This past Saturday’s (24 October) eighth and penultimate BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit saw Andre van Vuuren firming his one-handed grip on the maiden NA Cup crown.
Van Vuuren’s campaign got a boost early in the qualifying session when his Class B and NA Cup rival, Richard Gerntholtz, retired for the day due to an drive shaft failure. The points leader racked up his fifth ATS Motorsport Pole Position of the season, and first not around Zwartkops Raceway. He was joined on the front row by Olerato Sekudu. Eddie Rodrigues delivered another pacey performance to qualify third, with Ignus du Plessis fourth. Trevor Long completed the top five. Class C’s grid was headed up by points leader Claudio Jardim, with Tihan van Rooyen on his outside. Zaheer Seedat, in his first outing since Round 4, lined up in third place, ahead of Mitch Coetzee. Debutant Giulio Airaga qualified fifth. As with the classes ahead, Class D was also headed up by the points leader, Reinhardt Miller. Desmond Bloem, again piloting the OG Track Taxi, was victorious in Round 7, lined up in second place. Third place was taken up by Track Taxi 2.0, piloted by Manny Ribeiro in his first outing of the season. Craig Platt lined up in fourth place, with Vatiswa Mokhonoana, again substituting for Karabo Malemela, in fifth.
Race 1 was a cat-and-mouse battle in Class B, but Van Vuuren gradually pulled away in the seven-lap encounter. He went on to take the win from Sekudu. Du Plessis passed Rodrigues to complete the podium, while Long held onto his fifth place. Jardim beat Van Rooyen in a good battle at the front of Class C to take his third win of the season. Seedat held onto his podium spot as well, Airaga’s debut outing only last two laps before retiring with mechanical issues, while Varish Ganpath made up some places to finish fifth, ahead of Coetzee. Miller got back to winning ways in Class D, taking his fourth win, and first since Round 3. Both Bloem and Ribeiro dropped back, while Craig Platt and Mokhonoana both stepped onto the podium for the first time. Arri van Heerden and Justin Brown completed the top five.
The reverse-grid second race, run over eight laps, saw Van Vuuren quickly make his way to the front, to take his 11th win of the season, and third in a row. Rodrigues took the runner-up spot, and his first podium of the season, ahead of Sekudu. Long went one better than in Race 1, with Kent Swartz completing the top five. In Class C, Jardim and Van Rooyen continued their battle, but this time it was the latter who took the honours, his second win of the season. Ganpath completed the podium, while Airaga, in fourth place, recorded his first finish. Coetzee again completed the top five. In Class D, Brown took his second win of the year, beating Miller, while Bloem completed the podium. Mokhonoana and Platt had to settle for fourth and fifth, respectively, this time around.
With a full house of 20 points, Van Vuuren took the ZF Aftermarket South Africa Overall Win in Class B. Sekudu was second, with 14 points, while Rodrigues’ 13 points saw him third. Van Rooyen and Jardim tied on 18 points in Class C, but Van Rooyen had the faster accumulated race time, which saw him take the win. He also walked away with the XPEL Driver of the Day award. Ganpath, with 11 points, took third place. Miller’s 18 points saw him take Class D, from Brown with 14, and Craig Platt with 12.
Van Vuuren now holds a 43-point lead in Class B over Gerntholtz, while Sekudu is a further 17 points adrift. Class C sees Jardim with a 10-point lead over Van Rooyen, now 46-points clear of the absent Malemela. Miller’s Class D lead is now 15 points over Brown, with Henry Platt a further 14 points adrift.
Despite not scoring, Gerntholtz remains second behind Van Vuuren in the NA Cup, with Miller third. However, with only 23 points up for the taking, Van Vuuren is by no means assured of the NA Cup crown yet. The BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series provides for various end-of-season championship eligibility calculations to come into play. While Class B has been the NA Cup class heading up the field throughout the season, there is provision for a Class A.
Van Vuuren may be assured of a class title, but which class remains an open question, as does who the 2026 NA Cup champion will be. His grip will remain one-handed until the season finale at Zwartkops Raceway on 20-21 November.