PoloDriver

A three-race round of the Engen Volkswagen Cup took place at Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria, South Africa on 26 May, and it was action all the way. A field of 34 Polo Vivo racers ran in the two six-lap sprint races and one longer clash, with Jordan Pepper leading race number one, until Kyle Barnes and Mark Silverwood overturned his lead and sprinted to the finish. Race two saw an inverted grid, so sixth-place finisher Kelvin van der Linde claimed pole position, with Kosie Weyers in second place, and Devin Robertson in third. On the off, Weyers took the lead, and dominated the field, pushing van der Linde into second place. Following a safety car lap, the top three positions stayed as they were before, with Weyrers taking the chequered flag, followed by van der Linde and Robertson.

The final race of the day saw five of the 34 cars retire after 12 laps, after many thrills and spills. With bumpers caught under cars and dragging along the track, and bonnets hitting windscreens, the circuit was awash with casualties. Despite it all, van der Linde romped home in first place, followed by Silverwood and Weyers. Rookie driver Sudhir Matai from Car magazine tangled with Dino Manelis in the first corner, after Matai was shunted from behind. But the incident wasn’t enough to stop either of them from crossing the finish line, although it did mean that their finishing positions weren’t as good as they could have been. The next round of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup will be the Durban street race on 23 June, which forms part of the 2012 Top Gear Festival.

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 234bhp VW Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations/Conti Partner)
2 Mark Silverwood (38: Q8 Oils)
3 Jordan Pepper (46: PG Glass/Blue Label Telecoms)

Race 2
1 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme/Tsogo Sun)
2 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
3 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)

Race 3
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Mark Silverwood (38: Q8 Oils)
3 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme/Tsogo Sun)

Overall standings
1 Mark Silverwood (38: Q8 Oils)
2 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme/Tsogo Sun)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

It was business as usual at the third round of the Engen Volkswagen Cup at the Aldo Scribante Raceway in Port Elizabeth on 28 April, with much bumping and barging, many drivers attempting to tackle corners two, three, or four abreast! A full 29-car grid ensured space was at a premium, but the pair of Polo races only saw two racers unable to finish the timed laps. Sudhir Matai from Car magazine was one, hit from behind and run off the track, resulting in a damaged front end from striking the tyre barrier. A second race start was possible due to work put in by Matai’s pit team and fellow Engen racers, but a damaged lower control arm saw him retire. Ettienne Prinsloo was the other unfortunate casualty.

In race one, Dorian Garvie and Kosie Weyers both sat on the first line of the grid, with Jordan Pepper and Bryan Morgan behind them. Mark Silverwood and Kelvin van der Linde brought up the rear. After the lights had turned green, Garvie tried to hold onto his lead, while Silverwood was on a mission to fight through the cars in front of him, netting him two places during the race. Despite Garvie nudging Pepper, the latter finished seventh, while Garvie crossed the line in 16th. At the front, van der Linde gave Weyers a friendly tap, giving him the lead which he held onto until he took the chequered flag. Weyers was also under attack from Silverwood, but stayed firm in second place. Silverwood came home third.

Race two was just as frenetic, with Silverwood chasing second place with Jeffrey Kruger. Kruger made an overtaking move and got through, soon followed by Mathew Hodges. Weyers had a go, too, but a struggle with fellow racer Devin Robertson saw the pair trading blows down the main straight. Meanwhile, Silverwood ended his third-place battle with Hodges when he exited on the apex of the final corner, finishing 16th, giving Hodges the higher runner-up position. Van der Linde finished first, while Kruger came home second. The Engen Volkswagen Cup racers will take to the track again for round four of the South African national championship at the Kyalami circuit in Johannesburg on 26 May.

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 officially-sanctioned Volkswagen-moderated series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen championship, as many as thirty drivers regularly take to the track in technically-identical, 2.0 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)
3 Mark Silverwood (38: Q8 Oils)

Race 2
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Jeffrey Kruger (6: Indy Oil)
3 Mathew Hodges (ITR Africa)

Overall standings
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Jeffrey Kruger (6: IndyOil)
3 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)

Outstripping the grids of other classes, the second race weekend of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup took place at Killarney on 31 March – 1 April. In total, 33 racing Polo Vivos took to the track ensuring lots of race action. In a change to the usual two races, Killarney saw three, with the first pair being sprint races of six laps, while the third 12-lap event was run later in the day. The top six drivers in qualifying drew grid positions for race one, while the second race grid was made up from the top six finishers starting in reverse order. The third race grid was determined by the racers’ second-fastest lap time in qualifying sessions.

