The Killarney International Raceway returned at halcyon best as its faithful finally returned en masse to witness the spectacular opening round of the 2022 National Extreme Festival races.
Cape Town race fans took to Killarney’s stands, parked their cars and bakkies on the grass banks, lit their fires and cheered and shouted all day long. And brilliant action on the track and stellar performances by their local heroes kept them on the edges of their seats all day long.
Champion Robert Wolk survived a crunching reverse grid second race and a penalty to still come out on top as the Global Touring Cars thrilled on track. Wolk held combative Paarl lad Daniel Rowe off to win the first heat and then followed Cape Town lad Julian van der Watt’s RDSA Ford Focus home in race 2, before Rowe inherited second. Another home hero, F1600 champion Andrew Rackstraw stood on the second race podium on his debut, while Jeffrey Kruger and Keagan Masters shared out the spectacular GTC Supacup wins.
It never went all Cape Town’s way on the G+H Extreme Supercar races, however. Pretoria driver Jono du Toit and his Lamborghini Huracan gained revenge as he beat Charl Arangies’ Nissan GT-R, Greg Parton’s Lamborghini Huracan and Jason Ibbotson’s Ferrari 458 to a National GT3 1-2-3-4. Pretoria round 1 winner, Cape lad Dayne Angel suffered a weekend to forget. That despite Franco Scribante’s Porsche winning races 2 and 3.
Cape Town really had something to shout about in the Compcare Polo Cup as local kids dominated. Jurie Swart pipped Tate Bishop and teammate Giordano Lupini off to win race 1, before Swart took race two from the only out of town driver to get onto the podium on the day, Dawie van der Merwe and Charl Visser, and Bishop led Swart and Lupini home in the final race. Swart took the day from Bishop, Visser and Lupini in a hugely popular Cape Town 1-2-3-4.
It was a family affair in Investchem Formula 1600, which seems set for its best season yet. Brothers Gerard and Antwan Geldenhuys turned the class order on its head when they delivered a splendid family 1-2 and both of their maiden podiums over Josh Le Roux in a record field. Gerard beat Antwan, Nick van Weely, local rookie Jason Coetzee and Le Roux in race 1. And Le Roux beat Antwan and another Cape rookie Troy Dolinschek in the final to see Antwan leave the Cape in a close title lead over Gerard and Le Roux.
Franschhoek driver Ian Schofield enjoyed a cracking weekend in old school Formula Ford Kents. He qualified on pole position ahead of Rick Morris and Graham Hepburn and went on to win both races. Morris was second both times, from Duncan Vos, Hepburn, Ronald van Weely and Allen Meyer in race 1. And from Meyer, Hepburn, Vos and van Weely in race 2. Schofield won the day from Morris and Hepburn.
The SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup proved another Cape rout as local riders dominated. Trevor Westman and Ronald Slamet traded overall wins as Slamet took the day from Trevor Westman, David Enticott, Rob Cragg, Jayson Lamb and Graeme van Breda in the only two wheeled action on the day. And yet another Cape driver, scribe Ashley Oldfield led compatriot Deon Joubert, Thomas Falkner, Mark Jones, Jeanette Kok-Kritzinger and Lerato Matebese home in both maiden Toyota Gazoo Yaris Media Challenge races.
The 2022 National Extreme Festival travels to Zwartkops in Pretoria for its second round on Saturday 23 April. Sounds like a great day of entertainment if Killarney’s spectacular day of action is anything to go by. Will the Cape competitors maintain that advantage? Diarise it now to find out live!
Source: MotorsportMedia
