Tschops Sipuka convincingly clinched the Volkswagen Cup championship title for a second time on Saturday. But there was much drama behind the Qumbu ace at Kyalami…
Going into the final race of the Volkswagen Cup championship at AA Kyalami with one point over rival Hennie Groenewald, defending champion, Tschops Sipuka convincingly clinched the title for a second time on Saturday.
Sipuka started from pole position and never looked back, comfortably winning the first heat ahead of team-mate, Michael Stephen and Iain Pepper. Pepper was later relegated to 7th place after he was adjudged to have bumped Silvio Scribante off the circuit and gained an unfair advantage in the fourth lap.
Groenewald, on the other hand, had a frustrating time in Race One. After qualifying third, he found himself in fifth place after a slow start. He managed to claw his way up to fourth place at the chequered flag, but moved back up to third when Pepper was penalised for his incident.
Race Two had more drama when Scribante seemed eager to resume contact with Groenewald after the incident in the first race, and both ended off the track, although they both managed to continue.
Scribante came off the worst in that exchange, while Groenewald found himself in fifth place. He still had an outside chance at winning as long as Sipuka finished lower than 7th. However, that possibility was dashed as the second incident happened so early in the race and Tschops went on to take the win.
Veteran Iain Pepper finished ahead of Michael Stephen on the podium, while Groenewald displayed some heroic efforts to finish in fourth place.
After the race, Groenewald said, “I’m disappointed in how the day has turned out. The racing could have been a lot cleaner, but I’m not one to take credit away from people. Tschops ran a good race and unfortunately good luck was not on my side this time. I was hoping for a closer contest between me and Tschops but it was not to be. Next year will present new opportunities.”
“I’m glad to have won it a second time because I can now happily say I am the best in the Engen Volkswagen Cup. When I won last year, I was told the proof of any champion’s mettle is in retaining the championship because that is always the most difficult. I have done that, but it has been a very difficult road. Hennie was there all the time and never gave me any breathing space. He deserved to win as much as I did because we both worked very hard this year. Maybe we can continue this fight next year,” Sipuka said after the race.