The past weekend’s (11-13 April) Extreme Festival double-header at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit saw Victron Energy’s brand ambassadors shine in their competed categories.
The event, which saw all 13 categories from the National and Gauteng Regional rosters, was hailed as one of this century’s biggest local motorsport events. Apart from a mammoth entry list of 295 competitors, it also boasted a record crowd attendance for an all-local motorsport programme event since the venue’s reopening in 2016. Due to the extensive programme, the event ran over three days instead of the standard two-day Extreme Festival timetable.
The stand-out performance came in the third round of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series, with Centurion-based authorised installer father-and-son pair Craig and Nicholas Herbst who featured on the Class D podium in both races.
The first race saw Nicholas, who traded his black-and-white GreenHouse livery for a BMW heritage design to celebrate the commencement of his primary partnership with CIM Lubricants, finish as runner-up after a fierce contest for the lead. Craig crossed the line just under two seconds back to make it the second father-and-son podium for them in 2024.
However, in the second race, which finished behind the safety car due to an accident involving another competitor, Craig showed his son the way to the flag for a one-two finish.
Nicholas took the honours for the day. While both drivers accumulated 16 points in the two races, Nicholas recorded the faster combined race time. With one of the two fastest lap points added, Nicholas heads up the Class D points table by 15 points. He emerged in second place in the series championship, having closed the gap to leader Andreas Meier to eight points. Craig occupies fifth place in Class D.
Tjaden Tromp and Chloe Stuart represented the global leader in alternative energy solutions in the DOE Formula Vee Partnered by CIM Lubricants championship’s second round.
After much anticipation, Tromp finally became the youngest driver to debut in the series on Friday. However, he had to wait until Saturday to record his first result. After a strong start in the first race, the race was red-flagged due to an incident elsewhere in the single-seater pack. The restart saw another incident, but by this point, the allocated time on the programme had elapsed.
The category was given two options: A shortened first race at the end of Friday’s programme or a double points-paying 12-lap affair for Saturday’s second race. However, more delays followed while the final two categories had their qualifying sessions, and with nighttime setting in, Option 2 was the only viable one.
Tromp delivered a level-headed debut performance to finish in 15th place. Stuart, who became the youngest female driver in the series in Round 1, showed good pace throughout the timed sessions, but a mechanical issue resulted in her needing to pit early. She, however, did rejoin the race to practice despite being eight laps down and unable to complete the minimum distance to constitute a classified result.
However, not only the two youngest drivers on the DOE Formula Vee Partnered with CIM Lubricants grid represented the brand. The entire category now enjoys the convenience and reliability of Blue Power with Victron Energy Blue Smart IP65 chargers, courtesy of authorised distributor National Energy Solutions.
Ahead of Tromp and Stuart, Lendl Jansen won the double-points race ahead of a fierce second-place contest, where Brandon Hills beat Peter Hills. No updated championship points have been published for the category at the time of writing.
The next outing for all the above will be at Red Star Raceway in Delmas on 10-11 May. This area of South Africa is known for irregularities in grid-supplied electricity, which will see the drivers who choose to power their aspirations with Victron Energy having one less concern, no doubt easing their preparations for the event.
If your lifestyle demands energy, anytime, anywhere, find your nearest authorised Victron Energy installer today on https://www.victronenergy.com/where-to-buy.
Issued by Brandsponential on behalf of Victron Energy South Africa
Photography by: James Thomson
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