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Devin Robertson has extended his lead in the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup at rounds three and four of the season held at Killarney near Cape Town on 2 April. The 2010 ‘vice champion’ only finished the first race in fourth place behind Kosie Weyers, Kyle Barnes and Bryan Morgan. In the second round, however, Robertson clinched a commanding victory, beating Weyers and Brett Roach to the chequered flag. On 30 April, the 18 year-old will travel to the next races at Port Elizabeth with a 19-point advantage.

The 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing VW Polo Cup single-series championships run both in Europe and India. Just as in those series, the one-make format particularly highlights a wealth of new young driving talent. In the Engen championship, as many as thirty drivers regularly take to the track in technically-identical, 2.0-litre, 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivos. The next rounds of the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup are scheduled for 30 April at the Scribante circuit in Port Elizabeth.

[Source: Volkswagen South Africa // Images: keino@quickpic]

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It may not have gone quite to plan last weekend (25-26 March) for the BP Volkswagen rally team, just missing out on a first place at the opening round of the 2011 South African National Rally Championship, the Total Tour Natal Rally, but the team still claimed second, third and fourth places. Ultimate victory went to the Ford Fiesta team of Conrad Rautenbach and Nicolas Klinger. Jan Habig and Robert Paisley finished behind Rautenback and Klinger, while Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson crossed the line in third place, while Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries made up the top four. The blue-bonneted Polo S2000 of Giniel de Villiers and Ralph Pitchford crossed the finishing line in eighth position, making it a full-house end for the BP Volkswagen team.

Volkswagen also claimed the Manufacturer’s title at the event, with six Polo S2000s in the top 10 finishers. Then there were the privateer entries of Nicholas Ryan and co-driver Geoff Tyrer, and Japie van Niekerk and Dave Lewkowitz who rallied their cars to sixth and ninth overall respectively. ‘Getting all four of our cars to the finish was important,’ said Mike Barnard who manages the BP Volkswagen team. ‘Hard work and reliability have always been important and I’m glad to see it has remained the status quo into the new season.’ The Total Tour Natal was the first outing for the new BP Volkswagen Polo Vivo S2000 rally car. The BP Volkswagen Polo Vivo S1400 of Megan Verlaque and Lirene du Plessis also debuted as the young development team tackled their first rally together, producing a class-winning and impressive performance.

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Not content with the Polo Vivo sweeping allcomers in the South African new car sales charts, Volkswagen wants the same in the world of motorsport. Its star of the 2011 national rally championship will be the brand new Polo Vivo rally car, which, as tradition dictates, is lime green in colour, reflecting BP’s Ulimate fuel branding. All Polo Vivo S2000s feature the new body work of the Polo Vivo road car modified for the rough and tumble rally stages, while new technical specifications lie beneath the flared wheelarches and spoilers. With six consecutive national rally championship titles the BP Volkswagen Rally team is ready to start the 2011 season with a two-day, 14-stage round in KwaZula Natal, beginning on Friday 25 March.

Launching the latest generation of its Polo S2000 rally car, Volkswagen Motorsport also announced changes to the team for the new season. 2010 championship title holders Enzo Kuun and Guy Hodgson stay for 2011, as do 2009 winners Hergen Fekken and Pierre Arries. National champion Jan Habig will be partnered by newcomer Robert Paisley. In the fourth car will be South African Dakar competitor Giniel de Villiers, who will team up with co-driver Ralph Pitchford. The team has high expectations of the new car and in early season testing, it appears more than capable of satisfying the challenging demands of the upcoming events. The BP S2000 Polos will face strong competition from the outset of the season, with class rivals the Ford Fiestas, the new Peugeot 207 entries and traditional rivals, Toyota, all vying for top honours.

[Source: Volkswagen Motorsport // Images: mcondon@motorpics]

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It’s long been rumoured, but yesterday, Volkswagen’s plans for a 2012 entry into the World Rally Championship (WRC) were made a little more public. Expected to confirm a team for the 2012 series by the end of the month, Autocar, Autosport and Auto Express in the UK have all pointed to that entry being, excitingly, Polo-based. An announcement on the 1.6-litre direct-injection turbocharged Polo WRC is expected to be given an an event celebrating VW’s Dakar Rally victory on 22 March, or at the start of Rally Portugal, which is being staged from 24-27 March 2011.

Why the Polo? Reports suggest that the Scirocco (which was in hot contention to be VW’s WRC challenger) exceeds the WRC’s width restrictions, and with rivals from Citroën and Ford based on the DS3 and Fiesta superminis respectively, a Polo would make much more sense. Sources state that the new engine is based on the unit for the forthcoming Polo R, but as Volkswagen has continually denied that that car actually exists, the new four-pot may well have been exclusively developed to take advantage of the new 1600cc-based WRC rules, which came into play this season.

Volkswagen would more than likely launch a limited assault on the 2012 WRC championship, before committing to a full series in 2013, just as Mini has done this year. Reports state that the company has been busy trying to secure a leading driver (Sebastian Loeb was mooted, but he couldn’t be prised away from Citroën), and current Intercontinental Rally Championship driver Juho Hannien looks to be in the frame. Other notable bodies involved in the project are Volkswagen Dakar driver and rally superhero Carlos Sainz, and ex-Citroën and Subaru engineer Francois-Xavier Demaison. The last works Polo rally car was the Super 1600, first announced in 2002.

Saturday 5 March saw the opening rounds of the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup, and Devin Robertson in the Sparco/Big Boss Auto Polo proved the most successful driver of the day, with second and third place finishes in each of the rounds. Missing a second place in the championship last year, his performance at Kyalami is a good indication of his determined spirit to score a higher spot on the podium in 2011. Kyle Barnes in the PG Glass/CFP Tyres/Conti Partner car took overall second place, while Kelvin van der Linde filled the third spot on the podium in the Ferodo Racing Polo Vivo.

The 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup series is similar to the other racing Polo Cup single-series championships run both in Europe and India. Just as in those series, the one-make format particularly highlights new young driving talent. In the Engen championship, as many as 30 drivers regularly take to the track in technically-identical, 2.0-litre 234bhp Volkswagen Polo Vivos, with full grids ensuring close-fought races. The full race report from Volkswagen South Africa and mini-gallery follows. The next rounds of the 2011 Engen Volkswagen Cup are scheduled for 2 April at the Kilarney circuit in Cape Town.

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