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)