Summarize

With every car class racing on Dunlop tyres, the 2026 National Championship circuit motor racing roadshow once again delivered great racing across the board at Saturday’s third round Zwartkops Extreme Festival. It is however most interesting to note how different racing backgrounds are delivering success in the various championship chases.

“We’ve become used to former karters ruling the roost as they mature into main circuit racing stars,” Dunlop technical partner ATS Motorsport’s Heinz Böse points out. “But it seems that there’s a little trend developing that today sees many of our Dunlop-shod national stars coming out of different racing backgrounds.

“So much so that the weekend’s Zwartkops races seemed split down the middle between our former karting stars and those who made another way to the top. It’s an intriguing one that could possibly be down to the amount of sim racing drivers do, in preparation these days, but it also adds an interesting slant to the Extreme Festival roadshow. This is also something to keep an eye on going forward.”

The top end of the South African Touring Cars log remains the domain of former karters. One of them, Dunlop Pole man Julian van der Watt went on to take the day with a full points feature race win in his Volkswagen Golf GTI before ending fourth in race 2 to extend his title advantage over fellow former karter, rookie teammate KC Ensor-Smith’s Golf GTI. Reverse grid race 2 maiden winner, former single seater racer Andrew Schofield however has little karting experience. But his win in his BMW saw him draw even with another former karter Jason Coetzee in third, with tin-top stalwart Michael van Rooyen’s Toyota also closing in.

While ex-karters dominate the Touring Cars title race, it’s a different matter in SATC SupaCup. Oval track champion Jason Loosemore took the Dunlop Pole Position Award before reigniting his championship hopes with a double victory at Killarney. Judd Bertholdt, Nikki Vostanis and Tyler Robinson finished ahead of title rival Rory Atkinson in race 1 before Atkinson exited heat 2 to leave Robinson second from Bertholdt. That leaves Loosemore leading VW Challenge exponent Atkinson, with former karters Bertholdt and Robinson fighting it out not too far behind. 

Hannes Scheepers is another National championship leader with minimal karting experience as he makes the Astron Energy Polo Cup his own in 2026. Overall winner of all three rounds so far, Scheepers arrived with a bang when he won on his racing debut in VW Challenge a few years back. Only another VW Challenge veteran, Charl Smalberger has taken a heat off Hannes in Zwartkops’ final heat. That’s allowed Scheepers to make off up front, while Zwartkops’ Dunlop Pole Position Award winner, rookie former karter Mauro Da Luz has snuck into second, a point clear of Smalberger and Roshaan Goodman tied in third with Shrien Rajpaul a further point adrift in fifth.

The majority of the drivers in the Dunlop Extreme Supercars have less karting experience than most. Veteran Jonathan du Toit grabbed the Dunlop Pole Position Award in his Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO before Zwartkops delivered three winners in the three races. Relative newcomer Damian Hammond took a maiden victory in race 1 in his Mercedes-AMG GT3 before du Toit took race 2 and Charl Arangies won the final in another AMG GT3. Their dicing left Class B men Roy Obery’s Porsche and Ant Blunden’s Lamborghini and Gianni Giannoccaro’s Class A Audi R8 LMS GT3 to take advantage at the top of the title table.

Investchem MSA4 remains an all-former karter affair. Shrien Naidoo certainly deserved his Dunlop Pole Position award more than most after his car was only recovered from being hijacked on Friday morning. Championship rivals, Aqil Alibhai and Mikel Bezuidenhout however shared out the race wins. Bezuidenhout dodged the drama and Alibhai fought back to fourth after clashing with Naidoo in race 2. Which leaves Alibhai provisionally three points clear of Bezuidenhout, with Karabo Malemela a lonely third.

The experience anomaly also spreads to the National junior formulae. Connor Weston moved ahead of former karters, Namibian Kobus Reynecke and racing lass Emma Dowling in the Dunlop-shod Toyota Gazoo 86 Rookie Cup with a strong Zwartkops performance. While generational driver Connor has little karting experience, he does have a considerable track background through dad Clinton’s driving academy.

Moving on to the Volkswagen Rookie Cup which also runs on Dunlop tyres, namesakes Sebastians, second race winner Dias and Venkov, beat race 1 winner Jack Moore to close down on championship leader Luke Hill. And while Dias, Moore and Hill all have glittering karting backgrounds, Venkov is fighting them toe to toe off a regional racing career that includes an historic Mini and INEX Legends experience.

“The Dunlop shod National Extreme Festival is boiling down to be a most interesting chase in 2026,” Dunlop Marketing Manager Joanne de Freitas concludes. “The differences in the various drivers’ backgrounds and experiences simply adds to the intrigue and we look forward to tracking that as the season progresses. Congratulations to every competitor and team on yet another exceptional showing at Zwartkops!”