The Bridgestone Production Car mob is set to make its octane-fuelled contribution to the action getting underway at the Top Gear Festival in Durban this coming weekend.
The series organisers promise that a full grid of production cars, driven by the country's fastest and most determined racers, will attack the street circuit.
The track action will act as a curtain-raiser to the afternoon Top Gear shows on both Saturday and Sunday.
THINK OF IT AS THE SERIOUS BEFORE THE SILLY
With the 11th-hour announcement from Sasolracing that their pair of Subaru STIs will in fact be heading for the coast, there will be at least eight class A cars on track, with a similar number of front-wheel-drive class T cars expected to make the grid for Saturday's eight-lapper.
On Sunday they will race for double that distance and score double the points. The racing is set to get underway at 12h15 on both days, just ahead of the 13h30 Top Gear show.
A number of exciting viewing opportunities exist within a short walk of the stadium, including the new hairpin bend, where spectators can expect to see banzai outbraking manoeuvres.
TIGHT CORNERS
Competitor needs have also been addressed with better pit facilities, and more run-off areas. A few hundred metres has been added to the circuit, for an official lap distance of 2.51 kilometres. Its tight confines means about 19 gearchanges per lap, and a top speed just shy of 200km/h for a class A car.
Bridgestone Production Car ringmaster, Dick Sorensen, is confident the meeting will provide exciting new opportunities for drivers and engineers alike.
"A street circuit brings with it a unique set of challenges for everyone involved," explains Sorensen, who has been at the helm of the series for the last seven years. "It takes people out of their comfort zone, and of course not everyone handles that kind of pressure in the same way, so there's every chance that the established pecking order will be upset."
AUDI vs BMW
Current championship leader Michael Stephen (Engen Audi S4) is cautiously optimistic, and he certainly has got a knack for coming away with a decent haul of points on any given day.
No doubt the Afrox/Pirtek BMWs will have a different idea , and will hope their lower mass will compensate for a lack of all-wheel-drive and enable them to power out of the tight turns quicker than the quattros.
Talking of quattro, the Müller/Ohlins Audi of Melvill Priest could be the one to watch, and he has been there or thereabouts for the last two meetings. Can he convert podiums into wins come Durban?
HOT HATCH BRIGADE
Class T is hotting up and Indyoil's reigning champion, Graeme Nathan, hasn't had things all his own way at the last two rounds after some reliability issues. His Indy Oil team mate, Jacques 'The Stiglet' Joubert, is especially keen on the challenge that awaits between the concrete barricades and is hoping for his first win since the opening round of the series at Kyalami in February.
The driver who is looking most dangerous right now is Gavin Cronje. He shone in the Castrol MINI at Zwartkops in early May, picking up a brace of wins to move into the class T lead.
With more variables than usual at play, there's every chance of drama in Durban next weekend, and it's an event which motorsport enthusiasts shouldn't miss. In addition, no other track in the country enables spectators to get this close to the action.