The Toyota Gazoo Racing Junior Academy (TGRSA Junior Academy) heads to Zwartkops Kart Raceway this weekend for one of the most important events on the South African Rotax MAX Challenge (SARMC) calendar, with Round 3 of the national championship sharing the stage with the prestigious 2026 Rotax MAX Challenge African Open.
The African Open brings a unique edge to the weekend. Drivers from across the continent will converge on the Pretoria circuit for a winner-takes-all final, with the victor earning an entry ticket to the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF) in Portimão, Portugal, later this year. While valuable SARMC championship points remain firmly on the table, the African Open adds another layer of pressure, reward and opportunity.
The on-track action begins early, with Thursday featuring six practice sessions, followed by a further three sessions on Friday morning. Qualifying will then set the grid before the opening heats round out Friday’s programme. Saturday will see the completion of the national round with Heats 2 and 3, before the fourth and final heats determine the African Open winners.
For TGRSA Junior Academy, the weekend is also a strong reflection of the academy’s depth. The squad will be represented across DD2, Senior MAX, Junior MAX, Mini MAX and Micro MAX, giving its drivers another valuable platform to test themselves against South Africa’s best, as well as leading talent from the broader African Rotax community.
In DD2, Charl Michael Visser arrives as one of the academy’s headline contenders. The experienced campaigner has been a force in the gearbox class this season and heads to Zwartkops as the championship leader, making him one of the drivers to watch in both the national round and the African Open contest. Jonno Wilson will also add depth to the academy’s DD2 challenge, bringing further experience and race craft to one of the most competitive categories on the grid.
Senior MAX will see TGRSA Junior Academy represented by Emma Rose Dowling, Georgia Lenaerts and Tshepang Shisinwana. The class has again proven fiercely competitive in 2026, but all three drivers have shown the pace and determination needed to move forward. For Georgia and Tshepang, the weekend offers another opportunity to convert strong race speed into points, while Emma, who missed the opening round due to international commitments, continues to build momentum in a demanding senior field, which will see a record 39 entries.
In Junior MAX, Brodi Cooper Dowling leads the academy’s charge and arrives at Zwartkops in outstanding form. As the current championship leader, Brodi has been one of the standout performers of the season and will look to strengthen his title bid while also aiming for the African Open prize. Logan Billau will join him for only his second TGRSA Junior Academy appearance in the Junior MAX ranks, giving TGRSA Junior Academy another exciting prospect and another chance to win in a class of 28 drivers.
Mini MAX will be one of the academy’s busiest divisions, with brothers Luke and Callum du Toit, brothers Mandume and Nande Kaiyamo, and Luhan de Wet all set to line up against 22 other drivers. Luke heads into the weekend as the national championship leader, while Luhan remains firmly in the top-five battle after an impressive run of form. Callum has also kept himself in the championship fight, with Mandume and Nande continuing to underline the academy’s development reach beyond South Africa’s borders. With five TGRSA Junior Academy drivers in the class, Mini MAX promises to be one of the academy’s key battlegrounds of the weekend.
In Micro MAX, Rofhiwa Ndwambi will carry the TGRSA Junior Academy flag. Sitting inside the championship top five, Ndwambi has shown consistent progress and will be looking to use Zwartkops as another important step in his development. The Micro MAX field of 17 drivers this weekend is always unpredictable, but it remains one of the most important proving grounds for young drivers learning race craft, pressure management and consistency.
TGRSA Junior Academy Team Principal Leeroy Poulter says the weekend presents exactly the kind of challenge the academy wants its drivers to experience. “Zwartkops is going to be a big weekend for the team, not only because of the national championship points on offer, but also because of what the African Open represents. It brings a different level of pressure, and that is where young drivers learn the most. We have a strong group across the classes, from our youngest Micro MAX drivers to our senior competitors, and the focus will be on helping each of them manage the weekend properly, keep improving, and put themselves in the best possible position when it matters.”
For the TGRSA Junior Academy squad, Zwartkops is more than another round. It is a chance to measure progress, sharpen skills and take another major step in the academy’s mission to develop the next generation of South African and African motorsport talent.
