The maiden BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series Turbo Cup title could well be 2026’s closest championship battle heading into the season finale, despite Lee Thompson continuing to set the pace in the nail-biting eighth round this past Saturday (24 October) at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit.
Thompson’s day started with some challenges. A broken turbo feed pipe on his BMW E92 M3 Turbo GT saw him miss the qualifying session, thereby missing out on only his second point since joining the Series in Round 3. This gave Sav Gualtieri his first Dunlop Pole Position of the season. However, lining up in that spot also hung in the balance for a while, due to a broken drive shaft on his BMW F30 V8 Turbo. Gualtieri, in only his second outing of the season, did head up the grid, following quick repairs from the SavSpeed Racing team. Anton Pommersheim joined him on the front row. Leon Loubser and Bilal Ahmed were next, and while Bob Neill didn’t set a time, he started fifth in Class A, with Thompson also ready for the first race. Renier Smith headed up Wessel Mostert in Class B, with Nishal Singh in third. Lenard Archar and Carlo Garbini, both having missed the recent rounds, completed the top five in qualifying. Points leader, Ethan Coetzee, also didn’t record a lap time, but started sixth. Reinhardt Miller headed up Class C from Anand Naidu and Sayen Moodley. Nicky Dicks and Bennie Luyt completed the top five. In Class D, Craig Herbst took the pole position, and along with that, a point that could prove vital in his title quest. Narser Ismail, Eugene Gouws, and Gerald Anthony were the regular campaigners, with debutant Weylin Volschenk lining up in fifth place.
Thompson did not take long to get to the front in the seven-lap first race. His progress was also aided considerably by Pommersheim, Neill, and Ahmed, all retiring on the opening lap. He beat Sav Gualtieri and Loubser in Class A. Emulating his performance was Coetzee in Class B. He won with Singh and Garbini completing the podium. Archer was the last to finish. Mostert did not start the race, while Smith retired on Lap 4, but was classified in fifth place. Reinhardt Miller took the Class C win, with Moodley and Dicks joining him on the podium. Salvi Gualtieri and Varish Ganpath completed the top five. Volschenk’s early retirement and Ismail’s breakout resulted in only five finishers in Class D. Herbst beat Gouws and Anthony. Johan Miller and Jonathan Govender completed the line-up.
Race 2 provided arguably the season’s best battle at the front of Class A. From the reverse grid, Sav Gualtieri soon got to the lead and did his utmost to keep Thompson at bay. However, around the half distance mark, Thompson passed Gualtieri and went on to record his 12th straight win. They were the only Class A finishers. Ahmed retired after three laps, while Loubser’s alternator failure saw him complete only one lap. Smith beat Coetzee in Class B, Singh completed the podium, with Archer and Garbini in fourth and fifth places, respectively. Reinhardt Miller made it seven Class C wins, and also a double for the day. This time, it was Luyt and Dicks who completed the podium. Ganpath and Ismail completed the top five. With Govender a non-starter, Class D saw only four finishers. Herbst took the win from Johan Miller. Anthony took another third place, with Gouws fourth.
In the ZF Aftermarket South Africa overall results, Thompson, with 20 points, took the Class A win from Sav Gualtieri, with 16 points. From being doubtful starters, both bounced back to deliver one of the best contests of the season and shared the iTOO Driver of the Day award. Loubser, with his six points from Race 1, took third place. Coetzee’s 18 points saw him take Class B. Singh and Smith tied on 14 points, but Singh completed the full race distance, earning him the runner-up spot. Reinhardt Miller’s 20 points saw him take the Class C win, with Dicks, on 12, second, and Moodley, on 10, third. In Class D, it was also a win with 20 points for Herbst. The second-place 13-point tie saw Johan Miller beating Gouws based on a faster accumulated race time.
Only a maximum of 23 points remain up for grabs in the season finale, however various championship eligibility calculations does come into play at this time, as laid out in the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series regulations. In Class A, Thompson leads Pommersheim by 25 points; Pommersheim led both championships until as recently as 16 days ago and has now been eliminated from both battles. With no breakouts from Class A being possible, Thompson has secured the Class A crown. Loubser a further 32 points adrift. This is also the case should Class B’s leader, Coetzee, break out, as he will then sacrifice 25% of his points. Coetzee’s lead over Smith is now five points, with Mostert a further 31.5 adrift. Reinhardt Miller has a 24-point lead in Class C over Luyt, with Dicks a further five points adrift. Herbst’s Class D lead stands at 36 points over Johan Miller, with Anthony only two behind.
However, it’s at the top of the Turbo Cup where things are more interesting. Thompson’s over Herbst is three points, while Miller is only 10 points adrift. We already know that none of them will be dropping points heading into the season finale at Zwartkops Raceway, which will make this as straight-forward a battle as it can be on 20-21 November.