Defending BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series champion Renier Smith retained the top spot on the 2025 points table after this past weekend’s (16-17 May) fourth round of the championship at Zwartkops Raceway, which saw the contenders reach the mid-point of the season.
Friday News
Friday morning saw a change in the Class B lineup for the weekend. Carlo Garbini was set to make his return to the grid, but mere hours before the start of the event, Lorenzo Gualtieri was announced to drive his BMW E46 328i, with this being the latter’s first 2025 outing.
Friday would set the scene for some more surprises, though. Due to an issue related to the timing equipment utilised for the event, none of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series competitors recorded any official times. This being the first round with the new winter breakout times applied, it resulted in no one being quite sure where they racked up in the pecking order, and neither could breakouts occur.
However, breakdowns occurred, with Andreas Meier’s torrid luck continuing. The Class B driver’s weekend did not progress to the business end because his BMW E36 STC suffered an engine failure.
Classes A, B & C
This time around, the Class A, B and C headed up the proceedings. Saturday morning’s qualifying session saw Rick Loureiro set the fastest time for the second time this season. However, unlike in Round 2, when mechanical issues prevented him from starting the race, nothing prevented him from parking his BMW F30 335i on the Dunlop Pole Position for Race 1. Leon Loubser and Fabio Fedetto completed the Class A grid, while Bob Neill’s weekend came to a halt after one underpowered timed lap. Lorenzo Gualtieri headed up Class B from Nek Makris, back on the grid after missing Round 3. Anton Pommersheim and Smith completed the Class B line-up. In Class C, Salvi Gualtieri headed up Nishal Singh, with Hein van der Merwe, Bilal Ahmed and Nick Naidoo completing the top five.
Race 1 saw Loureiro dominate Class A to take a lights-to-flag win from Loubser and Fedetto. The Class B field also looked set to finish as they started after the 10-lap affair, with Lorenzo Gualtieri beating Makris. However, Smith picked up a somewhat fortunate podium spot when Pommersheim retired with an empty fuel tank on the final lap. Smith’s fortunes improved further following the completion of the race when Makris received a 30-second penalty for jumping the start, which saw the pair switch places.
Salvi Gualtieri beat Singh in the cat-and-mouse battle at the front of Class C to take his third consecutive win at the Pretoria circuit. Oz Biagioni made up two places on the opening lap and soon jostled with Van der Merwe for third place. Around the halfway mark, Biagioni took the final podium spot, which he held onto until the end. Van der Merwe’s race was over on lap nine, which saw him classified as a finisher, albeit last, and with Ahmed and Naidoo promoted to fourth and fifth, respectively.
Race 2 saw Loureiro quickly move to the front, while Loubser was unable to capitalise on his inverted grid benefit as he dropped behind the Class B field. However, he soon started making up places again. On Lap 7, the Safety Car neutralised the race after Nek Makris spun off and into the Turn 4 barrier. Upon resumption, no one could challenge the driver ahead for a position in the remaining lap.
Not that the checkered flag was quite the end of it, either. Loureiro made it two wins for the day, with Loubser second. Fedetto finished third but received a 30-second penalty for passing under Safety Car conditions. Lorenzo Gualtieri won Class B, with Pommersheim in second place. However, fortune again favoured Smith, who was classified second after Pommersheim was slapped with a similar penalty.
While Naidoo took the Class C honours, Ahmed and Biagioni, who crossed the line second and third, respectively, also slipped down in the final classification after similar penalties. This promoted Salvi Gualtieri and Lenard Archer onto the podium, while Singh and Varish Ganpath completed the top five.
The ZF-Aftermarket Overall Results saw Loureiro taking Class A from Loubser and Fedetto, with 20, 16 and 12 points for this trio, respectively. Gualtieri’s two Class B wins also gave him 20 points to beat Renier Smith with 16. Pommersheim’s 11 points saw him third. Salvi Gualtieri bagged 18 points on the day, with Naidoo’s 14 seeing him second, ahead of Singh with 13.
