Summarize

The 2024 South African Touring Cars championship came to a crunching end at a Zwartkops Extreme Festival finals red-flag fest on Saturday. Saood Variawa and champion Robert Wolk shared the race wins, while Jonathan Mogotsi clinched the SATC SupaCup championship, despite title rival Keegan Campos winning both races.

Champion Robert Wolk added the bonus point to his tally as he stormed to pole position in the Chemical Logistics WCT BMW 128ti TC on Saturday morning. Happy to be back after skipping the previous round due to a concussion sustained in a rally raid incident, Saood Variawa celebrated with second in the best of the factory Gazoo Corolla TCs. Behind him, the men fighting for the championship second spot, Michael van Rooyen’s second Gazoo Corolla and Julian van der Watt’s Volkswagen Golf TC filled row 2. Ahead of Nathi Msimanga’s third Gazoo, and rookie Anthony Pretorius’ OMP LTR Corolla TCs, and Andrew Schofield’s Fly Safair Chemical Logistics WCT BMW 128ti TC.

Championship contender Keegan Campos was up bright and early to steal the SupaCup pole position and a vital bonus point in his Campos Transport Volkswagen SupaPolo. He lined up alongside Cape lad Tate Bishop’s Angri Racing LTR SupaPolo and local wildcard Dominic Dias’ Chemi version. Championship leader Jonathan Mogotsi’s Genuine Parts Volkswagen Motorsport SupaPolo would start fourth ahead of Jason Campos’ Turn 1 Insurance version and Charl Visser’s second Astron Energy VW Motorsport entry.

David Franco’s Graphix Supply World car was seventh from Calvin Dias’ Chemi, VDN man Dean Venter and Nicolas Vostanis’ SupaPolos, and the two Toyota SupaStarlets, Sa’aad Variawa’s Gazoo version ahead of Bradley Liebenberg’s Sparco Turn Me On car. Kalex lass Karah Hill, Bucketlist newcomer Dylan Pragji, Jean-Pierre van der Walt’s Platinum Wheels and Masters man Andre Bezuidenhout’s Berta Wines SupaPolos closed off the grid.

Variawa got the drop on Wolk at the start of the opening race, before Michael van Rooyen took advantage of the dusty conditions so sneak a pass on Wolk. Rob soon fought back, but that infighting released Variawa up front. Pretorius sat fourth from Msimanga, van der Watt and Schofield. Behind them, Tate Bishop took the SupaCup advantage and soon cleared off to leave Keegan Campos second from Mogotsi doing what he needed to do, Dominic Dias, Jason Campos, Visser, Sa’aad Variawa and Venter.

Saood Variawa drove away up front, leaving Wolk leading a train comprising van Rooyen, Pretorius and van der Watt, who had passed Msimanga. But there was drama when van Rooyen ploughed into the turn 1 sand trap, Wolk slowed and Msimanga went missing in action. That left Pretorius in second from van der Watt, who moved into second by a point from van Rooyen, and Wolk and Schofield. 

Behind them, Keegan Campos somehow found a way past Tate Bishop to take the SupaCup win and keep his title chances alive against Mogotsi. Jonathan ended up a lonely third from Jason Campos, Calvin Dias and Visser. Bradley Liebenberg raced back up to seventh after his tough qualifying, ahead of Venter, Franco, Sa’aad Variawa, Hill. Pragji and Bezuidenhout.

It took three attempts to start the chaotic reverse grid second race. The first lasted 100 metres into turn 1, where Wolk and van der Watt got out of shape and both ended up in the sand trap along with sundry SupaCup cars stranded elsewhere after separate dramas and the red flags flying. The second effort ended after 200 metres, with SupaCup title fighter Keegan Campos and Dominic Dias stuck in the sand and another four SupaCups wrecked after another, separate pile-up on the run up to turn 5.

That eliminated Calvin and Dominic Dias, Jason Campos, Dean Venter, David Franco, Bradley Liebenberg and Andre Bezuidenhout. Wolk, van der Watt and Keegan Campos somehow rejoined the grid and it was Michael van Rooyen who jumped into the lead ahead of a crumpled Wolk, as the two of them made off up front. Anthony Pretorius and Nathi Msimanga followed from Saood Variawa and a hampered van der Watt. 

Wolk moved ahead after a couple of laps to lead van Rooyen home and celebrate his championship with another win. Michael van Rooyen did enough to clinch the title second with second in the race, from Pretorius, Msimanga, Variawa and van der Watt, who had to settle for the championship third.

Keegan Campos shrugged off the damage to his orange SupaPolo to lead SupaCup from lights to flag. Jonathan Mogotsi however knew that all he had to do was follow his rival home to take an historic title. Tate Bishop overcame Sa'aad Variawa to take third from Nicolas Vostanis, Karah Hill and Dylan Pragji in a decimated SupaCup field further pruned by Charl Visser and Jean-Pierre van der Walt retiring.  A sim racer, Mogotsi earned his factory Polo Cup seat by winning Volkswagen’s 2016 Driver Search. Strong results there were followed by several runner-up finishes in the SupaCup championship, before Jonathan took this 2024 title.

The South African Touring Cars focus now shifts to a new championship in 2025. Will anyone be able to stop champion Wolk from racking up another title? Can Gazoo Toyota Racing fight back against WCT, and what will SupaCup bring in 2025? South African Touring Cars starts all over again in the New Year. See you then!