ATS Zwartkops 200 to feature at Extreme Festival round coming weekend
The Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria will host a round of the 2025 Regional Extreme Festival Presented by Coco Cola on Saturday, with the event to include one of inland competitors’ annual highlights.
The highlight will be the ATS Zwartkops 200, the season’s only endurance race for Ferro Energia 111 GT Sports and Saloon Cars.
The 200-kilometre race will include a mandatory three-minute pit stop, during which teams have to change at least one wheel on their cars, without the use of power tools.
The race has attracted 39 entries, with pre-event victory favourites to include Wouter Roos and Peet Visagie (Origen Oils Volkswagen Golf GTI), Mark du Toit (TAR BMW Z4), Ishmail Peck (National Motorsport BMW 130i), Piet Potgieter (Nathan’s VW Golf), Mike O’Sullivan (All Things Motoring Honda Ballade), Wayne Robb (Ford Focus ST) and Craig Priestley Tactical Fluid VW Polo).
Others to watch in the midfield should be drivers like Melanie Spurr (Origen Oils VW Polo), Ishmael Baloyi (TAR Honda Civic), Louis Scholtz (Car Care Clinic Honda Ballade), Lenard Archer (ACD Welkom Hyundai Getz), Jonathan du Toit (TAR Honda Civic), Craig Priestley (Tactical Fluid VW Polo), Jonathan Visser (Auto Express VW Polo 6R) and Shaun Vermaak/ Strati Yannakis (Gapcon BMW 235).
Heading up the supporting programme will be races for the BMW M Performance Parts Series brigade, with the number of entries forcing the organizers to split the field in half.
Topping the list of drivers in Classes A, B and C should be people like Leon Loubser (Monaco Motors BMW 335i), Renier Smith (BMW M3 Turbo), Nek Makris (BMW 335i), Bob Neil (Delmon Mining BMW M3 Turbo), Anton Pommersheim (Eagle Granite BMW M3 Turbo), Andreas Meier (#CEC BMW 320i), Carlo Garbini (Kimbo BMW 328i Turbo) and Fabio Fedetto (BMW M4).
Bernard De Gouveia (De Gouveia Accountants BMW E46 M3) should be the man to beat in the races for cars in Classes D, E and F.
He will face off against drivers like Dawie Olivier (International Race Supplies BMW 330i), Gerhard du Plessis (Deep Civils BMW M240), Nick Naidoo (Waldans Cartage BMW 1M), Craig Herbst (The Blue Store BMW 335i), Eugene Gouws (Master Mowers BMW M3), Neil Reynolds (Valve Hospital BMW 330i) and Andre Scheepers (Curvent BMW 325i Turbo).
Wayne Masters (Performance Masters Polo) should be the man to beat in the ATE Volkswagen Challenge races.
He will be chased by drivers like Jayden Goosen (Ferro Energia Polo), Elna Croeser (ATE Brakes Polo), Dean Ross (Norbrake Polo), Ian Walker (Mellow Velo Polo), and current overall championship leader Stuart Mack (AutoZone Volkswagen Polo).
The Dunlop V8 Supercars should see current title leader Warren Lombard (PepBoys Automotive Ford Mustang) fighting to maintain a narrow points lead over Thomas Reib (Café 9 Automotive Chevrolet Lumina).
Others who could challenge for podiums should include Wayne Spicer (Wellness Group Jaguar XKRS), Franco di Matteo (Di Matteo Jaguar XKRS), Terry Wilford (Fuchs Ford Mustang), Ben Morgenrood (Morgenrood Ford Mustang), Auke Compaan (CMI Lubricants Mustang) , Richard Fuller (PotAround Ford Falcon) and Steve Herbst (Prei Instrumentation Chev Corvette).
The all-new Liqui Moly Super Vee category will kick off with a 21-car grid, led by drivers like Lushen Ramchander (Liqui Moly Forza), Blane de Meilon (Lantis), Morgan Jacobs (Liqui Moly Stealth), Nick van der Westhuizen (N+W Stealth), Kanya Mahajana (Sting) and Mark Tucker (Forza).
With 26 drivers facing the starter, the DOE CIM Lubricants Formula Vee races should see ultra close spectacle, with top competitors likely to include title defender Lendl Jansen (Bull Security Rhema), Peter Hills (MXTwo Rhema), Gert van den Berg (DOE Parts Rhema), (MD Bester (MXTwo Rhema), David Austin (DA Rhema), Anton van der Merwe (MonitorNet Rhema) and Vaughn Hills (MXTwo Rhema).
The Zwartkops gates will be open from 6am, with racing to commence at 9.30am.
Admission will cost R140 per adult and R100 per student, with kids under the age of 12 going in for free.
Food and drink will be on sale or you may take your own and you are welcome to set up camp and braai on the grass embankments.
Everybody is invited to visit the pits and the circuit’s Mini Moke trains will run between spectator areas and the pit gate throughout the day.
The full event programme will be available on the Extreme Festival Presented By Coca-Cola website closer to the weekend.
All relevant spectator information can also be accessed via the Extreme Festival Links page.
The day’s events will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website.
Andre’ de Kock
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