THE SEASON SO FAR: VAN ROOYEN BUILDING TOWARDS FIRST SATC VICTORY

Four rounds into the 2026 South African Touring Cars (SATC) Championship, Michael van Rooyen and Toyota Gazoo Racing South Africa are beginning to see their hard work reflected in the results.

The defending SATC champion’s season did not begin as smoothly as he would have hoped, but the steady development of the Toyota GR Corolla has helped Van Rooyen move progressively closer to the front.

With podium finishes secured in the two most recent rounds of the championship, the team believes it is heading in the right direction and is increasingly confident of challenging for a race victory in the second half of the season.

A DIFFICULT START AT KILLARNEY

Van Rooyen began his SATC title defence at Killarney International Raceway in March, where a persistent braking problem made the opening weekend more difficult than expected. Despite the issue, he qualified fifth and remained in the fight throughout both races. A composed drive earned him fourth place in Race 1, while he finished fifth in the reverse-grid second race.

It was not the start the reigning champion had targeted, but Van Rooyen still collected useful points on a weekend when the team’s focus quickly shifted to understanding and resolving problems with the car.

IMPORTANT POINTS AT RED STAR

Round 2 took the teams to Red Star Raceway in April, where mixed weather conditions added another challenge for the drivers. Van Rooyen qualified sixth in the damp conditions before delivering a measured drive to fourth place in the opening race. He was again running competitively during Race 2 and briefly moved into a podium-contending position before a problem slowed his progress. He brought the car home in seventh place and added more points to his championship tally.

Although the final result did not fully reflect the pace shown, the weekend demonstrated that the work completed after Killarney had already advanced the package.

FIRST PODIUM AT ZWARTKOPS

The championship’s visit to Zwartkops Raceway in May marked Van Rooyen’s strongest round of the season in terms of points scored. He claimed a runner-up finish in Race 1, his best individual result of the campaign, before adding sixth in Race 2. His 21-point total for the weekend represented a significant improvement and provided the clearest indication yet that the team’s development work was beginning to produce results.

The Zwartkops performance moved Van Rooyen closer to the leading championship contenders and gave the team renewed confidence heading into the Eastern Cape round.

ALDO SCRIBANTE: CONSOLIDATING THE PROGRESS

That positive trend continued at Aldo Scribante Raceway in June. Van Rooyen finished fourth in Race 1 and second in Race 2, earning solid points from the weekend. It was his second consecutive round with a haul of at least 20 points, underlining the greater consistency that he and the team had begun to establish.

While the outright win remained just out of reach, the results at Zwartkops and Aldo Scribante showed that Van Rooyen was becoming a more regular factor near the front of the field.

Across the opening two rounds, he scored 32 points. That increased to 41 points over the next two events, reflecting the improvement as the team gained a better understanding of the car.

“It has been a season of steady progress so far. We did not begin the year exactly where we wanted to be, but everyone in the team has continued working hard and we have improved the package from one round to the next.

“The points we scored at Zwartkops and Aldo Scribante showed that we are getting closer. We still have work to do, but the feeling within the team is positive and we believe we are moving in the right direction to challenge for a win.

“There are three rounds remaining, so our focus is on continuing this momentum and putting ourselves in a position to fight at the front. A big thank you to everyone for their commitment and effort.”

THREE ROUNDS REMAIN

The 2026 SATC Championship resumes with a return to Aldo Scribante for Round 5 over the weekend of 14–15 August, followed by the penultimate round at Killarney International Raceway in September before the championship concludes at Zwartkops Raceway in October.

With 73 points to his name and three rounds still to contest, Van Rooyen remains within reach of the drivers ahead of him. Just nine points separate him from second place, ensuring that there is still plenty to race for during the closing stages of the season.

The first four rounds have been about understanding, developing and improving. The task over the remaining three will be to turn that progress into a race-winning performance.