Extreme Festival brings spectacle to Phakisa
DOUBLE: DAWIE JOUBERT IN FINE FORM, WINNING TWO OF THE THREE SUPERCAR RACES
Now the action moves to the Aldo Scribante circuit in Port Elizabeth on June 16.
The 2015 Extreme Festival visited the Free State Phakisa Raceway on Saturday and produced an incident-fi lled, spectacular show. The bill-topping three races for G&H Extreme Supercars produced varied front-runners.
The opening race saw Dawie Joubert (Lotus Exige Honda), dicing furiously with Jonathan du Toit (TAR Ferrari 430), Deon du Plessis (BPT KTM Crossbow Audi) and Craig Jarvis (Panacea Porsche GT3).
It was resolved when Du Plessis spun on the penultimate lap, leaving Joubert to win from Du Toit, Jarvis and a recovered Du Plessis.
Charl Arangies (Ferrari 360), Nicky Dicks (Ferrari 430) and Kris Budnik (BMW M3) filled out the top seven places.
Joubert’s Lotus went into limp mode during the second race’s warm-up lap, while the Du Plessis KTM developed turbo problems.
That left Jonathan du Toit to take an untroubled win, leading home Craig Jarvis, Oliver Dalais (Marlboro Crane Ford GT), Sun Moodley (Big Foot Express Porsche GT3), Nicky Dicks and Greg Parton (Drizit KTM X-Bow).
Starting from the back of the grid, Joubert and the Lotus scythed through the field in race three. He joined the leaders on the third lap and went to the front one tour later.
Joubert hung on to win from Jonathan du Toit, Nicky Dicks, Craig Jarvis, Oliver Dalais and Sun Moodley.
The unique Phakisa 200 race for saloon and sports cars drew 47 entries. Run over 200km, with every car required to do a pit stop and change one wheel, it was led by various contenders.
Father-and-son team Harry and Charl Arangies (Stradale Porsche 944) led when it mattered. They won, followed by Jannie van Rooyen (VW Scirocco), father and son John/ Jeff rey Kruger (Steamsure VW Polo) and Geoff Dalton (Xtra Shoes Golf Turbo).
Stuart and Jono Konig (ASAP Peugeot 206) won the Index of Performance category ahead of Ishmael Baloyi and Marius Wait (TAR Honda Civic), Louis Scholtz/ Gerhard Lottering (Honda Civic) and Mel Spurr (G&H Castrol Opel Corsa).
Now blessed with national championship status, the Thunderbikes produced some hair raising action.
While fighting for the lead in race one, Nicholas Grobler fell off his Golden Mile Estate BMW, followed immediately by Erick Flowerdey (Yamaha R6). The race was stopped and the track cleared of a large oil spill.
After the restart, Garrick Vlok (Diamond Core Drilling BMW) took victory ahead of Daryn Upton (Turn-Skill Kawasaki), Anthony Shelley (Fercor Kawasaki) and Ivan van Niekerk (DAD Kawasaki).
Vlok repeated the victory in race two, followed by Shelley, Upton and Van Niekerk.
Pieter de Vos (Kawasaki ZX10R) won both of the day’s Red Square Kawasaki ZX10 Masters Cup races, followed on both occasions by Greame van Breda (Ivid ZX10R) and Kyle Robinson (Fantech ZX10R).
Michael Mastnak (Reflex Solutions Forza) won the opening Formula Vee race from Scott Temple (Rhema), Alan Holm (Office Direct Rhema), Jaco Schriks (Rhema, Gert van den Berg (BP Nantes Rhema) and Greg Wilson (Reflex Solutions Rhema).
The first five cars were covered by less than two seconds across the finish line.
Schriks won the next time out, leading home Mastnak, Van den Berg, Temple, Holm and Wilson. This time the first four cars were covered by less than a second.
The first Silverton Bolt & Nut challenge Superbike race went to Shaun Vermaak (Suzuki), ahead of Dirk Stols (MIK Services Kawasaki), Rupert Fourie (Silverton Nut Kawasaki) and Ferdinant Frederick (Embane BMW).
Stols took the second victory ahead of Fourie, Frederick and Shaun Powell (Dirtstyle Suzuki).
Waldie Meintjies (Martys LTR Polo), Darren Nathan (Sex Trader Polo) and Zander Roos (Nathan’s Polo) took the overall Class A, B and C victories in the Comsol VW Challenge category.
The next round of the 2015 Extreme Festival will take place at the Port Elizabeth Aldo Scribante circuit on Saturday, June 13 and the other half of the tour on Youth Day, June 16 at the Zwartkops Raceway.