Charl Arangies (Stradale Motorsport Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO) notched up two heat wins and a second place to take the overall and GT3 victories at the opening round of the 2026 Extreme SuperCars driven by Dunlop championship, held at Killarney International Raceway on 13 and 14 March.
Defending champion Jonathan du Toit (Trans Africa Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO) was the early pacesetter in Friday’s practice sessions, topping the time sheets in the first two, before Arangies showed his pace in the final session before qualifying, setting the fastest time of the day up to that point. Although the qualifying session took place late on Friday afternoon, the heat of the day remained, but du Toit didn’t let that worry him as he just got the better of Arangies to take pole position. Gianni Giannoccaro (Sparco / G&H Transport Audi R8 GT3 LMS) was next up, leading the Class A contingent. He would line up alongside Charl Visser (Charl Engineering Porsche GT3 4l), with fellow Class A competitors Ricky Giannoccaro (G&H Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3) and Marius Jackson (MJR Motorsport Audi R8 GT3 LMS) on the third row. Roy Obery (Stradale Motorsport Porsche GT3 Cup MR) led Class B, qualifying in seventh place, just ahead of Ant Blunden (G&H Racing Lamborghini Huracan Trofeo). Weylin Volschenk (IMC-SA Porsche 997.11 Cup), in ninth overall, led the way in Class C, while Uli Sanne (G&H Transport BMW Z4) led Class D.
In the opening heat, Arangies was quickest out of the blocks and grabbed the lead halfway around the opening lap. While the gap was never more than a couple of tenths, he was able to keep du Toit behind him and take the win after 12 laps of hard racing. Behind the leading duo, Visser led the way in Class A with Gianni Giannoccaro all over the back of him for the first couple of laps until the Audi ran wide in Cape Town corner, dropping to sixth on the road and the back of the Class A pack. This allowed Visser to run untroubled to third place overall and a comfortable Class A win ahead of Ricky Giannoccaro, who just held off the recovering Audi piloted by his brother. Jackson brought his Audi home in sixth. Class B went to Blunden from Obery and Jimmy Giannoccaro (G&H Transport Nismo GTR GT3). Class C winner Volschenk crossed the line in tenth place ahead of early class leader Hatzi, whose Nissan S14 slowed dramatically in the latter stages of the race. Sanne, in twelfth, took Class D, with Maarten Prins (Motul Porsche) rounding out the field.
Du Toit managed to hold off a determined Arangies at the start of the second heat and then kept his Lamborghini ahead of the Mercedes, taking the win by just over a second. Gianni Giannoccaro made no mistake in Class A, leading from lights-to-flag ahead of Visser with Ricky Giannoccaro in third. Jackson dropped back in the last couple of laps to allow the leading Class B duo of Blunden and Obery through to take sixth and seventh, respectively. Volschenk again took Class C after getting past Hatzi in the latter stages of the race. They finished in ninth and tenth, ahead of Class D winner, Sanne. Prins and Jummy Giannoccaro rounded out the finishers.
Arangies started the final heat from pole position and made no mistake at the start, keeping du Toit behind him. Arangies slowly built a gap over the chasing pack, going on to take the win by almost four seconds, with du Toit in second ahead of Gianni Giannoccaro, the first of the Class A cars. Ricky Giannoccaro brought his Lamborghini home in fourth place, which gave him second in Class A ahead of Visser and Jackson. Obery finally got the better of Blunden to take his first Class B win of the day, with Jimmy Giannoccaro ninth on the road and third in Class B. Hatzi got his first Class C win of the day, finishing nearly two seconds ahead of Volschenk. Prins and Class D winner Sanne completed the field.
Two wins in three heats were enough to give Arangies the overall and GT3 wins on the day ahead of du Toit. Gianni Giannoccaro took Class A from Visser and his brother Ricky, while Blunden claimed Class B ahead of Obery and Jimmy Giannoccaro. Volschenk led the way in Class C, with Sanne taking Class D.
The Extreme SuperCars driven by Dunlop competitors now have a two-month break before they head to Zwarkops Raceway on 23 and 24 May for the second round of their championship.