The Extreme Festival’s national roster entertained the sizeable crowd in attendance at Zwartkops Raceway this past weekend (22-23 May) with a host of fiercely-contested races.
The all-Kawasaki ZX10 field in the SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup opened Saturday’s race day programme, with Damion Purificati (Crystal Lubricants) taking his first of two wins over Hein McMahon (K9 law Enforcement) and James Barson (Proproof Waterproofing). While the first race saw Purificati take the win with a comfortable margin, his second win came after fending off a stronger attack from McMahon.
McMahon took the Masters Class honours in both races from Trevor Westman (Team Wayward). Keith Agliotti (TNB Global) completed the podium in Race 1 and started Race 2 by heading up Westman; however, brake problems forced him to retire, with Westman moving into second place, and Pieter Delport (Carlin Akademie) completing the podium. Purificati took both Grand Masters Class wins. In Race 1, it was Henk Kruger (Zeemans) who took the runner-up spot, with Byron Rothquel (MagMagic Repairs) third. The latter gained a further position in Race 2, with Robert Ferreira (Tibara Construction Plumbing) rounding out the podium. Barson took both Veteran Class wins, with Johan le Roux (Avidan) and Reginald Seale (HXCS) alternating the runner-up spots.
The Extreme SuperCars Driven by Dunlop races saw Damian Hammond (Liqui Moly Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3), Jonathan du Toit (Trans Africa Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO), and Charl Arangies (Stradale Motorsport Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO) share the respective race and GT3 Class wins.
Gianni Giannoccaro (Sparco Audi R8 GT3) and Ricky Giannoccaro (Lamborghini Huracan GT3) both lost out on a chance to take the Class A win in Race 1 due to breaking out of the class’s time bracket. This saw Marius Jackson (MJR Motorsport Audi R8 LMS GT3) open his day with a win. It was a double blow for Gianni Giannoccaro in Race 2, with another breakout penalty and an incident, but this saw Karah Hill (Kalex Audi R8 LMS GT3 EVO) become the maiden female winner in the series. In Race 3, Gianni Giannoccaro recorded another breakout, losing the win to his brother, Ricky.
Roy Obery (HAVAL Edenvale), Mark du Toit (Trans Africa Racing Ford GT1), and Uli Sanne (BMW Z4M) all made it clean sweeps in Classes B, GT3 Classic, and D, respectively.
It was not Lucky Number Seven for Hannes Scheepers (Dainfern Dental Studio) in the Astron Energy Polo Cup. Scheepers, unbeaten in 2026’s first four starts of the all-Volkswagen Polo GTI series, notched up another two wins before Charl Smalberger (Sabertek) brought this streak to a halt. Scheepers held off Mauro da Luz (Nathan’s Motorsport) in Race 1, with Jayden Goosen (AA) holding off a host of challengers to take the final podium spot. Da Luz again featured on the Race 2 podium, this time in third place behind Shiren Rajpaul (Goldwagen Springfield Park). In Race 3, Da Luz trailed Smalberger over the line, while Scheepers held off Goosen and Rajpaul for the final podium spot.
Wayne Masters (Performance Masters) won Races 1 and 3 in the Masters Class, but had to settle for second place behind Derick Smalberger (Sabertek) in Race 2. Smalberger took the Runner-up spot in Race 1, ahead of John Kruger (Team Red). The latter added two further podiums on the day, with another third place in Race 2, before taking the runner-up spot in Race 3. The third race saw Mike Barbaglia take the final podium spot.
Julian van der Watt (We Buy Cars Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) added another South African Touring Cars win for the season in Race 1 to extend his points lead. The reigning champion, Michael van Rooyen (Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla), recorded his first podium of 2026, with Keegan Campos (Veloce Automobili BMW 128ti) completing the podium.
In Race 2, Andrew Schofield (FlySafAir BMW 128ti) not only clinched his maiden win in the series but also his first-ever national-level win. He was made to work hard for it by KC Ensor-Smith (African Heating Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) and Robert Wolk (Chemical Logistics Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI).
Behind them in the SATC SupaCup, it was two wins for Jason Loosemore (Nathan’s Motorsport Volkswagen Polo SupaCup). Judd Berthold (Union Power Energy Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) also took two podium finishes on the day. The first saw him beat Niki Vostanis (Campos Transport Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) to the runner-up spot, while he had to settle for third behind Tyler Robinson (AF Fans Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) in Race 2. All SATC SupaCup results remain provisional.
In the Volkswagen Rookie Cup, it was Jack Moore (Fleet Dynamics) who started the day with a win in the all-Volkswagen Polo Vivo GT series. Sebastian Dias (PMD Transport) beat Sebastian Venkov (23 Degrees) to the runner-up spot in Race 1.
Dias and Venkov continued their battle in Race 2. Dias took the race win this time around. The battle also included Luke Hill (SteelForm), who completed the podium.
The first Investchem MSA4 race of the day saw Aqil Alibhai (Apex Cordsets) take his third successive win, while Mikel Bezuidenhout (Huawei) held off Karabo Malemela (KMFT) for the runner-up spot.
In Race 2, it was Bezuidenhout who took the win from Malemela. Liam Polome was in the running to secure a podium until he spun off. Guido Bidoli (FAST) and Kent Swartz, the next two in line, both retired, leaving Troy Dolinschek to finish third.
Kobus Reyneke took the day’s first GR Cup 86 Class win from Connor Weston and Kian Fussell. An early Race 2 lead for Reyneke did not amount to much, as he retired, with Weston winning from Emma Dowling, while Fussell took another third place.
Nabil Abdool continued his dominance in the Media Challenge with another two wins, both times beating Craig Nicholson and Yolanda Lukhele.
Paul de Vos and Marius Claasen headed up the results in both Dealership Challenge races, with Wener Venter and Werner Horn completing the two respective podiums.
The next outing for the Extreme Festival’s national roster will see the field return to the coast on 26-27 June, when they will be visiting the Aldo Scribatne Raceway in Gqeberha. Before that, it will be the regional roster’s return to Zwartkops Raceway on 12-13 June.
