Pretoria - The 2016 Extreme Festival series will kick off at the Zwartkops Raceway near Pretoria this Saturday, with nine separate circuit-racing categories taking to the tarmac.
The day’s premier attraction should be two races for G&H Transport Extreme Supercars, where Lee Thompson will head the entry list in the ultra-fast Siris Engineering BMW E92 Turbo. He will face competition from Gianni Giannoccaro (G&H Transport BMW CSL GT), Christo Lotter (Exceed Gear Lamborghini), Greg Parton (Drizit KTM X-Bow), and Andre van der Merwe (Evapco Ferrari F360).
The Engen Volkswagen Cup races will see brand-new cars in action after the formula switched from Polo Vivos to new Polos for this season.
Pre-event favourites should include Trevor Bland (Universal Health Polo), Shaun La Reservee (Alpine Motors Polo), Matt Shorter (Champion Polo), Bradley Liebenberg (Ferodo Polo), and Keagan Masters (Champion Polo).
The Red Square Kawasaki ZX10R Masters Cup races should see Graeme van Breda (IVID) start as the man to beat, challenged by riders Jaco Gous, Abrie Marais (1st Tek), Keagan Govender (Unathi Press), Etienne Louw (Vyfster Carriers) and Appanna Ganapathy on the Team ART Kawasaki.
SPORTS & SALOON BRIGADE
The day’s largest entry will be provided by the Speed & Sound 111 Sports and Saloon Car brigade, with 28 cars to face the starter. Top contenders here should include Harry Arangies (Stradale Porsche 944 Turbo), Werner Pieterse (Valhalla Spares VW Golf), Vaughn Obhlidal (Tissot BMW E30 M3), and Ryan Quan-Chai (RDG BMW Z4).
Werner Scholtz (Investchem Mygale) will head up the Formula 1600 Duratec category, with his closest adversaries being Rick Morris (Investchem Mygale), Allen Meyer (Van Diemen), Andreas Petrou (Investchem Mygale) and Andrew Horne (Xena Chemicals Mygale).
A fully subscribed Comsol VW Challenge grid will see Tasmin Pepper (Campos Transport Polo), Rory Atkinson (Comsol Polo), Waldie Meintjies (LTR Polo), and James Hurley running at the front of the pack.
In the Dunlop Thunderbike races expect to see Justin Gillesen (BMW), Daryn Upton (Turn-Skill BMW), and Brandon Goode (Linex Yamaha R1) at the front, while Rupert Fourie (Silverton Bolt & Nut Kawasaki), Gavin Ramsay (Suzuki GSXR), and Eric Cook (Brunational Kawasaki) should feature in the Sub-10 Superbike races.
Off-track activities will include live music, kids’ entertainment and a flea market. ‘
The kart circuit will also host a gymkhana from 8am to 12pm, and moves to the skidpad from 12.30pm to 4.30pm. Gates open at 6am with racing to start at 10.30am.
Admission is R100 for adults and R70 per student, with kids under 12 free. For more information call 082-390-6016.
Star Motoring