PoloDriver

The final race weekend of the South African 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup on 27-28 October saw 16 year-old Kelvin van der Linde claim the championship title in his Ferodo Racing Polo Vivo. He also became the youngest racing driver in South Africa to win a national circuit racing title – an impressive feat considering that the young driver has only been competing in the national Volkswagen series for just two seasons.

‘We haven’t had an easy season. We had two retirements in Cape Town,’ said Van der Linde. ‘That affected our spirits, but we had to get back up and perform – which we did this weekend. We were leading the championship so anything was possible and it worked in our favour.’ Van der Linde had a flawless drive at the Kyalami circuit, taking victory in both races in the biggest field of competition in the WesBank Super Series.

Just behind Van der Linde in the championship table is 2011 title holder Devin Robertson, while Jordan Pepper took the final spot on the awards podium. Other accolades announced was The Rookie of the Year title taken by Jordan Pepper, who also won the Most Improved Driver award. Nathan’s Motorsport was presented with the Volkswagen Spirit Award and Big Boss Auto received the Volkswagen Team Award.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series has seen grids with as many as 35 cars on the starting line. The final round of the season proved no less popular with 31 Engen Volkswagen Cup Polo Vivo race cars entered for the Kyalami event. For 16 years the Engen Volkswagen Cup has provided national motorsport action in South Africa, with the 2012 season being one of the best to date. The 2013 season is expected to be just as exciting.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)
3 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass)

Race 2
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass)
3 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations Conti Partner)

Overall
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass)
3 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations Conti Partner)

The exciting penultimate round of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup has left the championship title fight wide open, with all to play for next month. Going into last weekend’s meeting at Killarney, Kelvin van der Linde and Devin Robertson were separated by 35 points, the four-point lead going to Van der Linde by the end of the two-race round. This was despite Van der Linde suffering from a broken sideshaft which left him stranded on the grid of race one just after the warm-up lap, and out of the competition. Jordan Pepper qualified fastest and took pole position, with Kosie Weyers and Shaun La Reserveé fighting for the lead in lap two. Pepper retook the lead, though, leaving Weyers and La Reserveé battling for the second spot, Weyers claiming it when the chequered flag waved the racers home.

Van der Linde was pole-sitter for race two, with Pepper in second followed by Weyers in third. By the end of the first lap, Weyers had moved into the lead, with Pepper in third behind Van der Linde, and Robertson in fourth. Pepper pushed Weyers hard, but failed to make him slip up, and the pair crossed the line just 0.17 seconds apart. Van der Linde had dropped to 25th, when contact between him and Kyle Barnes saw them both slip down the 30-car field, meaning Van der Linde has it all to do at the season finale in late October. After posting the fastest qualifying time, winning race one, finishing second in race two, setting a new lap record (1:26.464) for the Engen Volkswagen Cup at Killarney and claiming first overall for the day, Jordan Pepper was awarded the title of Driver of the Day in the series.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly race in technically identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racing cars.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Jordan Pepper (31: PG Glass)
2 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)
3 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)

Race 2
1 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)
2 Jordan Pepper (31: PG Glass)
3 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)

Overall standings
1 Jordan Pepper (31: PG Glass)
2 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)
3 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)

The seventh round of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup at Zwartkops Raceway on 25-26 August saw Devin Robertson and Kyle Barnes take victories at another action-packed race weekend. Jordan Pepper took the runner-up place in both races, while championship leader Kelvin van der Linde was third in race one. Richie Napier took the last podium place in race two. The two races saw 33 motorsport-prepared Polo Vivos take to the track, fighting for every inch of the circuit. The safety car was deployed after just a single lap in race one, bunching the large field of Polos together for a further two laps, following a body panel-swapping set-to by Graham Press and Leon Odendaal.

