Volkswagen Motorsport heads into the seventh round of the Sasol GTC Championship with a strong quartet of racers in the two classes in which it competes. Competing at the Festival of Motoring at Kyalami on the weekend of 31 August to 2nd September, the Motorsport team is acutely aware that thousands of their car-buying fans will be at the circuit, driving the team’s motivation even higher.
Daniel Rowe came within one lap of winning his fourth race of the year, something he is aiming to put right at the Midrand circuit. “The Jetta GTCs have the power and the handling to give me a strong weekend. I can still finish inside the championship top three so my aim at Kyalami is to gain as many points on Simon (Moss) as I can. Racing at the festival of Motoring is very good for the GTC Championship and I hope to be part of a good show for the fans.”
Mathew Hodges loves racing at Kyalami where he finished fourth at the opening round in March. “My Jetta GTC ran well at Kyalami earlier in the year and Daniel has shown we have a strong package. I’m looking forward to a racy weekend in front of car enthusiasts who are not necessarily motorsport fans. I’m going to hold the Volkswagen brand high.”
In the GTC2 class for front-wheel drive cars, Keagan Masters rules the roost having raced his Volkswagen Advanced Driving Golf GTi to seven victories so far. He enjoys a 24 point lead over his championship rivals which he hopes to grow over the Kyalami weekend: “It is going to be a big event for the team. I’m aiming for another double win to put the championship within my grasp and leave me with some breathing space in the last two rounds if I need it. I love racing at Kyalami even though it is hard on the brakes; there are twice as many corners as most other tracks but my Golf is strong on every type of track, so I’m confident about the weekend.”
Adrian Wood, racing his Volkswagen Golf GTi in association with Kyocera, joined the factory squad at the start of the year, claiming his best result of the season at Zwartkops Raceway last week. “Kyalami is a very strong circuit for me. I had a brilliant start to the season when I qualified in second place. I have a very good chance of winning there as the team has done an amazing job over the year to make the car perform the way I like it to. I’m very excited and really looking forward to the weekend.”
Team Manager Mike Rowe is optimistic for his team’s chances of success at Kyalami: “Mathew always goes well at Kyalami and he is mentally very strong even though his season hasn’t gone according to plan. Daniel is enjoying a strong season overall. Keagan is the class act in GTC2 while Adrian has shown tremendous progress and has become a real contender in the class. Racing alongside the Festival of Motoring is something new so we will see how it pans out.”
Volkswagen Motorsport takes to the track on Friday for three practice sessions ahead of qualifying which takes place at 8am on Saturday morning, followed by the first race at 11:55.
The second race is scheduled for 12:15 on Sunday.