This weekend (16-17 October), the Extreme Festival’s national roster will conclude as various series titles are decided at Zwartkops Raceway.
Following the tragic passing of Marcel Angel during the first race of the previous event at the Killarney International Raceway, the event was cancelled. With no points awarded, the dynamics have changed in all but one series that will be in action.
The SunBet ZX10R Masters Cup is one of two series where this will not be the season finale, although an additional round was already on the calendar before the cancellation. However, with that weekend including four qualifying sessions, the series’ management attributed points based on qualifying results. Effectively, with four races left, Damion Purificati has taken the title in the all-Kawasaki ZX10 series, with him heading into the weekend with a 104-point lead over Hein McMahon. Second place is still up for grabs, though, with Trevor Westman only three points adrift. At the previous Zwartkops Raceway outing, Purificati took both wins, but the outgoing champion, Clinton Seller, will be a force to be reckoned with this time around.
In Class A, Westman leads McMahon by 15 points, with Keith Aglioti a further 70 adrift. Purificati leads Henk Kruger by 110 points in Class B, with Byron Rothquel 27 adrift. Class C will be a close battle, with James Barson only 16 points ahead of Reginald Seale. The title will be decided between them, with Ian Harwood leading the midfield battle but 115 points behind the leaders.
It will be the final outing for the Extreme SuperCars Driven By Dunlop. Charl Arangies (Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 EVO) leads Jonathan du Toit (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO) by 11 points in the GT3 class and the Series’ championship.
Karah Hill (Audi R8 LMS GT3) and Mark du Toit (Ford GT1) will be the Class A and B drivers to watch, while Ismael Baloyi (BMW Z4) is set to make his debut.
The Astron Energy Polo Cup added another round after the Cape Town event was cancelled, making this the penultimate round of the all-Volkswagen Polo GTI series. Hannes Scheepers leads Charl Smalberger by 26 points, and also holds a 2:1 win advantage earlier this year at the circuit. Mauro da Luz, the 2026 debutant, is a further 16 points adrift.
Wayne Masters leads the Masters Class by 12 points over Derick Smalberger. As in the Cup, the leader also has the 2:1 win advantage. John Kruger trails Smalberger by a further 24 points.
The Investchem MSA4 title battle will conclude this weekend. Aqil Alibhai leads Mikel Bezuidenhout by three points. This pair shared the wins back in May. The title battle will be between them, with third-placed Karabo Malemela a further 32 points adrift.
They will also be joined by the Formula Ford Kent brigade, with Andrew Hammond, Alex Vos, Allen Meyer, Nicholas van Weely, and Andrew Horne contesting the races.
This will be the final round for the Volkswagen Rookie Cup. Sebastian Dias leads Luke Hill by seven points in the all-Volkswagen Polo Vivo GT Series. Sebastian Venkov is trailing Hill by a further 10 points, while Jack Moore is also still mathematically in the mix, trailing Dias by 21 points, with 24 still on offer. Dias and Moore shared the wins earlier this year.
The South African Touring Cars championship sees Julian van der Watt (Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) on the cusp of claiming his maiden title. He has a 24-point lead, and a Zwartkops Raceway win to his name. KC Ensor-Smith (Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) will look to turn the tables, but he’ll need to add to his sole debut-season win, which he took in his first outing in the series. Jason Coetzee (Toyota Corolla) is eight points further adrift. The other win in Round 3 went to Andrew Schofield (BMW 128ti)
In the SATC SupaCup, Jason Loosemore leads Rory Atkinson by 41 points. Loosemore has been the driver to beat in the all-Volkswagen Polo SupaCup series, and a pole position could be enough to secure the crown. Loosemore’s seven wins include both Zwartkops Raceway wins in Round 3. Judd Berthold trails fellow season debutant Atkinson by 15 points. This trio already secured the top three spots between them.
The Gazoo Racing South Africa Cup’s GR86 Class will go down to the wire. Kobus Reyneke leads Connor Weston. This pair shared the wins earlier this year, and are the only two drivers still in contention for the crown, with Emma Dowling 16 points adrift.
The Dealer Challenge will see a showdown between Werner Venter (Toyota Yaris GR) and Devon Scott (Toyota Corolla GR). Venter holds a two-point lead, though he still needs to record his first win of the year. Scott, in contrast, has won every race he started but missed two rounds, including the last Zwartkops Raceway outing, where Paul de Vos took both wins. Theo Brits (Toyota Corolla GR) trails Scott by 12 points.
Nabil Abdool (Toyota Corolla GR) has now taken the Media Challenge crown for the second consecutive season. He also holds a 100% win record this year. Craig Nicholson (Toyota Corolla GR) has also secured second place. Justin Ford (Toyota Corolla GR) and Tayedza Mbiri (Toyota Corolla GR) are currently tied for third place.
Tickets can be purchased at the Zwartkops Raceway entrance gate and cost R150 per adult and R110 per student. Children under 12 will enter for free. Saturday’s 15-race programme will commence at 09:50 and will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.