BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series championship battles head to world’s biggest BMW festival

BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit

The BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series’ penultimate 2024 championship round will form part of the biennial BMW M Fest at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit this coming weekend (25-27 October).

The event, the biggest one of its nature in the world, will see the leading car manufacturer introduce the public to many new models while showcasing the BMW Lifestyle and its related product lines. BMW has a solid footprint in South African motorsport, which includes powering the newly crowned South African Touring Cars champion, Robert Wolk. The BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series, backed by BMW South Africa and operated by BMW Car Club Gauteng, is another extension of the brand’s involvement in motorsport. This will be the third consecutive BMW M Fest to see the series form part of the on-track activities. The weekend will also mark the 11th outing for the series at the world-class venue since its 2016 reopening, the most appearances by any saloon car championship.

Leon Loubser

Defending series champion Leon Loubser heads up Class A into Round 9. The previous outing at Red Star Raceway saw him as the sole Class A competitor. While this made it relatively easy to extend his points advantage, it also meant he did not take a full allocation of points. Bob Neill is a driver who will be eager to return after missing Round 8. While Neill is currently 32 points behind Loubser, he will look to repeat his Round 3 performance at the circuit, when he won both races. Loubser missed that round, another factor that will give Neill a slight mental edge. In total, Loubser does have a 5:4 race-win advantage over Neill. Another driver who should not be discounted is Ryan Naicker, who is three points behind Neill. Mechanical maladies see his win count on three this year, but he has been very quick, including at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. Fabio Fedetto, with 61 points, separates the pair but does not appear on the entry list. Sav Gualtieri can spring a surprise or two this weekend. He will compete in his BMW F30 M3 V8 Turbo, with his sole prior 2024 outing being in his Class B BMW E36 328i Turbo. Only one round remains after this weekend, and he will not be able to carry points into the final championship calculation, but he will contend to steal the glory over the weekend.

Renier Smith

Class B sees Renier Smith on top with 113 points. The previous Kyalami outing saw him unable to take home any points, but since then, he has had a magnificent run of form, seven wins from 10 starts. He holds an 11-point advantage over defending class champion Nek Makris. Andreas Meier is another 11 points adrift. Oz Biagioni, 37 points adrift, had to withdraw from the event. Fifth-placed Carlo Garbini, 11 points behind Biagioni, will also be a driver to watch out for, having won both races in Round 3. Cape Town’s Mansoor Parker, who won both races in Round 6, will make his second 2024 appearance, while Salvi Gualtieri will have his first outing of the year.

Reinhardt Miller

The biggest contingent starting the weekend will be the Class C field. Reinhardt Miller’s 86 points see him six clear of the former leader Gary Martins. Bennie Luyt is a further eight adrift. Hein van der Merwe trails Luyt by nine points and seven clear Jan Eversteyn. Martins is the driver who had the best day at the previous Kyalami round, with a win and a second place. However, Rob Gearing will also be a driver to watch for, heading into the weekend on the back of his second 2024 win. Regular campaigners Andre van Vuuren, Bernard de Gouveia, Neil Reynolds, Troy Cochran, and Willie Kok will also look to improve their championship positions. Alan Hillegenn, Anand Naidu, Devin Robertson, and Varish Ganpath will all be back in contention, having missed Round 8 at Red Star Raceway. Cape Town’s Anwar Levy, who had a good outing on the 2023 visit to the circuit, will compete in his second round of 2024’s championship. Nishal Singh, the other driver who won a race in Round 3, will also look to repeat his performance. Trevor Long will also slot in Class C this weekend, piloting his BMW E36 M3.

Nicholas Herbst

With 108 points, Nicholas Herbst holds a commanding 40-point lead in Class D. His attention will, however, be on the overall championship, but to maximise his points for that, he will need to contend with a strong host of class rivals. His previous Kyalami outing saw him bag two runner-up spots, and he has two 2024 wins. Second-placed Claudio Jardim was victorious in Round 3 and, with no title in the time-based series set in stone until the end of the final race, will look to keep the pressure on Herbst. Cobus Bohmer is tied with Jardim on 68 points and would like to take his first 2024 win. Former Series and Class E leader Johan Miller, who broke out in Round 7, is 0.2 of a point adrift, while Shane Grobler, victorious in Round 8, is also within striking distance of the second-place battle, with 64 points. Craig Herbst took the other win in Round 3 and is eager to rack up more. Regular protagonists Dewald Smith, Eddie Rodrigues, Olerato Sekudu, Roland Hopkins, Shaun Dodd, and Tihan van Rooyen will also be in contention.

Matthew Wadeley

Class E sees Matthew Wadeley on top with 90 points, Zaheer Seedat is 30 points adrift, while Mike Grobler has moved into third place, a further 13 points adrift, following his victorious Red Star Raceway outing. Zeyad Ismail occupies fourth place, eight points behind Grobler. This will be the first outing at the circuit in the series for regular campaigners Jacques Smith, Justin Brown, Mariaan Emmenis, and Michael Grobler, as well as for recent debutant Strati Yiannakis. Paolo Cavalieri, who last competed in the season opener, will also be back on the grid. This time, he will be behind a BMW E46 330cs wheel. Farouk Dangor, who last competed at the previous BMW M Fest, will be back in his BMW E30 M3 Touring Car.

The overall points table sees Renier Smith heading up Nicholas Herbst, Loubser, Makris, and Wadeley.

The event will see a host of debutants joining the grid. GT Supercup regulars Bilal Ahmed, Gerald Anthony, Gregory Anthony, and Mohammed Jacob will all compete. Apart from Jacob, the others all reside in Durban. Silver Cup 2.0  regular Jakes Campher will also join the series. Another series debutant will be Fabienne Lanz, who will compete in a BMW South Africa liveried BMW E46 330i.

The weekend will follow a BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series programme that is different from the norm. Split over three days, each morning will see two 30-minute practice sessions. Qualifying will take place on Friday afternoon. For the first time at the event, the races will follow the regular split pattern and will start at:

Saturday, 11:05: Classes A, B & C
Saturday, 14:12: Classes D & E
Sunday, 11:05: Classes A, B & C
Sunday, 14:12: Classes D & E

All races will be contested over an eight-lap distance, provided that they do not exceed 30 minutes of circuit time from the circuit opening till closing in preparation for the next activity.

This event will not be broadcast live as per the event promoter. Those interested in watching the day’s races must purchase BMW M Fest tickets to attend, which are exclusively available through Howler.

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