Safety car back in the pits, defending champion Robertson made his move, creating a lead, with the herding pack behind. Pepper and van der Linde led Mark Silverwood, Kyle Barnes and Robyn Kruger, who eventually lost her position to her two battling comrades. For race two, Dewald Brummer qualified on pole position, but it didn’t last long – an engine failure on lap three saw him withdraw from the race. Barnes then held the lead, with Pepper and Napier chasing close behind, while Robertson followed them in fourth. The Engen Volkswagen Cup action moves to Killarney for the penultimate round of the 2012 WesBank Super Series championship on 22-23 September.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly race in technically identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass/Blue Label Telecoms)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

Race 2
1 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass/Blue Label Telecoms)
3 Richie Napier (12: Supa Fuel/Design Water)

Overall standings
1 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
2 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass/Blue Label Telecoms)
3 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)

Round six of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup on the 4-5 August saw Shaun La Réservée dominate the weekend, taking both wins at the Phaksia Freeway. His breakthrough event, La Réservée won the first race from the front row of the grid. He was followed across the line by Devin Robertson and Kelvin van der Linde, while his second finish line team mates were Dewald Brummer in second, and Robertson again, one place behind. Brummer had much to celebrate, too, with a fifth place in race one to add to his race two runner-up position, as well as a third place overall.

Van der Linde meanwhile fought with Jordan Pepper during race one, and the pair fought until the finish line, van der Linde just staying in front to hold Pepper back – the gap between the pair was just 0.001 of a second. With 34 identical Polo Vivos on the grid, the action came thick and fast, with the leading pack of drivers jostling very closely for the sought-after points-scoring positions. Defending champion Roberson concentrated on solid finishes – a second and a third place earned him valuable points to close in on 2012 leader van der Linde.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly race in technically identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Devin Roberson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

Race 2
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Dewald Brummer (8: Horne Hydraulics)
2 Devin Roberson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)

Overall standings
1 Shaun la Réservée (14: Alpine Motors/Compendium Insurance)
2 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
3 Dewald Brummer (8: Horne Hydraulics)

Round five of the Engen Volkswagen Cup took place as part of the TopGear Festival in Durban, South Africa, on 16-17 June, with Kelvin van der Linde and Kyle Barnes snatched the victories of the two-day meeting. A grueling event, an absence of run-off areas and a track ringed with concrete barriers took its toll on the other competitors. Early casualties Adrian Wood and Mark Silverwood each made an unscheduled – and unwanted – excursion into a wall during a practice session. Wood was able to rebuild his car but Silverwood did not have the option to, and was nursing an injury (as he finished learn first aid skills recently) after his incident.

Wood also snapped a shock absorber – the only part of the car affected by the incident with the wall that wasn’t replaced. This saw him with even more work to do in order to compete in the second race – he couldn’t compete in the first race on the Saturday. Up at the front of the field Kelvin van der Linde was only interested in winning, so he could extend his championship lead. Kyle Barnes started from second and, while he kept his eyes open for a potential gap so he could overtake Van der Linde, he held his second place position throughout the race to guarantee a valuable haul of points, rather than risk both his race car and his points. Defending champion Devin Robertson was definitely among those opting for the cautious approach in the first race by letting both Mathew Hodges and Kosie Weyers challenge for position, the trio finishing third, fourth and fifth respectively.

In race two on Sunday, a grid of 22 enthusiastic Engen Volkswagen Cup racers were ready to put their Polo Vivo racers through their paces. The field tackled the 10-lap race under conditions that were not conducive to bold overtaking. This did not stop Robertson, though, from making a brave move to pass Weyers at the end of the main straight, diving through the turn to snatch third place. This was not a position Weyers was going to be able to take back and he finished behind Robertson who, in turn, crossed the finish line behind race winner Barnes and Van der Linde.

For invitational driver, journalist Sudhir Matai from Car magazine, the Durban event was a highlight for this season. Matai raced in front of his home crowd – and his family – recording a second-place finish in the Masters (rookie) class in race two into the deal. Van der Linde and Barnes swapped race wins in Durban – and this will help further extend van der Linde’s impressive championship lead. The Engen Volkswagen Cup field head to Phakisa Freeway in Welkom for the next round of the championship – and back to the traditional circuits that they are used to competing on.

The 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Volkswagen Polo Cup single-series championships run in China, Europe and India. Just as in those official Volkswagen-moderated series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen series, as many as 35 drivers regularly take to the track in technically-identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)
3 Mathew Hodges (18: ITR Africa)

Race 2
1 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)
2 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
3 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)

Overall standings
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)
3 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)