PoloDriver

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)