Several championship battles are set to continue when Gqeberha’s Aldo Scribante circuit will play host to the next round on the South African circuit racing calendar over the weekend of 28 and 29 May. The circuit is not far from where Volkswagen produces several thousands of vehicles each month so this round could be considered a home race for the motoring giant.
“We are big supporters of circuit racing in the country and we are excited about the prospect of seeing how the youngsters battle it out in one of the country’s most successful racing series,” commented Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. He is referring to the Volkswagen Polo Cup which celebrates its 25th birthday in 2021. Unfortunately, the battle will once again be fought in front of empty grandstands as motorsport continues to run under a set of strict pandemic regulations.
If the previous round at Zwartkops is anything to go by, the Volkswagen Polo Cup should once again provide the highlights of the weekend. After three separate races at Zwartkops, less than a single second is all that separated Leyton Fourie and Arnold Neveling at the end of the day. As a result, Fourie’s name appears at the top of the points table, a mere 3 points ahead of Neveling. Round 1 winner Jurie Swart lurks in third, ahead of Natalian Clynton Bezuidenhout and Jayden Els.
The Volkswagen Polo Cup will however not be the only source of action on the day as several drivers in the SupaCup category of the Global Touring Car (GTC) series will aim to close the gap to the championship points leader. Bradley Liebenberg was dominant in the opening round, but arch rival Jeffrey Kruger fought back with a win at Zwartkops. The result is a 8 point lead in Liebenberg’s favour. Volkswagen Motorsport’s Jonathan Mogotsi missed out on a maiden victory at Zwartkops and will be more than determined to make amends in Gqeberha. He is currently third in the championship with youngster Saood Variawa hot on his heels.
Although there will be no spectators present on the day, racing fans will still be able to follow every lap of the action as all races can be followed live on Volkswagen’s social media platforms. “In the sport of golf, the third round is referred to as moving day because more often than not it’s the one who makes the biggest move on day three that ends up winning the tournament. It’s still early days as far as this motorsport season is concerned, but who knows, the same could very well apply here,” concluded Rowe.
