A scorcher of a Saturday at Zwartkops Raceway saw Round 7 of the 2024 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series finish with Class B’s Renier Smith now on top of the points table.
Smith becomes the fourth leader in as many rounds. While Smith’s class rival Andreas Meier remained on top until Round 4, Nicholas Herbst went into the mid-season break on top, before Johan Miller took the lead in the coastal sixth round.
Classes A, B & C
Ryan Naicker was the fastest driver throughout Friday’s practice sessions and followed this up with the Dunlop Pole Position. His Class A rival, Bob Neill, joined him on the front row while defending class and series champion Leon Loubser had Fabio Fedetto for company on Row 2. Smith headed up the Class B grid, with Meier second. Defending class champion Nek Makris lined up third, with Lorenzo Gualtieri in fourth, making a welcome return to the series. Hein van der Merwe took the Class C pole position ahead of reigning Class D champion Reinhardt Miller. Gary Martins shared the second row with Lenard Archer, the latter showing excellent pace throughout Friday. Devin Robertson lined up in fifth place.
In Race 1, Naicker carried on where he left off in the previous Zwartkops visit by taking a lights-to-flag win. However, the race was red-flagged following Troy Cochran’s retirement, which saw him beach his BMW E36 M3 in the sandtrap outside of Turn 4.
Behind Naicker, Loubser passed Neill to finish second, while Fedetto did not start the race. Smith took the Class B win from Gualtieri, with both Meier and Makris retiring with mechanical issues on the second lap. Miller held off Archer to take the Class C win, with Robertson completing the podium. Anand Naidu and Bennie Luyt completed the top five.
The second race was also halted a lap earlier than expected, following a series of spins and collisions brought on by a very slippery track surface.
This saw Smith take the race and Class B win, with Makris second. Gualtieri retired shortly after the start. Reinhardt Miller made it a fourth-consecutive race win in Class C, following a good battle with second-place Robertson and Naidu. However, Naidu received a 30-second penalty for passing under yellow-flag conditions, which promoted Luyt to the final podium spot, while Rob Gearing moved to fourth. Gary Martins resolved the handling issues that forced him to retire in Race 1 to take fifth place. Class A was won by Neill, who completed eight of the nine laps, while Naicker retired due a broken rear suspension. However, he did complete the minimum distance to be classified as a finisher. Loubser retired early into the race.
The Round 7 ZF-Aftermarket Overall Results saw Niacker take the Class A honours for the day, though, having scored two more points than Neill. Loubser was third. Naicker also recorded both fastest laps. Smith took the Class B win and recorded both the fastest laps. Makris and Gualtieri scored eight points, but Makris completed more of the total distance. Miller’s double win saw him take the Class C honours and the ITOO Driver of the Day award, with Robertson and Luyt second and third. Archer and Miller recorded the fastest laps in the respective races.
Classes D & E
Shane Grobler took the ATS Motorsport Pole Position to head up the Class D grid from Claudio Jardim, Eddie Rodrigues and Dewald Smith. Matthew Wadeley set the fastest time in Class E, with Zeyad Ismail joining him at the front. Johan Miller and Mike Grobler lined up on the second row.
At the start, Nicholas Herbst made up a few places before the Class D race settled into a cat-and-mouse battle at the front. Shane Grobler held off Jardim for the win, while Rodrigues did the same with Nicholas Herbst to secure the final podium spot. Dewald Smith finished fifth. Wadeley took his second win of the season in Class E, beating Ismail and Mike Grobler, who jostled for the runner-up spot further back. Jacques Smith finished fourth, ahead of Mariaan Emmenis, who made her return to the series.
Race 2 finished behind the safety car after Ferdi van Staden stopped on the racing line between Turns 5 and 6. Rodrigues took his first Class D win at the circuit, where he took a win on his Class E debut in Round 2. Nicholas Herbst finished second, with Shane Grobler, Shaun Dodd and Craig Herbst completing the rest of the top five. However, Craig Herbst jumped the start and received a 30-second penalty, which promoted Trevor Long to fifth place. Johan Miller first crossed the finish line in Class E but broke out in the latter stages of the race. This gave Wadeley his second win of the day, ahead of Mike Grobler, Ismail, Zaheer Seedat, and Emmenis.
While Shane Grobler and Rodrigues both scored 16 points, Grobler had the superior aggregate time and took the ZF-Aftermarket Class D Overall win, with Nicholas Herbst third. Dewald Smith recorded the fastest laps. Wadeley took the Class E win from Mike Grobler and Ismail, tied on 14 points but with Grobler having the superior aggregate time. Wadeley also recorded both fastest laps.
Points Tables After Round 7
Loubser still holds the lead in Class A. With 77 points, he is 14 ahead of Neill, who took second place from Fedetto, a further two points adrift. Naicker moved up a spot to fourth, one point behind Fedetto, with Nian du Toit now fifth on 44 points.
Renier Smith now has the outright lead in Class B with 95 points, 14 clear of Makris, while Meier is a further 11 adrift. Oz Biagioni and Carlo Garbini still occupy fourth and fifth place with 44 and 33 points, respectively.
With 73 points, Reinhardt Miller is now in the lead of Class C. Former leader Gary Martins is 10 points adrift but 11 ahead of Jan Eversteyn. Luyt is just one point behind and two ahead of Van der Merwe.
Nicholas Herbst retained the Class D lead with a total of 89 points. This shows him as 26 points clear of Jardim, who made up a spot. George Economides is one point adrift. Johan Miller, with 59.8 points, now slots into fourth place after breaking out, while Cobus Bohmer, on 56 points, is fifth.
Miller’s breakout sees Wadeley now on top of Class E with 79 points. Seedat is 19 adrift. Ismail has 39 points and is 11 ahead of Mike Grobler, who has a six-point advantage over Ernest Page.
On the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series points table, Renier Smith leads Nicholas Herbst, Makris, Wadeley and Loubser.
Next Event
Round 8 of the 2024 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will see the second visit to Red Star Raceway for 2024. This time, races will be completed around the anti-clockwise layout of the circuit. This event will form part of the Regional Extreme Festival on 11-12 October.
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