What was one of the most frustrating motorsport events held in quite some time, did not leave the fans that packed the embankments of the East London Grand Prix Circuit disappointed at the Extreme Festival Presented By Coca-Cola on the weekend.
While Friday delivered a fine winter day, light rainfall occurred overnight and early Saturday morning. It was initially thought this was what caused the large puddle on the main straight, heading into the fastest corner in SA motorsport, Potter’s Pass.
It was later confirmed this was not the case.
The circuit, made up of public roads on the southern shoreline of the city, is close to a water reservoir less than 1km away.
One of the feeder lines to the reservoir broke, but water was still being pumped, resulting in the puddle on the lower section of the main straight.
The morning started with the Astron Energy Polo Cup Warm-Up session, which proceeded without incident, and next up was the first of the day’s qualifying sessions, for the Investchem MSA4 and Formula Ford Kent field.
But it was cut short when Rick Morris (Investchem Formula Ford Kent) hit the puddle of water and aquaplaned into the tyre barrier.
This initiated a loop of events involving circuit action, an incident, and barrier repairs while attempting to drain the standing water.
Next up was the GR Cup Driven By Netstar qualifying session. The GR 86 Class portion of the session saw no incident, but with the second group only having completed one lap, the session was stopped when Riaan de Ru, in the GR Corolla Class, had a similar incident in the same area.
A lengthy break followed, with meetings between various stakeholders. With the programme delayed by more than three hours, the SunBet ZX10 Masters Cup, which had only completed three of its four qualifying sessions, withdrew from the event, citing safety concerns.
An amended programme was released, commencing with the qualifying session for the SA Touring Cars and SATC SupaCup.
The SA Touring Cars sessions were also delayed when Siya Mankonkwana (Chemical Logistics Toyota Corolla) had an accident at another part of the circuit.
With the start of the first race already delayed past the scheduled start of the day’s second heats, more changes were announced. Taken into account was the daylight still available, and mandatory circuit-crossing breaks for spectators.
It was the Investchem MSA4 and Formula Ford Kent who took to the circuit first.
In an eight-lap race, KC Ensor-Smith (African Heating) took the MSA4 win from pole position starter Mikel Bezuidenhout (Corsa Dei Gemelli).
Shrien Naidoo held off Karabo Malemela (KMFT Morita), Andrew Schofield (Investchem), Liam Plome (Red Dot), and Nicholas van Weely (Investchem) to complete the podium.
Allan Meyer was the first Formula Ford Kent to cross the line, but was excluded after being found to be under the prescribed weight. This promoted Ronald van Weely to first, with Morris second. Ian Schofield (Investchem) retired after six laps but was classified in third place.
Next was the Astron Energy Polo Cup, and the same puddle resulted in another incident, this time between Judd Bertholdt (Volkswagen Rookie Cup) and Byron Bertholdt (Sizanani Plastics).
Another incident involving Shiren Rajpaul (Dubcorp Service Centre) saw the all-Volkswagen Polo GTI race red flagged. After another delay, the race was restarted.
Brad Liebenberg, the 2019 champion, made his return to the series. In his first front-wheel drive start of the season, he held off points leader Mohammed Karodia for the win. Judd Berthold made the grid for the restart and finished third.
In the Masters Class, Wayne Masters (Performance Masters) took the win with John Kruger (Habot Lubricants) in second place. The latter was found to have jumped the start, which earned him a 10-second penalty, and as a result, he swapped places with Derick Smalberger (Sabertek), who crossed the line in third place.
The GR Cup, Driven By Netstar, also had its race distance altered, opting for a single 12-lap race. This decision was taken to mitigate the impact the delay had on air travel arrangements, with two-thirds of the field made up of Toyota dealership staff members and some of the country’s leading motorsport journalists.
Initially, it was the SA Touring Cars and SATC SupaCup that were scheduled to be the third series taking to the circuit. However, the relatively short turnaround time between their qualifying session and first race saw them swap out with the GR Cup Driven By Netstar.
Jason Coetzee took the GR 86 Class win from Kent Swartz and Khaya Ngwenya. Nabil Abdool continued his unbeaten record in the GR Yaris Class, beating Phuti Mpayne and Kyle Kock.
Devon Scott, who returned to the series, beat Mario de Sousa and Werner Venter in the GR Corolla Class.
Finally, the SA Touring Cars and SATC SupaCup field brought the first half of the day’s programme to a close. Keegan Campos (Campos Transport BMW 128ti) jostled for the lead with Julian van der Watt (Chemical Logistics Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI). However, on the final lap, Campos broke down with the chequered flag in sight, and in a Nigel Mansell-esque move, even tried to push his car over the line. Van der Watt took the win, ahead of Jagger Robertson (76 Legacy Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI) and Nathi Msimanga (Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla).
There was also last-lap drama in the SATC SupaCup when Tate Bishop (ANGRi Racing Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) made a mistake, which let Jonathan Mogotsi (Volkswagen Genuine Parts Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) through to take the win. Dylan Pragji (Stylin Auto Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) completed the podium.
The second heats were reduced to six-lap affairs. First up were the Investchem MSA4 and Formula Ford Kent fields again.
The race was red-flagged when Polome struggled to get off the line, resulting in a Jorden Moodley (76 Legacy) driving into the back of him, and with Ronald van Weely and Ian Schofield also being sidelined. From the restart, Ensor-Smith made it two Investchem MSA4 wins for the day, beating Naidoo and Bezuidenhout. Morris beat Meyer to win the Formula Ford Kent.
The lack of turnaround time saw Campos missing the second SA Touring Cars race. Michael van Rooyen (Toyota Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla) took the win from Van der Watt, with Andrew Schofield (FlySafair BMW 128ti) completing the podium. Mogotsi and Bishop again topped the SATC SupaCup, with Jason Loosemore (Astron Energy Volkswagen Polo SupaCup) third.
Lastly, the Astron Energy Polo Cup field lined up, but another main straight incident saw Tyler Robinson (AF Fans) sidelined with her car on top of the tyre barriers. With light fading fast, the decision was made to cancel the second race for the series.
