The Northern Regions Extreme Festival heads to Red Star Raceway near Delmas this Saturday, October 10, for the penultimate round of the championship, and the title battles could hardly be tighter.
In the Dunlop V8 Supercars, just one point separates Mustang drivers Warren Lombard and Terry Wilford in what has become one of the closest V8 championship chases in memory. Thomas Reib has shown strong form in his Corvette, but a retirement last time out has left him playing catch-up. He will be determined to recover the lost ground. Behind the leaders, Franco di Matteo, Sam Dahl and Alan Ryan will be pushing hard, along with GT2 contenders Wayne Spicer, Vic Dias and Steve Herbst.
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The ATE VW Challenge has turned into a contest between the rookies and the more experienced championship leader, Anthony Lessing. Lessing leads Class A, with young gun Josh Moore just one point behind him and Chris Tait a further four points adrift. The smaller classes are equally close, with only six points separating the top three in Class B: Sebastien Bouilliart, Kian Dwomoh and Keegan Nathan, who returned to winning ways last time out. In Class C, Bryce Pillay sits two points clear of Stuart Konig.
The BMW M Performance Parts Turbo Series has been thrown wide open by late starter Lee Thompson. Unbeaten since joining the series in the third round, Thompson has cut his championship deficit to just five points behind Anton Pommersheim. The question now is whether Pommersheim can hold him off, and how long it will be before Thompson takes the lead. Ethan Coetzee, Reiner Smith and Wessel Mostert are the men to watch in Class B, while Nicky Dicks, Oz Biagioni and Anand Naidu feature in Class C.
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In the Normally Aspirated races, Andre van Vuuren, Ingus du Plessis and Bernard de Gouveia are the leading contenders. Ruhan van der Walt and Claudio Jardim are the Class C drivers to beat, while lady racer Chloe Stuart, Henty Platt and Trent Williams top Class D.
The DOE Formula Vee championship appeared to be Lendl Jansen's to lose, and his early season advantage still leaves him 18 points clear of Vaughn Hills. However, with Peter Hills, MD Bester and Kyle Watt finding recent form, the outcome is no longer certain. Shaun van der Linde, Brandon Hills and Jaco Schriks should also not be underestimated, and the Formula Vees can always be relied upon to entertain.
The Digit FMS 111 GT and Saloons, racing alongside SuperHatch, promise more close competition on Saturday. Jared Rossouw's Polo, Wayne Robb's Focus, Mark du Toit's BMW and Wouter Roos' Golf are the form men in the top GTA class, while Jonathan Visser and Vic Dias lead GTB. Melanie Spurr and Tihan van Rooyen's Polos fight it out in Class A. Piet Potgieter's Golf tops Class B, Henry van Vledder's Golf leads Class C, Dean Parker heads Class D and Mini Le Roux leads Class E. Among the quicker SuperHatch racers are Ish Baloyi and Joshua du Toit in their Hondas, Karel Stols in an Etios, George Aldrich in a Peugeot and Mark du Toit in a BMW.
Spectators can enjoy a good view of the circuit from the stands, along with all the regular off-track attractions and catering. Red Star Raceway is just off offramp 485 on the N12 Freeway East, and live stream action is available through the Extreme Festival's social media outlets.
Colin Windell for Colin-on-Cars in association with
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