The Extreme Festival’s national roster is set to entertain South Africa’s coastal motorsport fans this coming weekend (18-19 September) one last time in 2026, with the tour returning to the Killarney International Raceway on the western outskirts of Cape Town.
Promoted as the Cape Town round of the Extreme Festival, in association with the City of Cape Town and with Smile FM as official radio partner, the event will feature the full series on the programme.
This will mark the first outing for the Extreme SuperCars Driven By Dunlop since their third championship round at the end of June in Gqeberha. Charl Arangies (Mercedes-Benz AMG GT3 EVO) heads up the championship at present with an 11-point lead over the defending champion and his GT3 Class rival, Jonathan du Toit (Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO). This pair will be eager to resume their fast and fierce battles from the season opener.
Class A is seeing a very close rivalry between Karah Hill (Audi R8 LMS), Ricky Giannoccaro (Lamborghini Huracan GT3), and Gianni Giannoccaro (Audi R8 LMS). Anthony Blunden (Lamborghini Huracan Trofeo) is likely to head the Class B contest, especially with Roy Obery scheduled to miss the event while repairs on his Porsche GT3 Cup MR are being completed. Class C will see Capetonians Wayne Hoffman (Porsche 992 GT3 Cup) and Yanni Hatzi (Nissan S14) battle it out.
The weekend will see three Extreme SuperCars Driven By Dunlop Races. This will be one of two series with three races, the season being the Astron Energy Polo Cup.
This year’s battle at the top of the all-Volkswagen Polo GTI series has been nothing short of exhilarating. Hannes Scheepers holds a 26-point lead heading into the sixth and penultimate championship round. Mathematically, he could take his maiden title this weekend, but be sure that the likes of Charl Smalberger and Mauro da Luz will do everything they can to ensure that this battle will still be alive come the Zwartkops Raceway season finale. Smalberger also has the momentum, taking a win in his last start, while Scheepers’ last win came in June. However, it was all Scheepers last time at the Cape Town circuit.
The Masters Class is also far from decided. Defending two-time champion Wayne Masters holds a 12-point lead over Derick Smalberger, the latter with a recent double win. This pair shared the Round 1 wins. John Kruger is also still in contention.
The Gazoo Racing SA Cup will also see its sixth and penultimate round for 2026. While the corresponding trip to Cape Town last year saw all three champions crowned, only the GR Media Challenge can be decided this weekend. Defending champion Nabil Abdool has won every race this year and is currently 22 points ahead of Craig Nicholson. With only 28 points still on offer, Nicholson will have to chase this one down with all he’s got, not an easy task as Abdool could clinch it after Saturday’s first race.
In the GR 86 Class, Kobus Reyneke and Connor Weston will continue their battle. Reyneke holds a three-point lead and has six wins, including two in the recent round and two from the last Cape Town visit. Weston has the other four wins. Emma Dowling is also not completely out of this battle yet.
While Werner Venter has a two-point lead in the GR Dealer Challenge, he is yet to take his first win of the season. Devon Scott might have missed Rounds 3 and 4, but has been the driver to win every other race.
It’s also close at the top of the Volkswagen Rookie Cup. Sebastian Dias has moved into the lead of the all-Volkswagen Polo Vivo GT series, now with four wins to his name. While it has been a while since Luke Hill took the top step of the podium, he is the driver to beat in Cape Town. At present, there are only seven points between them, with Sebastian Venkov and further 10 points adrift.
Two-wheel action returns to the Extreme Festival for the first time since June with the SunBet ZX10R Masters Cup. Since then, in their fourth round, they have had a double-header round at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Like the Extreme SuperCars Driven by Dunlop, this will also not be their penultimate championship round.
Damion Purificati holds a commanding 76-point lead in the all-Kawasaki ZX10 championship, with Hein McMahon second, and Capetonian Trevor Westman a further 11 points adrift. Purificati and Johan le Roux shared the Cape Town wins earlier this year. However, after the defending two-time champion Clinton Seller started his season in the fourth round, no one else has seen the top step of the podium.
Westman leads McMahon in Class A. Purificati’s Class B rival is Henk Kruger, while James Barson and Reginal Seale are the riders on top of Class C.
Aqil Alibhai currently heads up the Investchem MSA4 Championship heading into the sixth and penultimate round of 2026. While he has been collecting a host of wins since Round 2, including a double win in the most recent outing, it is his rival Mikel Bezuidenhout who dominated the Cape Town season opener. The pair has shared all the wins thus far, with Renzo Ribeiro in a distant third place. While Alibhai has a nine-point lead over Bezuidenhout, this championship is guaranteed to continue until the season finale, as it uses a points-drop system, with each driver’s two lowest scores eliminated from the final classification.
Can Julian van der Watt (Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) become another name on the list of Capetonians clinching a title in Cape Town? That will be the question when the South African Touring Cars field takes to the circuit for their sixth and penultimate round. At present, he holds a 24-point lead over KC Ensor-Smith (Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI). If that margin reaches 34 points after the weekend, Van der Watt will take the 2026 crown. The pair shared the wins last time in Cape Town, with Ensor-Smith winning in his first outing. Jason Coetzee (Toyota Corolla), who took the GR 86 Class title at this, his home, circuit last year, trails Ensor-Smith by eight points.
Jason Loosemore has a commanding 41-point lead in the all-Volkswagen Polo SATC SupaCup. Finishing the weekend with a 43-point lead at the circuit where he won both races earlier this year will decide the title in his favour. Rory Atkinson will want to close that gap, while extending his lead over third-placed Judd Bertholdt, currently 15 points adrift.
Various spectator ticket options are available. Tickets can be purchased at the Killanrey International Raceway entrance gate, while spectators can save by purchasing via Webtickets. Saturday’s 16-race programme will commence at 10:00 and will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.