The third round of the National Extreme Festival at Aldo Scribante produced a weekend of high-octane entertainment, with a familiar face returning to the top step of the podium and several young guns making their presence felt in emphatic fashion.
Robert Wolk reminded everyone why he has three South African Touring Cars championships to his name, securing a commanding overall victory on Saturday. The Chemical Logistics Racing driver had been absent from the top step since his sabbatical last year, but looked every bit the champion as he dominated proceedings in Gqeberha.
The Volkswagen Golf GTI pilot was quick from the moment practice began on Thursday, carrying that form through to qualifying where he claimed a convincing pole position. Wolk then converted that advantage into a lights-to-flag victory in the opening heat, leading every lap to secure maximum points.
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"It is good to be back where we belong," Wolk said after the race. "The Golf was absolutely hooked up this weekend. I was pleased with pole but over the moon with the win. Race two was a bit more challenging on the tight Aldo Scribante layout, but we accomplished what we set out to do. Credit to Stuart and the entire crew for giving me such a competitive package."
The reverse grid race two saw Wolk battle hard to secure fourth place, enough to seal the overall victory for the day.
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Keegan Campos emerged as the best of the rest among the Chemical Logistics contingent, enjoying a positive outing in his BMW 128ti. The Campos Veloce FAST driver qualified third and moved up to second early in the first heat, holding that position to the finish. Starting fifth on the reverse grid for race two, Campos climbed to third before slipping to sixth following a spirited battle. He ultimately claimed fourth for the day.
KC Ensor-Smith endured a more eventful weekend, qualifying fourth before sliding off on the opening lap of race one and dropping to the back of the field. The rookie fought back impressively to finish sixth. Starting from pole in the reverse grid race, Ensor-Smith found himself shuffled to third by Toyota team tactics before engaging in a fierce dice with Campos and Wolk. He battled back to claim a noteworthy third place.
Andrew Schofield delivered a workmanlike performance in his FlySafair Chemical Logistics BMW 128ti, navigating a challenging weekend to secure sixth overall. Championship leader Julian van der Watt endured a difficult outing in his Volkswagen Golf GTI, qualifying second before finishing third in the first heat and then being delayed early in race two, eventually crossing the line seventh.
Chemical Logistics Racing fields five South African Touring Cars, with its three Volkswagen Golf GTIs prepared by WCT Engineering at Kyalami while FAST Racing operates the team's two BMW 128tis from Zwartkops.
Volkswagen Motorsport had plenty to celebrate at Aldo Scribante, with rookie Christopher Tait delivering a standout performance in the Astron Energy Polo Cup. The reigning Volkswagen Rookie Cup champion made his first appearance in the Superpole session, securing third on the grid only to lose all his qualifying times when his car failed technical inspection.
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Starting from the back of the grid in 16th position for race one, Tait navigated the first-turn chaos and climbed to ninth after the restart, eventually claiming eighth following a late overtake. His fastest lap put him fourth on the grid for the second heat, where a strong start saw him move into second place and hold on for a career-best podium finish.
Rory Atkinson endured a more challenging weekend in the SATC SupaCup, missing first practice due to technical problems that left him playing catch-up. The reigning Polo Cup champion qualified sixth but made a good start to grab fourth in race one, eventually inheriting third. He started third in race two and held position for a double podium finish.
"We hit problems and missed first practice which put us on the back foot," Atkinson explained. "I only qualified sixth but made a good start to grab fourth, where I stayed. Luck was on our side when we inherited third. I started third in race two and kept it there for a double podium. Thanks to the team for a great effort and all the Volkswagen fans for the support. We turned that one around well enough."
Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa also enjoyed a productive weekend, with changing conditions characterising the opening stages. Rain on Thursday and Friday morning made life difficult before the weather improved considerably for Saturday's racing.
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The GR Corolla package continued its encouraging development in SATC, with Jason Coetzee and reigning champion Michael van Rooyen both showing strong pace. Practice was disrupted for Coetzee after a dashboard failure in the second session prevented him from shifting gears, leaving the team playing catch-up.
Qualifying saw Van Rooyen and Coetzee secure fifth and sixth on the grid respectively. Race one featured spirited battles near the front, with Van Rooyen working his way into third on the opening lap before eventually finishing fourth. Coetzee battled through steering issues caused by a broken bell crank to bring his GR Corolla home in fifth.
"The weekend was a bit of everything," Coetzee admitted. "The wet conditions suited us early on, but we lost time when the dashboard failed in Practice 2, which meant I could not change gears. Race one was frustrating because Michael and I were running well when a bell crank broke on my car, making it very difficult to steer. The team did an incredible job to repair the car for race two."
The hard work paid off handsomely in race two. Starting from second and third on the grid, Coetzee and Van Rooyen made excellent starts and immediately moved into first and second places. Coetzee controlled the race from the front to secure victory, crossing the line 2.8 seconds ahead of his teammate, while Van Rooyen successfully defended second place despite sustained pressure, completing a memorable one-two finish for TGRSA.
The result marked TGRSA's first one-two finish of the 2026 SATC season and underlined the progress made with the GR Corolla package.
In the GR Cup Media Challenge, SuperSport's Nabil Abdool maintained his perfect record for the season. After showing strong pace throughout practice, Abdool secured pole position with a blistering lap of 1:10.739, establishing a new GR Cup lap record around Aldo Scribante. Race one saw Abdool convert pole position into an uncontested lights-to-flag victory, while News24 Motoring's Craig Nicholson continued his excellent season with another second-place finish and Brandon Jacobs secured his first podium of the year in third. Abdool repeated the feat in race two, claiming his eighth consecutive victory of the season.
The GR Cup Dealer Challenge produced another outstanding performance from Paul de Vos of the GR Driving Academy, who continued his winning streak with another double victory. The GR86 Development Academy delivered some of the finest racing of the weekend, with championship rivals Connor Weston and Kobus Reyneke proving inseparable throughout.
Reyneke secured pole position and converted it into victory in race one, with Weston finishing a close second and Reagile ‘Spice’ Mailula claiming his first podium finish of the season. Race two delivered one of the moments of the weekend as Weston and Reyneke spent much of the race locked together before arriving at the final corner side-by-side, with Weston prevailing by a mere 0,019 seconds.
The championships now head into a short mid-season break before returning to action at the East London Grand Prix Circuit on 15 August 2026.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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Images: Willie Pretorius
