margin over Naicker. Retter made it two Class A podiums on the day, with Torrente and Neill completing the top five.
Parker, Ball, and Smith were the only Class B starters and finished in that order.
Miller again mixed it up with the Class B field en route to his second win on the day, with Coetzee and Ganpath completing the podium. Levy held off Bennie Luyt for fourth place.
Class D saw a different winner, with Long taking his first 2024 win. Jardim and Grobler completed the podium, with Smith, three laps adrift, took fourth place.
Like in Race 1, Page and Jacobs ran well ahead of their rivals again. Both Class E drivers finished within the top half of the combined field, recording respective 13th and 14th place finishes and split by Luyt. Gqeberha visitor Stephan Aucamp took the final podium spot, with Ebrahim Levy’s son, Reza, in fourth and Miller fifth.
The weekend’s ZF-Aftermarket Overall Results saw Du Toit take his second full house of points in as many attempts in Class A. The dominant manner in which he controlled his races in tricky conditions also saw him take the ITOO Driver of the Day award. Naicker’s two second-place finishes gave him the runner-up spot on the day. With 11 points each, Retter beat Torrente to third place based on a faster-accumulated race-completion time. Class B saw Parker take the win from Ball and Smith. Miller’s two Class C wins saw him take the honours ahead of Coetzee and Ganpath on the day. Long and Jardim took 18 points in Class D, but the former’s superior race time saw him win, with Grobler third. Page took a full house in Class E, with Jacobs second and Wadeley third.
After much anticipation from the local contingent, the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series certainly created a legacy in Cape Town, not only as a visiting category from up north but also as a series constantly attracting competitors from around South Africa. The livestream also referenced the possibility of a Cape Town-based series coming to birth, an avenue currently being looked into. Whatever the future holds, Cape Town certainly took a few strides forward on the road to being a major contender in the greater owner-based BMW lifestyle, and this was not merely limited to the amount of trophies that stayed there from Round 6. The hospitality shown by the local contingent was also beyond any expectations. Modack even ensured that a BMW grid reminiscent of South African motorsport glory days was led away by a BMW pace car. After a successful first outing, the bulk of the anticipation will now be with the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series about returning to the Mother City.
Round 7 of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will take place at Zwartkops Raceway on 13-14 September.
1 – BMW M Performance Parts Race Series made its Cape Town debut – Photography by: Jason Hanslo 
BMW – 2024 R6R – 2 – Nian du Toit – Photography by: Willie Pretorius 
BMW – 2024 R6R – 3 – Mansoor Parker – Photography by: Willie Pretorius 
BMW – 2024 R6R – 4 – Reinhardt Miller – Photography by: Jason Hanslo 
BMW – 2024 R6R – 5 – Trevor Long – Photography by: Willie Pretorius 
BMW – 2024 R6R – 6 – Ernest Page – Photography by: Jason Hanslo
Issued by Brandpsonential on behalf of BMW Car Club Gauteng
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