Archive | Volkswagen Polo Cup

08 February 2025 ~ 0 Comments

Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa Polo Cup series to debut in Germany in 2026

Volkswagen Motorsport Polo Cup to debut in Germany in 2026

Motorsport fans will know the Polo has enjoyed worldwide success in the World Rally Championship and the World Rallycross Championship, but closer to home the Polo Cup circuit series has been a breeding ground for young driver talent since the early 1980s. Now, after an absence of almost two decades, the Polo Cup series will return to Germany.

Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa has announced a partnership with Maraco Management, a marketing, racing and consulting agency to introduce its hugely successful Polo Cup series into Germany for the 2026 season.

Just as in the current South African Polo Cup series – which has been running for almost three decades – the German Polo Cup will see drivers behind the wheel of a 2.0-litre Polo GTI Cup car with 295bhp and a six-speed sequential gearbox. The cars will be built at the Volkswagen plant in Kariega where all European and Asia-bound Polo road cars are made, and will be supplied by Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa.

Driver exchange programme
As with earlier iterations of the German Polo Cup series, a key part of the partnership is a driver exchange programme. This is being developed between Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa and Maraco Management, and will give young driving talent opportunities to grow in the sport.

‘Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa will also provide technical support to the competitors, while Maraco Management will offer driver coaching, media training, data coaching, and sports mental training to ensure every driver is equipped with the skills to excel on and off the track,’ said Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa.

‘Partnering with Maraco Management to introduce the Polo Cup Series in Germany is an exciting milestone for Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa. This partnership reflects our commitment to nurturing emerging talent, advancing motorsport technology, and expanding our global footprint. We are eager to provide drivers with the tools, training, and support to succeed, as we continue to build on Volkswagen’s rich motorsport heritage.

‘Key development’
‘This partnership marks an important step in strengthening Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa’s presence in global motorsport. The 2026 Volkswagen Polo Cup Series will be a key development for the future of motorsport,’ Rowe continued.

‘This new partnership highlights the strength of international collaboration in motorsport, bringing together diverse expertise, innovation, as well as a shared passion for racing,’ said Thorsten Williams of Maraco Management. ‘It showcases how working across borders can create powerful synergies and drive progress in the sport, setting the stage for groundbreaking achievements and a truly global impact.’

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06 March 2024 ~ 0 Comments

Astron Energy named as title sponsor of the 2024 Volkswagen Polo Cup

A springboard for young racing driver talent in South Africa, the Volkswagen Polo Cup has a new sponsor for 2024. Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa is partnering with Astron Energy who becomes the title sponsor for the upcoming season. The 2024 Astron Energy Polo Cup runs as part of the South African National Championship Extreme Festival over seven rounds across the country, and marks the one-make racing series’ 28th year of competition.

Excellent platform
With a network of 850 service stations being rebranded over the next four years, Astron Energy is a leading supplier of petroleum products in South Africa. The field of Polo GTI and Polo GTC SupaCup racing cars will use the company’s Quartech fuel, which has claimed friction reduction properties to help deliver improved protection against damage from combustion. Astron Energy sees the young racing drivers’ championship as an excellent platform to promote its reimagined fuel brand.

‘We are delighted to confirm our partnership with Volkswagen Motorsport as the title sponsor for the 2024 Astron Energy Polo Cup,’ said Astron Energy head of marketing, Thayuri Moodley. ‘The MSA South African National Championship Polo Cup has discovered some of South Africa’s most exciting racing talents over the years, with past champions Sheldon and Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper, and Leyton Fourie among others, going on to great things in local and international motorsport. Astron Energy looks forward to being an integral part of the next chapter of the thrilling Polo Cup story,’ continues Moodley.

‘Great impetus’
‘As Volkswagen Motorsport, we are delighted to welcome Astron Energy aboard as our Polo Cup title sponsor from 2024,’ said Head of Volkswagen Driving Experience, Mike Rowe. ‘Not only will Astron Energy bring great impetus to the Volkswagen Polo Cup, but we look forward to proving Astron Energy’s new premium additive Quartech Petrol in our field of Polo GTI Cup racing cars in action on track,’ Rowe continues.

The series gets underway on 15 March at Killarney in Cape Town, and the winner of the 2024 Astron Energy Polo Cup champion will earn a drive in a Polo GTC SupaCup racer in the 2025 GTC SupaCup championship.

Alongside the series production-based Polo GTI Cup racers, the Polo GTC SupaCup competes in the exclusive-to-South Africa GTC (Global Touring Car) Championship in the SupaCup class. Devoted to more production-biased machines, as opposed to the ‘silhouette’-type racers of the top-level GTC class – in which Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa fields a Golf 8 GTI GTC – the Polo GTC SupaCup still has almost 300bhp, and wears a square-arched body kit, echoing that of the Polo GTI R5 rally car.

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