Summarize

If the splendid racing, rookie winners and fine show that the first round delivered last time out was anything to go by, the Red Star Raceway outside Delmas can look forward to more of the same when it hosts the second round of the 2022 Northern Regions Extreme Festival Saturday 14 May. The BMW M Performance Parts Series and Liqui Moly Inex Legends will join the regular PABAR VW and Lotus Challenges, National Sports Cars, Car Care Clinic Superhatch and 111s, and On Track Clubmans for what promises to be another great day of racing at the Mpumalanga racetrack.

The record 43-Polo PABAR VW Challenge grid was split between classes A and C racing together, and class B racing alone at the previous meeting. It’s likely to return to one packed grid on the longer, twistier Red Star. This week’s class A action will see Zwartkops pole man Stian Kriel out for revenge after a frustrating outing in his Design Hut Polo last race. He will have to overcome Rory Atkinson's BHIT, Performance Master Wayne, Waldie Meintjies’ AllWagen, Bevin Masters CPS Warehouse cars and Derick Smalberger and Sam Dale home to top the all Polo 6R Class A field. 

Racing rookie Hannes Scheepers will be out for more success after he led his first ever race from lights to flag in Class B aboard his Dainfern Dental Polo at Zwartkops. He will have PABAR VW Challenge ladies, Hot 102.7 FM's Charisse van der Merwe and the rapid Elna Croeser and race 2 winner Francois van Zyl's Jesus Saves Polos to deal with. Don’t ignore Ethan Coetzee, Dominic Dias, Stuart Mack, Leon Odendaal or Cape visitor Giordano Lupini either. And look forward to FSS man Pierluigi Muzzulini and Ian Walker’s Cycles United car and Dino Smit entertaining as ever in Class C.

Jeffrey Kruger’s Design Hut Birkin and Thomas Falkiner in an ARE Taylon can be expected to fight out front in the Lotus Challenge field. But all eyes will be on Falkiner to see whether he will arrive with his much anticipated all-new car. They will still have Mackie Adlem, Rudi Barnard, JP Nortje, David Coetzee, and Sean Hewitt to deal with. Ben Knights’ SWAMBO machine will take Leet Racing duo, Andre du Plessis, Nick Hodgson and African Packaging driver Sean Hepburn on in the Locost class.

The Car Care Clinic Superhatch brigade delivered a splendid show last time out, so expect nothing less at Red Star. Jonathan du Toit's Motul Civic takes on Karel Stolts Pretoria Noord Toyota Etios, Andre Dannhauser’s Pro Auto Corsa and Louis Scholtz’ Car Care Clinic Civic, among others in this exciting little Class A. Nic Martin’s Peugeot 207 has Melanie Spurr’s Car Care Clinic Polo and Donavan le Roux's Civic to deal with in Class B and expect Francis Aldrich’s Corsa and Tony Hyams’ Fiesta to fight it out in Class C. 

The BMW M Performance Parts Race Series joins the regular Extreme Festival classes at Red Star. Class A men William Einkamerer’s E92 335i, Paulo Loureiro’s 335is and Fabio Fedetto’s M4 will be the cars to beat. Class B will see Andreas Meier’s superb 320i Super Touring, Carlo Garbini's 330i Turbo and Jan Eversteyn and Jagger Robertson’s M3s at it. Watch for Mishal Sing's 325is taking on Renier Smith and Trevor Long’s M3s in Class C, Shane Grobler and Manny Ribeiro’s 330is in Class D and championship leader Nicholas Fischer’s 328i and Bernard De Gouveia’s 330i in Class E.

The INEX Legends also make their first 2022 Extreme Festival appearance at Red Star. It’s something of a Robertson family affair there, with Devin, Jagger and Tyler all aboard and up against the likes of Gerhard Roux, Mika Abrahams and Ian Upton. Deon du Plessis' nimble SR2 BPT KTM was the man to beat last time out among the National Sports Cars, but expect SR3 men, Mark du Toit’s thundering TAR Lola T70 Spyder, Klippies Krige and Norman Witt's Lotus 7s, Jonathan du Toit’s Ecosse and SR4 winner Dean Wolson’s Wright S2000 to fight back in Delmas.

Class A men, Eugene Gouws’ thundering Master Mowers Chev Firenza V8 and Louis Cloete’s quick Performance Parts Beetle will take on Class C trio Paul Verios’ Acrotek GTI 7 and JDM pair Fred Kruger and Dirk Lawrence’s Hondas up front in On The Track Magazine Clubmans. In the classes, Duane Brown’s Polo and Tjaart Visser’s Ballade should be the E favourites, Rodney Kruis’ Real Pro Ballade is the one to beat in Class F and Anton Bitzer’s Mazda RX7 in G.

Louis Scholtz’s Car Care Clinic Golf arrives as the Car Car Clinic 111 favourite after defeating GT class rival Bob Neill’s Delmon Honda last time out. Adrian Dalton’s nimble Xtra Golf should suit the Delmas twists and turns, but he can expect Class A competition from Wouter Roos’ Car Care Clinic Golf and Phillip Meyer’s Pple Porsche 924 GTR. Elton Fuchs’ M Trac Golf is the man to beat in Class B, Chris Smit’s Captive Porsche 944 in Class C and Yorick Smith’s PREI Mazda MX5 in Class D. 

Find Red Star just off the Exit 485 on the N12 Freeway heading east from Johannesburg. The neat and tidy racetrack is focused on spectators with great catering, food, drink and facilities, and viewing points taking in the entire circuit. What better a way to spend a sunny late autumn’s Highveld afternoon than enjoying some great motor racing? Diarise it now!