In what will be back-to-back Extreme Festival Presented By Coca-Cola visits over the next five weeks to the East London Grand Prix Circuit, the action is set to start this weekend (18-19 July) with the national roster’s trip to the coastal circuit.

Situated just south of the city centre, the circuit has a Spa-Francorchamps-esque feel about it, consisting primarily of public roads. The circuit also has the fastest corner in South African motorsport, Potters’ Pass, the legendary first corner. Six national series will be in action at the circuit, providing entertainment for what is usually a sizeable attendance of motorsport enthusiasts residing in East London and surrounding areas. For all but two series, this will be the fifth round of their 2025 championships.

Saturday’s race day programme will commence with the GR Cup Driven By Netstar. The GR 86 Class will head up this field, with Jason Coetzee having a 21-point lead, with wins from all but one of his eight starts this year. Mbuso Ngwenya and Kent Swartz are tied on 32 points, with the latter having a win to his name this season.

Nabil Abdool has a 100% start-to-win ratio this year in the GR Yaris Class, which sees him 23 points clear of Phuti Mpyane. Kyle Kock will be eager to reclaim the position after his DNF in the most recent outing.

Mario de Sousa is on a six-race winning streak in the GR Corolla Class, which sees him 26 points ahead of Werner Venter. Paul de Vos is another four points adrift, but is not on the entry list for this round. This could open the door for Devon Scott to make up a place. The 2024 GR Yaris Class Champion occupies fourth place with 14 points, accumulated from his double win in this year’s season opener, and he will be eager to turn the tables on De Sousa and company.

After their action-packed first championship round, the Investchem MSA4 series will be eager to put on another superb show. KC Ensor-Smith (Investchem) holds a nine-point lead over Renzo Ribeiro. At the time of writing, Ribero does not appear on the entry list. This could provide an opportunity for Mikel Bezuidenhout (Corsa Dei Gemali), who trails Ribeiro by one point.

Ensor-Smith took two wins in the season opener, with Bezuidenhout taking the third. This time, the series will revert to the two-race per weekend format, similarly to the other series on the program.

The South African Touring Cars Championship has produced some of the season’s most closely-contested races. Points leader Michael van Rooyen (Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla) has an 18-point lead and took his first win of the season in the recent Zwartkops Raceway outing. However, the driver who has taken playing catch-up to the next level this season is second-placed Keegan Campos (Campos Transport BMW 128ti). Campos has stepped to the top of the podium in four of six starts already this season, and leads fellow series debutant Jagger Robertson (76 Legacy Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) by nine points.

Sharing the grid with the South African Touring Cars will be the SATC SupaCup. Tate Bishop (ANGRi Racing Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) leads the defending champion, Jonathan Mogotsi (Volkswagen Genuine Parts Volkswagen Polo SupaCup), by 15 points. The pair has shared all the wins thus far in 2025, with a five-three advantage to Bishop. With third-placed Charl Visser set to miss this round, it will give Jason Loosemore (Astron Energy Volkswagen Polo SupaCup), the reigning  Astron Energy Polo Cup champion, an opportunity to close in. Visser trails Mogotsi by 26 points, with Loosemore a further 39 adrift.

Mohammed Karodia (Fast 5 Motorsport) leads the all Volkswagen Polo GTI Astron Energy Polo Cup by six points. Karodia has four wins to his name, the same amount as second-placed Rory Atkinson, who has not entered for Round 5. Hannes Scheepers (Dainfern Dental Studio) will look to catch up in his absence.

Behind them, Wayne Masters (Performance Masters) leads the Masters Class with a 30-point advantage over John Kruger (Habot Lubricants). Derick Smalberger (Sabertek) trails him by eight points.

Clinton Seller (King Price Extreme) has a 48-point advantage in the all-Kawasaki ZX10 SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup. Similar to the Investchem MSA4 Championship, the two-wheel brigade is out of sync with the number of championship rounds compared to the rest of the field, and this will be their fourth round of 2025. Seller has a 100% start-to-win ratio this season and also heads up Class A, with second-placed Graeme van Breda and third-placed Jason Lamb (Tyremart East London) leading Classes B and C, respectively.

Noe of Seller’s regular Class A rivals are listed to make the trip, which will provide an opportunity for Byron Rothquel (Magmagic Repair) to catch up. Van Breda will, however, be challenged by his immediate rivals Dieter Huysamen and Reginald Seals (HXCS). Lamb’s closest rival, Johan le Roux, will also be in action.

Spectator tickets will be available from the East London Grand Prix Circuit entrance gate on Saturday at R100 per adult, and children under 12 will get in for free. The full race day will also be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.