Classes D, E & F
Class D points leader Bernard de Gouveia’s day did not start according to plan, with a suspected suspension component failure on his BMW E46 M3 resulting in him crashing out of the qualifying session with only one lap completed. Mario Hattingh took his maiden ATS Motorsport Pole Position, while Andre van Vuuren joined him on the grid’s front row despite having his fastest lap deleted after passing under Yellow flag conditions. Craig Herbst qualified third, ahead of debutant Sheldon Chetty. However, being a debutant, the latter had to start from the back of the grid. This promoted Richard Germholdtz, while Neil Reynolds completed the top five. Tihan van Rooyen headed up the Class E grid from Wessel Mostert, with Claudio Jardim and Karabo Malemela third and fourth. Kent Swartz qualified fifth but had his fastest time deleted as well for a similar offence to Van Vuuren’s. Zaheer Seedat headed up Class F from Chloe Stuart, in only her second saloon car outing. Shaun Dodd, Manny Ribeiro and Kyan Boodaya completed the top five.
Race 1 saw a good tussle between Hattingh and Van Vuuren for the lead, but it was Hattingh who took his maiden win, with Gerntholtz completing the podium. Reynolds finished fourth after jostling with Eugene Gouws, but the latter lost power on the final lap, which saw Dawie Olivier pass him for fifth place. Van Rooyen’s Class E lead was short-lived, with him running wide while exiting Turn 2 and dropping a few places. This promoted Mostert, Jardim, and Malemela, who went on to complete the podium in that order. Cameron Christian, another debutant, crossed the line in fourth place but broke into Class D, which promoted Swartz and Van Rooyen. Dave Rehse, who also formed part of the battle for fourth, retired on Lap 9.
It was a turbulent affair at the front of Class F. Stuart looked strong off the line, but Dodd soon took a very short-lived lead. Stuart again took a brief lead but was passed by Manny Ribeiro, who retired with a differential failure soon after. Stuart held on to take her maiden win this time, in only her third start. Gerald Anthony and Justin Brown were the next to cross the line but broke into Class E, which promoted Dodd and Boodaya onto the podium. Ignus du Plessis finished fourth, with Seedat fifth.
Race 2 saw Olivier resist the pressure from the pack of eager contenders behind him to take a lights-to-flag win in Class D. While the rest of the pack applied pressure on him, his task was slightly aided by the challengers all involved in their own skirmishes throughout. Initially, it was Reynolds who held second place on the circuit, but Hattingh soon passed him. Germholdtz and Van Vuuren were also in contention, while De Gouveia kept a watchful eye on things. Hattingh briefly slotted into second at the start of the race’s second half, but not for long, as he lost the place to Van Vuuren. Germholdtz retired, and on the final lap, Hattingh passed Van Vuuren. However, Hattingh received a 30-second penalty for jumping the start. This promoted Van Vuurern to second, with De Gouveia completing the podium. Gouws and Reynolds completed the top five.
Class E saw Van Rooyen take his first win of the season, with Mostert second and Malemela adding another podium. Anthony and Swartz rounded out the top five. Stuart made it a double victory, beating Dodd and Seedat. Caren Nienaber finished fourth, ahead of the last of the Round 4 debutants, Miguel da Costa.
The ZF-Aftermarket Overall results saw Van Vuuren winning in Class D, with 16 points over Olivier’s 14 and Hattingh’s 12. Mostert took 18 points in Class E, taking the day from Van Rooyen with 14 and Malemela with 12. Stuart’s 20 points saw her win Class F and take the ITOO Driver of the Day award. Dodd was second and Seedat third, with 16 and 10 points, respectively.
Championship After Round 4
Loubser, now with 65 points, extended his Class A lead to 21 points over Fedetto, while Neill now trails the latter by 12 points.
Smith took his tally to 70, double the amount accumulated by his nearest rival, Meier. Makris and Pommersheim are one point behind Meier and Makris slots into third place because of his win earlier this year.
Salvi Gualtieri retook the Class C lead from Van der Merwe, with the pair having 50 and 40 points, respectively. Ganpath trails Van der Merwe by four points.
De Gouveia’s 55 points saw him extend his lead in Class D to 21 points over the absent Michael Grobler. Olivier slotted into third place, also on 34 points. With a win and second place each for this pair, Grobler’s additional third place sees him ahead.
Mostert has now taken the lead of Class E. His 57 points see him seven ahead of the absent Eddie Rodrigues. Malemala, in third place, has 40 points.
Dodd increased his tally to 53 points in Class F. With Justin Brown breaking out, Seedat is now second and trails Dodd by 13 points. Nienaber is third with 31 points.
Smith now leads Loubser on the Series Points Table after the latter gained a place. Mostert leapfrogged a host of drivers to rank third, while De Gouveia retained his fourth place. Dodd is back in the top five now.
Next Event
The second half of the 2025 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will commence with Round 5 at Red Star Raceway on 27-28 June.