In the first race, defending champion Devin Robertson created a gap between him and the rest of the field, all the time keeping Kosie Weyers at bay. Weyers had made his way past fastest qualifier Matthew Hodges, and was lucky to fend off Kelvin van der Linde. Robertson crossed the line first, followed by Weyers and van der Linde, and it was all to drive for, as the second race grid was a reverse of the first. Robertson started sixth, Weyers fifth, and van der Linde fourth.

Trevor Bland was in pole for the start of race two – his first ever – and made a good start, but soon lost it, as van der Linde, Kyle Barnes, Weyers, and then Robertson made their way past. Van der Linde took the flag, with Barnes seconds and Weyers third. Race thee meanwhile saw local racer Weyers take victory, with Robertson taking the R2000 prize for the fastest lap and the second spot on the podium, followed by van der Linde. Bland finished fourth overall after the races had been run, and was named ‘Driver of the Day’.

Guest racer Sudhir Matai of Car magazine had a tough day. A broken gear linkage eliminated him from the second race, while race three saw him shunted off the track, and he hit the wall going backwards. He got his Polo Vivo racer back on the track, but when the front left tyre deflated on the main straight, he parked up and waited for the race to finish. The Engen Volkswagen Cup racers will take to the track for round three of the national championship at Aldo Scribante Raceway in Port Elizabeth on Saturday 28 April.

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 officially-sanctioned Volkswagen-moderated series, the South African one-make format highlights new driving talent. In the Engen championship, as many as thirty drivers regularly take to the tracks in technically-identical, 2.0-litre, 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivo racers.

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Devin Robertson (1: Sparco/Big Boss Auto)
2 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

Race 2
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Kyle Barnes (4: Gold Liberations)
3 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)

Race 3
1 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)
2 Devin Robertson (1: Sparco/Big Boss Auto)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)

Overall standings
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo Racing)
2 Kosie Weyers (2: Engen Xtreme)
3 Devin Robertson (1: Sparco/Big Boss Auto)

Masters Championship overall standings
1 Dean Ball (M5: Champion Motors)
2 Eddie Rodrigues (M7: SEW Eurodrive)
3 Justin Taylor (M3: VW Techniques)

The first round of the South African 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup almost didn’t get started at all at Zwartkops last weekend (3-4 March). The opening lap of the first race saw the safety car out on the track after a massive accident, with six cars being unable to run once the race had been restarted. Once underway, it was defending champion Devin Robertson who led the rest of the field and took the chequered flag, moving up three places from his fourth-place starting position.

Bryan Morgan in the Franke car came in behind Robertson, while 15 year-old Kelvin van der Linde finished in third. However, a three-place penalty was handed to Robertson after contact with Jordan Pepper’s Polo, so his podium spot was short-lived, with Morgan and van der Linde each moving up a place. There was more joy to come for van der Linde, though, as he clinched victory in race two, and second position overall for the day’s races. Van der Linde was one of two drivers who stayed on the podium at the end of each race. Morgan’s second place in race one was followed by a third in race two – and overall victory for the opening round of the 2012 Engen Volkswagen Cup season.

Brother and sister Jeffrey and Robyn Kruger had reason to celebrate, too, with Robyn taking fourth place in race one, and seventh in race two, putting her in third position overall for the day. Jeffrey meanwhile, took second place in race two, helping to give the pair their best race weekend ever, and a great start for their new sponsor, IndyOil. Normally a magazine journalist for Car, Sudhir Matai started his season well, claiming fourth place in the Masters category, despite spinning his Polo Vivo in the second race. Mark Silverwood and Mandla Madakane both popped their Engen Volkswagen Cup cherries at Zwartkops, bringing their Polo Vivos home ninth and twelfth respectively.

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

RACE RESULTS
Race 1
1 Devin Robertson (1: Big Boss Auto/Sparco)
2 Bryan Morgan (5: Franke)
3 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo)

Race 2
1 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo)
2 Jeffrey Kruger (6: IndyOil)
3 Bryan Morgan (5: Franke)

Overall standings
1 Bryan Morgan (5: Franke)
2 Kelvin van der Linde (31: Ferodo)
3 Robyn Kruger (9: IndyOil)

Masters Championship overall standings
1 Justin Taylor (M3: VW Techniques)
2 Dino Manelis (M13: Big Boss Auto/ GTI)
3 Francois van Tonder (M12)