The 2023 BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series will make its second 2023 visit to Red Star Raceway this coming weekend (20-21 October for the penultimate round of the championship, where only three points separates the top three competitors.
However, unlike earlier this year, Round 7 will be contested on the anti-clockwise layout of the 4.0-kilometre circuit outside Delmas, built initially as a private superbike practice venue. This is the first time this layout will feature on the series’ calendar since the latter half of the 2021 season.
Leon Loubser heads up the Class A and series points table. He has accumulated 90 points to date and, bar a breakout into the class by one of the other top contenders in the early stages of this weekend, has virtually sealed up the class title. Bob Neill, who took his maiden win in Gqeberha, is second with 36 points, with William Einkamerer a further five adrift. Einkamerer missed the coastal round, and this trio is expected to recommence their fast-paced battle at the front of the field. Due to there only being three entries in the class, which results in a score reduction, every point will be vital to Loubser in his quest to take his maiden title. However, be assured that Neill and Einkamerer will only have the battle for bragging rights on their minds.
Gqeberha saw Nek Makris, with 87 points, take a more significant lead in Class B than anyone has enjoyed in 2023. He is now 12 points ahead of Lyle Ramsay, with Andreas Meyer two points behind the latter. However, the previous races at the front of this class only showed that the comfort on paper would not exist on the track. Renier Smith and Mansoor Parker will join them, eager to add to their maiden Class B wins. For Parker, this will be a first outing at the circuit. Oz Biagioni has been consistent throughout the year. Jaco Storm and Josh le Roux, who both missed the Gqeberha trip, will return to the grid. Le Roux, who just finished his maiden Global Touring Cars season this past weekend, is still to make his debut on the BMW ///M Performance Parts Race Series grid after brake issues forced him to withdraw after the qualifying session in Round 5. Anton Pommersheim, who made an impressive debut around the clockwise layout in Round 3, will be back in place of Nicholas van Zyl, with the pair taking turns piloting their BMW E36 M3 Turbo.
Defending Series Champion Nicholas Fischer heads up Class C with 70 points, 19 ahead of his nearest rival. Troy Cochran retained second place on the points table but is now only three points clear of recent winner Anwar Levy, who, like his teammate Parker, will make his first appearance at Red Star Raceway. Alan Hilligenn, who trails Levy by four points, and Hein van der Merwe, a further three adrift, also missed the previous round but will also be back for the first time in nearly four months. The regular contingent of Bernard de Gouveia, Neil Pillay, Shane Grobler and Varish Ganpath will also be contending for podium positions, while Gary Martins will be back for the first time since Round 2.
Last time at Red Star Raceway, Reinhardt Miller took his maiden victory. Now, with 87 points to his name, he is one of the contenders eyeing the lead of the series championship, while it is still only 11 months since he joined the field. Early championship leader Dave Rehse is on 61.2 points after breaking into the class, while Neil Reynolds is third with 57 points. Nicholas Herbst, with 52, and Cobus Bohmer, with 47, complete the top five. Rehse, Herbst and Bohmer all missed the previous round. Regulars Johan Miller and Lenard Archer will also look to fight at the front of the class, while Theuns Nel, Craig Herbst, and early class leader Manny Ribeiro will also bolster the field.
Arri van Heerden, with 83 points, will also have an eye on title contention but will have a battle against Dewald Smith, 31 points adrift, and recent double-winner Claudio Jardim. Caren Nienaber is third with 39 points and will be joined by a second lady, Mariaan Emmenis, who will make her debut. Mike Grobler, fifth with 23 points, will also be back on the grid. Jardim’s total of 29 points sees him in fourth place.
Overall, Loubser leads Makris and Reinhardt Miller by three points. Van Heerden is fourth and Ramsay makes it two Class B competittors in the top five.
The races will again be split, with Classes A, B and C competing separately from Classes D and E. All races will be contested over 10 laps and will start at:
09:35 – Classes A, B and C
10:45 – Classes D and E
13:30 – Classes A, B and C
14:40 – Classes D and E
Spectator tickets can be purchased directly from Red Star Raceway. The full Extreme Festival race programme will be broadcast live on the BMW Car Club Gauteng Facebook page and 2WheelsTV YouTube channel.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Reynard Gelderblom
Telephone +27 74 344 0007 | Email reynard@brandsponential.co.za
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