A searing hot Pretoria Zwartkops Raceway set the scene for even hotter day of racing in a dramatic Extreme Festival National Championship finale on Saturday.

By the time the dust had settled, Robert Wolk had wrapped up a double GTC title in his Toyota, teenager Leyton Fourie took his third different race championship in as many years, Clinton Bezuidenhout finally won his CompCare Polo Cup title and Josh Le Roux is SA Formula 1600 champion for 2022.

Robert Wolk needed only finish the first race in his Toyota to clinch his second Global Touring Car title on the trot. That almost became an issue when he was forced to avoid his own teammate Julian van der Watt’s spinning Ford in the first turn. The stranded Ford caused a safety car to be deployed, after which pole man Michael van Rooyen and title contender Saood Variawa’s Corolla’s led Bradley Liebenberg’s Golf, which later slowed and stopped to allow a charging Wolk up to third to take the title

Debutant Ashley Oldfield’s Toyota led the first five laps until slipping off to Liebenberg’s Golf to take a popular victory in the 40th Birthday GTI Extreme Festival races. Variawa, the recovered van der Watt, champion Wolk, Andrew Rackstraw’s Audi, Oldfield and race 1 winner van Rooyen who had spun earlier, followed. In so doing, championship runner-up Variawa took his third overall GTC win of the season from Wolk, Rackstraw, Oldfield.

Teenager Leyton Fourie added his third national circuit title in three years when he clinched the SupaCup championship with a first race victory . He beat Arnold Neveling, Jonathan Mogotsi, and title runner-up Jeff Kruger. Rui Campos took SupaCup Masters from Sam Hammond and Stefan Snyders. Jason Campos quickly overcame Rowe to lead reverse grid race 2 to the flag from Mogotsi, Kruger, Rowe and Neveling as Campos did the Masters double. Mogotsi took the day from Jason Campos and champion Fourie, who added SupaCup to his Polo Cup and Polo Rookie titles. Nick Davidson is SupaCup Masters champion.

Clinton Bezuidenhout won all three CompCare Polo Cup races to grab a thrilling down to the wire 2022 championship. He fought Cape Town lad Charl Visser off each time as Dawie van der Merwe, rookie Jason Loosemore and Nathi Msimanga shared out the third places. Visser clinched the title second, while Jurie Swart overcame heat stroke to pip Dawie van der Merwe to the title third by a single championship point. Tate Bishop’s Angri Car and Giordano Lupini’s second Bullion IT Polo rounded off the title top six.

In another dramatic season finale, Josh le Roux took the Investchem Formula 1600 championship in a three-way fight with Gerard Geldenhuys and Troy Dolinschek. Le Roux claimed pole position and a valuable championship point before making off to win the opening race with ease from title rivals Dolinschek and Geldenhuys. Le Roux and Dolinschek collided early in race 2, putting Dolinschek out of the race. That left Gerhard leading Antwan Geldenhuys and le Roux for the win as le Roux took the day and the title from Gerhard Geldenhuys and rookie Dolinschek.

It was Franco Scribante all the way in G+H Extreme Supercars. He won the day despite a start line penalty in his wild Porsche. Scribante took a stunning 58.5 second pole position lap, before making off ahead of Jonathan du Toit and Charl Arangies’ Audi R8. But the red flag flew after du Toit backed his Lamborghini into the barriers. Scribante led Arangies and Gianni Giannoccaro’s Nissan GT-R home from the restart but Scribante was penalised for jumping the re-start, to allow Arangies the win from Scribante and Giannoccaro. Scribante then beat the repaired du Toit Lambo and Giannoccaro to race 2 to take the day.

In other Extreme Festival action, scribes Sean Nurse, Mark Jones and Thomas Falkiner held a mighty impressive fourth placed Toyota SA CEO Andrew Kirby off in his first ever car race. Nurse beat Falkiner and Jeanette Kok Kritzinger in race 2 with Kirby fifth to end third behind Nurse and Falkiner overall. Ashley Oldfield had already won the title before the weekend. Julian Fameliaris’ Corvette beat Mackie Adlem’s Jaguar and Thomas Reib in a Falcon to opening Mobil 1 Supercar honours, while Terry Wilford won race 2 in his Falcon from overall winner Adlem and Franco di Matteo’s Jaguar.

Gert van den Berg won the opening DOE Formula Vee race from Peter Hills and Lendl Jansen, before Hills took race 2 from Jansen and van den Berg.

And Ronald Slamet took opening SunBet Kawasaki ZX10 Masters honours over Trevor Westman, Graeme van Breda, Jayson Lamb, Michael Smit and Brain Bontekoning. Van Breda took race 2 from overall winner Slamet, Smit, Hein McMahon, Westman and Bontekoning.

That brings the 2022 Extreme Festival to a close. The action starts early in 2023 when the Extreme classes race as part of the Intercontinental GT season-opening Kyalami 9 Hour weekend at the end of February next year.