This past weekend’s (12-13 June) fourth round of the 2026 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series saw Lee Thompson dominate at Zwartkops Raceway, but Anton Pommersheim hung onto his championship lead.
While his entry remained doubtful last week, the points leader was confirmed to be on the grid with 43 hours to go before the start of the race weekend. So too was Thompson’s second consecutive entry in the series, again deputising in Kashen Naicker’s BMW E92 M3 Turbo GT. This meant that the Class A field would be eligible for their full allocation of points. The Class B field also reached its minimum requirement of five drivers. As reported last week, both Ethan Coetzee and Bilal Ahmed opted to move back to the Class following the introduction of a new rule which allowed for slick tyres in the class. However, on Friday, Wessel Mostert, formerly in Class C, also opted to move into the class after fitting slick tyres.
Saturday morning’s qualifying session saw Lee Thompson secure the Dunlop Pole Position with the fastest time recorded for a competitor in the series around the Pretoria circuit, 60.820 seconds. However, he would not line up at the front of the field, due to a penalty for not having a timing device fitted to his car in Friday’s second practice session. This saw Pommersheim head up the grid from Bob Neill, Leon Loubser, Lenard Archer, and Thompson. In Class B, it was Renier Smith who qualified ahead of his new class rivals Mostert and Coetzee, while Carlo Garbini completed this line-up after Ahmed failed to record a time. Former championship leader, Oz Biagioni, had a strong start to his day by qualifying first ahead of Reinhardt Miller in Class C. Regular contenders Hein van der Merwe, Nicky Dicks, and Salvi Gualtieri completed the top five, while the class points leader Bennie Luyt had to settle for seventh place. Current Class D leader Michael Grobler headed up former leader Craig Herbst, with Eugene Gouws, Gerhard du Plessis, and Willie Kok completing the top five. Alan Hilligenn broke into Class C in the session.
The penalty did not hamper Thompson for long who soon made his way into second place behind Pommersheim. However, the latter ran off at Turn 5 on Lap 4 due to ABS issues. Due to being stuck in an unsafe position, the safety car was deployed. This also allowed Pommersheim to rejoin the race, albeit three laps down upon the two-lap sprint restart.
Thompson took the Class A win from Neill, with Loubser and Archer in tow. Having completed seven of the 10 laps despite his ABS issues, Pommersheim completed the minimum distance required for classification. Smith looked good in Class B, but mechanical issues allowed Coetzee to make a last-ditch pass on him to take the Class B win. Further back, Garbini finished third, with Mostert retiring on Lap 5. Miller beat Dicks, Van der Merwe and Biagioni in Class C. Gualtieri’s retirement saw Anand Naidu move up a spot, while Luyt settled for sixth place. Grobler headed up the Class D podium from Gouws and Du Plessis, while Gerald Anthony beat Kok to fourth place.
The day had more than its fair share of delays, and a further one came just three laps into the second race when Carlo Garbini’s BMW E36 328i Turbo’s engine expired, which resulted in a significant oil spill. Effectively, this race was reduced to a total distance of eight laps, with the second part consisting of a five-lap sprint.
Again, Thompson made light work of things to take his fourth consecutive Class A win. Pommersheim tired to chase him down and finished in second place, while Loubser completed the podium. Further back, Neill finished fourth, while Archer did not make it out for the restart. In Class B, Smith took an easy win after an incident between Mostert and Coetzee saw the latter lose a lot of time trying to rejoin the circuit. With Mostert also not restarting, Coetzee finished second. Miller made it two wins for the day, with Biagioni and Naidu crossing the line in second and third places. While Dicks was the fourth driver over the line, the aggregate classification saw Varish Ganpath in fourth place, ahead of Luyt, despite the latter bringing up the rear of the Class in a closely contested fifth-place battle. Herbst returned to winning ways in Class D, beating Grobler, Gouws, Du Plessis, and Johan Miller.
The ZF-Aftermarket Overall Results for Round 4 saw Thompson take his second Class A win. His blistering pace and comeback from a penalty also earned him the ITOO Driver of the Day award. His 20 points saw him seven clear of Neill, who scored one more than Loubser. Smith and Coetzee tied on 18 points, with Smith superior aggregate time seeing him take the Class B win. Garbini’s six points saw him third. A 20-point full house for Miller saw him take Class C, seven ahead of Biagioni, while Dicks was third, two points adrift. Grobler, with 18 points, took Class D. 14-point Gouws and 11-point Du Plessis were second and third, respectively.
Despite a difficult weekend, Pommersheim retained his Class A lead, which has now shrunk to 19 points with Thompson emerging as his closest rival. Archer, formerly in second place, dropped out of the top three, with Neill now six points behind Thompson. Smith’s lead also shrank in Class B, with Coetzee now six points adrift, and Mostert in third, 18.5 points behind. Luyt retained the top spot in Class C, with Naidu three points adrift Miller and Biagioni are seven points behind, but Miller has three wins compared to Biagioni’s one. Grobler extended his Class D lead, and is nine points clear of Gouws, while Herbst moved back into the top three, four points adrift. Van Vuuren leads Grobler, Luyt, Gouws and Smith in the Turbo Cup.
The next outing for the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series Turbo Cup will be in Gqeberha on 7-8 August. This year’s coastal round will see the Series visit the Aldo Scribante Racetrack for the second time, the last being in 2023. Although communicated beforehand that the winter break would mark the halfway point of the season, this will change with the Series expected to make a big announcement later in June.