South African Touring Cars (SATC) will introduce WIX® Filters to South African circuit racing this coming weekend (26-27 July) at the East London Grand Prix Circuit, where the fifth round of the 2024 championship will take place as part of the Extreme Festival tour.
Originating in 2016 as Global Touring Cars (GTC), the series has enjoyed continuous support from Dunlop Tyres South Africa, their fitment and distribution partner ATS Motorsport, and leading high-performance component manufacturer SKF. WIX® Filters, another market leader, now joins the commercial brand partners associated with the SATC Championship and SATC SupaCup.
Founded in 1939, WIX® Filters is one of the leading global aftermarket designers, manufacturers, and suppliers of innovative filtration products. Their complete line offers extensive, advanced coverage and creative solutions for the light-duty, heavy-duty, and industrial vehicle markets. After their industry pioneers invented and patented the first spin-on oil filter, the WIX® design flipped the market upside down and quickly set the industry standard. Ever since, they have continued to strive to serve their customers with world-class quality standards, filtration expertise, and a driving passion to protect people and engines.
To further strengthen their position, WIX® has joined as a key division within MANN+HUMMEL Filters, a leading German filter manufacturer to the OEM/OES markets. Their products benefit from MANN+HUMMEL engineering and manufacturing rigour of original equipment, quality control processes, global manufacturing best practices, and technology and innovation resources.
Aligning with SATC as a brand partner will further communicate their association with quality design and performance. Both the SATC Championship and the SATC SupaCup have an established reputation for fielding some of the country’s most durable and reliable circuit racing vehicles. Competitive, closely contested SATC and SATC SupaCup battles regularly headline events such as the Extreme Festival tour. The series also headlined the support race roster for 2023’s Kyalami 9-Hour event.
In addition to setting the standards in local on-track engineering and performance, a host of former drivers have also progressed to international stardom, such as Andrew Rackstraw, the 2019 GTC champion Keagan Masters, and 2022 GTC SupaCup champion Leyton Fourie. Current drivers who also competed in international circuit racing events include Michael van Rooyen, Julian van der Watt, Andrew Schofield, current SATC points leader and former champion Robert Wolk, and defending GTC SupaCup champion Brad Liebenberg, The defending GTC champion Saood Variawa competed in his first Dakar Rally at the start of this year.
While the current economic downturn in South Africa has been well-documented, SATC is privileged to enjoy continued support from existing partners and welcome new ones to its ranks. The SATC Management Team looks forward to building and maintaining a long and mutually beneficial partnership with WIX® Filters.
