This coming weekend (11-13 April), the third round of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will see the category bringing more than a fifth of the total entry list for the deluxe Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit Extreme Festival.
This event will mark the first occasion since 2017 that both the National and Regional Extreme Festival categories, 13 in total, will be in action on the same weekend. For the first time since the fourth round of 2023, all five classes of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will also be combined on the same starting grid. The weekend will also mark the 10th appearance of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit since the 2016 reopening, marking it the first series to celebrate this milestone.
Defending class- and series Champion Leon Loubser has a points tally of 34 but will miss Round 3. A host of drivers will be eager to upset the pecking order. Fabio Fedetto will look to close in on the lead, while Bob Neill returns after his 2023 season finale accident. This time, Ryan Naicker will be back on the grid in Class A, while Paulo and Rick Loureiro will also make their first appearances since the 2023 Kyalami 9-Hour event.
Former series double-champion Andreas Meier heads up Class B from defending class title holder Nek Makris with a 12-point advantage. Renier Smith is just eight points adrift and on the back of a competitive second round. Sav Gualtieri, who made an excellent return to the series in that event, will also look to continue his fine form. Oz Biagioni’s consistency sees him in fifth place. Carlo Garbini, Jaco Storm Snr, and Salvi Gualtieri will all look to join in on the action.
Gary Martin’s previous Kyalami outing proved to be a torrid affair, but this time, he holds a slender lead in Class C, where only eight points cover the top five. Hein van der Merwe and Bennie Luyt will look to continue their battle with Martins, while former class leader Rob Gearing will also be back in action. Reigning Class D Champion Reinhardt Miller will also look to move into the top five. Other regular contenders will be Alan Hilligenn, Anand Naidu, Bernard de Gouveia, Jan Eversteyn, Neil Reynolds, Nick Naido, Nishal Singh, Troy Cochran, and Varish Ganpath will also be in action. Mish Sing will make his first appearance in more than two years, while Devin Robertson will have his first 2024 outing.
Nicholas Herbst heads up Class D by six points from Cobus Bohmer. Reigning Class E Champion Arri van Heerden will look to move into the top three after his Round 2 breakout and in the absence of Ludavic Caron. Claudio Jardim’s impressive form sees him in fifth place ahead of his first Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit outing. Craig Herbst, Dave Rehse, Ferdi van Staden, Roland Hopkins, Shane Grobler, Stefano Cavalieri, and Trevor Long will all be in contention for solid points. A wild card in this class may well be George Economides, competing in his first non-Zwartkops Raceway event in the series.
Zaheer Seedat holds a 14-point lead in Class E over Shaun Dodd, with Johan Miller, Eddie Rodrigues, and Farhaad Ebrahim all in close pursuit. A lot of eyes will be on recent debutant Tihan van der Merwe. Willie Kok has also looked impressive in his few outings, while Caren Nienaber will be the sole female driver. Matthew Wadeley will pilot the BMW Car Club Gauteng Track Taxi, while series regular Mike Grobler will also look to impress.
Lenard Archer will finally debut his BMW E90 335i after unforeseen delays kept him from competing in the previous two rounds. Marais Ellis, who entered but was forced to miss the Gqeberha round last year, will make his first appearance since the 2020 Passion for Speed. Other debutants will be Andre de Lange, Andre van Vuuren, Andrea Cavalieri and JP Nortje. Rotax Senior-MAX karting star Olerato Sekudu will also make his main circuit debut.
Heading into the weekend, Meier leads the overall points table with Loubser, Seedat, Nicholas Herbst, and Makris, who are all in the top five.
Saturday’s two races will start at 09:35 and 16:25. Spectator tickets can be purchased via Computicket.
