The Volkswagen Cup field contested two tough races at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday, their second outing at this circuit for the season. For championship leader Kosie Weyers it was another opportunity to claim a double-victory on the day – his third for the season having done so at Killarney and Aldo Scribante earlier this year.
The top-six qualifier draw favoured Mark Silverwood by providing him with a double-pole, but it was Mathew Hodges who was the fastest racer out on track.
When the races started, it was Weyers who quickly made his way to the sharp end of the field as he pushed for both race victories. In race one the battle for second raged between Silverwood and Hodges, but it was Jeffrey Kruger (who recently won in the Polo R-Cup racing in India again) that actually claimed second in the first race. The battle between Silverwood and Hodges saw them both off in turn one in the dying stages of the race, giving Kruger the chance to sneak by while they returned to the circuit.
By simply hanging on and keeping his foot down through the dirt, Hodges managed to rejoin in third place while Silverwood was relegated to fifth, behind Dewald Brummer, a race winner at Phakisa.
With Weyers again leading the second race, Hodges, Brummer and Silverwood had to fight it out amongst themselves for second and third. It was Hodges and Brummer who claimed the remaining two steps on the podium which is also what the overall podium looked like for the day.
The race day left Zwartkops littered with Polo Vivo bodywork, especially bumpers as the fight for position got fierce. For Ernie van der Walt an off in turn one turned into a miraculous escape when he landed up sliding into turn two while both Jeffrey Kruger and Eddie Rodrigues took evasive action to avoid him.
Perhaps the racer who had the best day out was Tyrell Govindsamy who received the Driver of the Day award. Govindsamy is in his first season in the series and improved his position by four places in race one and six positions in race two, not an easy achievement in this series.
