This weekend’s (9-10 October) BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series Turbo Cup seventh round at Red Star Raceway could see the championship balance sway significantly.
This will be the second visit to the circuit in 2026, albeit the first which will utilise the clockwise circuit layout.
According to the official points table at this stage of the season. Anton Pommersheim leads his Class A rival, Lee Thompson, by a mere five points. Pommersheim might have had a solid start to the year, with three wins from the first two rounds, while taking 43 out of a possible 46 points. However, things changed in Round 3 when Thompson joined the fray. Since then, he added 85 points, only losing out on one available point. While it is still too early to look at the full Eligibility Calculator, which comes into play in the season finale, the writing is already on the wall. Thompson won’t drop any points, while Pommersheim has a potential nine-point drop, effectively, seeing Thompson in a net four-point lead. For Pommersheim to keep his title hopes alive, he must do something that he has not managed to do thus far in 2026, outpace and outrace Thompson. Leon Loubser, 32 points behind Pommersheim, and Bob Neill, a further two points adrift, will also be in contention, and both have strong records at the Delmas circuit.
There’s also another complication to contend with. At present, there are only four Class A drivers on the entry list, which means they will not be eligible to score full points. Which will give some of the other contenders a better chance to stay in contention.
Class B also only sees four drivers entered, So while Ethan Coetzee trails Pommersheim by only 16 points, he will be faced with a similar points-payout dilemma. He does have three Class B wins to his name, and leads Renier Smith by nine points in Class B. Although the latter has six wins this season, four of those came without any real competition, in the early stages of the season prior to various rule changes that resulted in an influx of Class B drivers. Oz Biagioni, 6.8 points adrift, will compete in his second Class B outing, while Wessel Mostert, with one win already, is a further six points adrift.
Class C’s Reynard Miller is another noteworthy contender. Not only is he first driver to lead a class in both the Turbo and NA Cup, simultaneously, but like Thompson, his Turbo Cup journey also started in Round 3. He trails Pommersheim by 18 points. He already has four wins to his name. Michael Grobler was in contention for that battle at the top of the Turbo Cup, but broke out in the previous round, which saw him slot into second place in Class C, 3.9 points behind Miller. Former leader, Anand Naidu, has not entered for this round, which could see another former leader, Bennie Luyt, make up the five-point deficit. The Class C driver with the wind in his sails at present, is Nicky Dicks, on the back of his first two wins, which sees him four points behind Luyt.
Hein van der Merwe will also be back on the grid, while Varish Ganpath will become the third driver, after Miller and Smith, to compete in both Cups on the same weekend.
Grobler’s breakout saw Craig Herbst take the lead in Class D, a position he solidified with a full house of points in the last round, which sees him trail Pommersheim by seven points. He is also 21 points ahead of his nearest class rival, Gerald Anthony. Eugene Gouws and Johan Miller are both 10 points behind him.
While fifth-placed Gerhard du Plessis is not on the entry list, Herbst and the rest of the Class D field are still likely to start the weekend with full points availability. This is thanks to Neil Reynolds, scheduled to make his first appearance since the season opener.
Saturday’s first race, consisting of 8 laps, will start at 11:15, with the second 10-lap encounter scheduled for 14:55. The full Extreme Festival race programme will be broadcast live on the Extreme Festival website, and will start at 08:50.