Andre van Vuuren started the second half of the 2026 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series NA Cup championship by taking another small stride toward his maiden title this past weekend (7-8 August) at the Aldo Scribante Raceway, but it was local driver Timothy Ball who became the talk of the town.
This was only the second time that the series visited the Gqeberha circuit as part of the Extreme Festival’s annual coastal round rotation for the regional roster, the first having been in 2023. However, for the majority of the drivers, this was their first outing at the circuit.
One of those was Class B’s Richard Gerntholtz, who took the ATS Motorsport Pole Position on Saturday morning, with Van Vuuren joining him on the front row. The grid was completed Olerato Sekudu, Ignus du Plessis, and Bernard de Gouveia. Ball started his weekend off strong by taking the Class C pole spot. Claudio Jardim pipped Tihan van Rooyen to second place, with Lorenzo Gualtieri, competing in the OG Track Taxi, fourth. The top five was completed by Ruan van der Walt, while points leader Nicholas Herbst had to settle for sixth place. Henry Platt headed up Justin Brown in Class D, followed by Philip Mostert Jnr and Steven Phillips. The points leader, Reinhardt Miller, did not enter the NA Cup for Round 5. Although only four drivers started Saturday in Class D, they were eligible for a full allocation of points, as Dirk van Loggerenberg broke into Class C during Friday’s official practice sessions.
Race 1 produced a host of good battles, but the race was red-flagged after six laps following Philip Mostert Jnr spinning around and facing the wrong way and Mitch Coetzee getting stuck with a broken accelerator cable. While no serious damage occurred, they were momentarily stuck in rather precarious positions, which could’ve been cleared under a Safety Car under normal circumstances. However, the local event organisers did not have a Safety Car on site, leaving a complete race stoppage as the only viable option. This was followed by a four-lap sprint to the finish.
Gerntholtz took his maiden win, with Van Vuuren in second place. Du Plessis and Sekudu battled it out for the final Class B podium spot, while De Gouveia completed the field. Ball recorded a Class C win on debut, ahead of Jardim and Van der Walt. Van Rooyen and Herbst completed the top five. Platt took the Class D win. While Phillips crossed the line ahead of Brown, the aggregate classification of the two race portions reversed their positions.
In Race 2, Van Vuuren turned the tables to dominate the field and take his seventh Class B win of the season, continuing his record of at least one win per championship round. Gerntholtz took the runner-up spot, while Du Plessis again completed the podium. De Gouveia finished fourth, while struggling with tyre degradation on the abrasive surface. Sekudu retired just seconds into the race. Ball had another excellent Class C outings to make it two wins for the day. This time, Herbst had a stronger outing to take the runner-up spot with Van Rooyen completing the podium. Jardim took a lonely fourth place, while Gualtieri fended off the onslaughts from Gqeberha’s Duncan Phillips and East London’s Paul Berry. Platt and Brown were the only finishers in Class D.
The ZF-Aftermarket Overall Results saw Gerntholtz take the Class B win from Van Vuuren. While both drivers accumulated 18 points, Gerntholtz had the fastest aggregate time. Du Plessis took third place. Ball’s double win saw him take the Class C overall win, as well as the XPEL South Africa Driver of the Day award. Jardim, who accumulated 13 points, beat Herbst by a single point. Platt’s two wins saw him take Class D from Brown and Phillips.
Following the weekend, Van Vuuren has now extended his lead to 17 points over Du Plessis at the top of Class B, with Gerntholtz now third, five adrift. Herbst is now 31 points clear of Van Rooyen in Class C, who finds himself four ahead of Claudio Jardim. With Miller absent, Platt now leads him by four points in Class D, while Brown is third, six behind Miller. Van Vuuren has a 14-point lead over Herbst in the NA Cup, with Du Plessis three adrift.
Round 6 of the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will see the field return to Zwartkops Raceway for the fourth time this season on 11-12 September.