Summarize

Cape race fans have another great day’s racing to look forward to when the Extreme Festival returns to the Killarney International Raceway Saturday 9 September, with South Africa’s leading circuit racers set to continue their National Championship battles, among whom will be keen to wrap their titles up in a meeting that promises scintillating action along with a great variety of machinery on track.

A star-studded seven-category program makes the early spring race day well worth diarising, with four national categories — the Sasol Global Touring Cars, Engen Volkswagen Cup, Investchem Formula 1600s and Hankook Formula Vees set to take to the famous Cape Town racetrack. They will be backed up by a round each of the National Challenge G&H Transport Extreme Supercars and Red Square Kawasaki Masters motorcycles, while the local Midas Clubmans will round the day off with a familiar ring to regular Killarney race fans. 

Topping the bill, the Sasol Global Touring Cars will see Sasol BMW pilot Gennaro Bonafede out to get one back on GTC champion Michael Stephen, since the Engen Audi driver came from behind to storm into the championship lead last time out. Both drivers will have to keep their eyes peeled for local hero Johan Fourie, who will be out to beat the works in his EPS Couriers BMW and never ignore the likes of Audi man Simon Moss, VW driver Mathew Hodges or Robert Wolk either.

GTC2 championship leader Keagan Masters (VW Motorsport Golf GTI) will miss Killarney due to international commitments so his rivals, Bradley Liebenberg’s Ferodo and Chris Shorter’s Champion Minis, rapid Golf GTI privateers Trevor Bland and Charl Smalberger and teammate Mandla Mdkane will want to make hay while the sun shines, while local lad Dayne Angel will be looking for that hometown advantage in his Honda. 

The Engen Volkswagen Cup is guaranteed to produce sensational racing at Killarney, but the dominant Devin Robertson (Payen) will want to wrap up the championship next weekend. He won’t have it easy however, with teammate Clinton Bezuidenhout (Glyco), Juan Gerber (Glasfit/C-Track) and Jeffrey Kruger (Universal Health) keen to stop him as they continue their fight for championship second and the likes of Shaun La Réserveé, Tasmin Pepper and Matthew Shorter in the fray, while Cape youngsters Jano van der Westhuizen and Giordano Lupini will be hoping to impress at home.

Cape fans are likely to witness a local driver wrap up his first national main circuit championship as Julian van der Watt (Investchem RDSA) only has to finish seventh once to wrap up the 2017 Investchem Formula 1600 championship at Killarney and considering that he’s won eleven of the 12 races so far and ended second in the other, the odds are good, especially considering his closest rival Stuart White will miss this one as he too races in Europe. That leaves Cameron O’ Connor, Alex Gillespie, Brad Beningfield, Dean Venter and Liam Pienaar to stop the Julian juggernaut, while another Cape Town kid, Joshua Dolinschek will be out to make a lasting impression…

The Formula Vees make a welcome return to Killarney where the likes of Gert van den Berg, Peter Hills, Jaco Schriks and Siyabonga Mankonkwana will be in action, while the most spectacular races of the day are bound to be the G&H Extreme Supercars where a horde of upcountry Ferraris, Lamborghinis and Porsches will be down to take on the local likes of Johan Engelbrecht’s Porsche, Marcel Angel’s Ferrari and Paarl flyer Dawie Jouber’s mad Lotus-Honda. 

Add national challenge Red Square Kawasaki ZX10s and local Midas Clubmans and the racing is bound to provide non-stop action throughout the day, all backed up by trackside attractions the likes of a Grid Walk and other entertainment with a food market, live entertainment and specialist stalls behind the pits and much more to do around the track. So there’s pretty good reason to diarise Killarney’s Extreme Festival Race Day now for Saturday 9 September. Log on to www.wpmc.co.za for more info.