Andre van Vuuren has moved to the top of BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series NA Cup after Red Star Raceway dished up a host of action and drama in this past weekend’s (15-16 May) third round of the 2026 championship.
The shape of things to come already became very apparent in Friday’s practice sessions when the points leader heading into the weekend, Ignus du Plessis, broke into Class B. Also breaking into the Class B brigade was Eddie Rodrigues, while Ruan van der Walt filled the void by breaking into Class C. All three drivers took all their points into their classes, with this being the last round of the season that a 100% Carry Over applied.
Qualifying took place on Friday afternoon, and this was the only business-end session that Van Vuuren did not dominate. He had to settle for second place on the grid with his ATS Motorsport Pole Position lock-out spree ended by Richard Gerntholtz. Olerato Sekudu headed up the second row from Du Plessis, while Bernard de Gouveia completed the Class B top five. Tihan van Rooyen narrowly pipped the new Class C points leader, Nicholas Herbst, to pole in Class C, with this field completed by Van der Walt, Claudio Jardim, and Kent Swartz. In Class D, it was Zaheer Seedat who beat points leader Reinhardt Miller to pole. Henry Platt settled for third ahead of Chloe Stuart, with Arri van Heerden in fifth.
What started out as a closely-contested first race on Saturday morning was neutralised when Rodrigues had a horrific accident which saw him roll his BMW E92 M3, and come to a standstill on about 200 metres from the circuit. Rodrigues sustained no serious injuries. Following a few laps behind the Safety Car, the race was red-flagged with two of the eight laps remaining.
This saw Van Vuuren take the race and Class B win from Gerntholtz, Sekudu, Du Plessis, and Paolo Cavalieri. Herbst beat Van der Walt, Jardim, Swartz, and Van Rooyen in Class C. Seedat, Miller, Platt and Stuart finished as they started in Class D, while Justin Brown finished fifth.
With various other delays in the programme as well, Race 2 was shortened to eight laps. Van Vuuren made light work of getting to the front, but had his work cut out after that to keep Gerntholtz at bay, and take his fifth win for the season, and fourth on the trot. Sekudu, who held the early lead, completed the Class B podium, with Du Plessis in tow, while Troy Cochran finished fifth. Herbst beat Van Rooyen to the Class C win following a good tussle. Van der Walt completed the podium, with Jardim fourth, and Swartz fifth. Miller notched up his fourth Class D win for the year, with Brown as runner-up. Platt held off Seedat for the final podium spot, while Stuart finished fifth.
Round 3 saw Lubin Ozoux, the Chief Executive Officer of Dunlop Tyres South Africa, make his debut in the Dunlop and XPEL-branded Track Taxi. Competing in Class D, he started from the back of the grid in both races, as all circuit-racing debutants. In the first race, he finished 14th and gained two more places in Race 2.
The Round 3 ZF-Aftermarket Overall Results saw Van Vuuren take the Class B win with 20 points from his two wins, with Gerntholtz second on 16, and Sekudu third on 12. Herbst’s two wins saw him win Class C from Van der Walt, who accumulated 14 points, and Van Rooyen, with 12. Miller, with 18 points, took Class D. Seedat, with 15 points, was second; and Brown, with 12, third. Miller also took the XPEL South Africa Driver of the Day award.
Van Vuuren retained his lead on the Class B points table, while Du Plessis slots into second place, one point adrift. This moved Sekudu down a spot, 15 points behind Du Plessis. Swartz retained his third place in Class C, two points behind the new second-placed Van der Walt, who is 17 points behind Herbst. Miller increased his Class D lead to 15 points over Platt, while Seedat’s solid outing saw him climb to third, 13 adrift.
While Van Vuuren is the new BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series Points leader, it’s very close at the top with just two points separating him, Du Plessis, and Miller. Fourth-placed Herbst is five points adrift, and nine ahead of Sekudu.
Round 4 of the 2024 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series NA Cup will see the season’s third visit at Zwartkops Raceway on 12-13 June.