2014 Comsol VW Challenge Title Goes to Hurley

The early morning qualifying session gave an indication of how close things would be at the head of the class A field with just 0.024 seconds between Hurley and Rory Atkinson (Comsol Polo). Iain Stevenson (Comsol Polo) was just over a second further back in third with Derick Smalberger (Sabertek / Tyremart VW Beetle) less than a tenth behind Stevenson. Louis Robbertse (Polo) and Peet Visagie (Polo) completed the top six in class A.

In class B it was Darren Nathan (Sex Trader Polo) who set the quickest time, over a tenth of a second quicker than his championship rival Lyle Ramsay (Polo). Tyrell Govindsamy (Petroplast International Polo) was a fraction quicker than Gerhard Henning (All Toyota Parts Polo) to take third while Andre Needham (Polo) and Brad Hall (Piazza Motorsport Polo) were fifth and sixth respectively.

The top three in class C were covered by just four hundredths of a second, Jacques Smith (Triplicon Construction / ELB Construction / UTI Logistics Polo) claiming pole from Francois van Zyl (Jesus Saves Golf) with Wayne Crouse (X35 Energy Drink Polo) heading up the second row of the grid. Elke van Vledder (Golf) was just over a tenth of a second further back in fourth with Henry van Vledder (Golf) and Shaun Crouse (X35 Energy Drink Golf) making up the third row of the grid.

Hurley and Atkinson thrilled the Midvaal crowd with 10 laps of close, and sometimes sideways, racing in the first heat with Hurley managing to get ahead when it counted, taking the flag just three tenths of a second ahead of Atkinson. Behind the leading duo Stevenson and Smalberger were having a great fight until the motor on Stevenson’s Polo cried enough. He had completed enough laps to be classified as a finisher, eventually ending up in seventh. Brett Garland had a successful first outing in his Polo taking fourth ahead of Robbertse with Gavin Ross (Norbrake Polo) in sixth.

Ramsay and Nathan had the expected fight at the head of the class B field in the early stages of the first race but Ramsay slowly opened the gap as the race went on and took the flag over two-and-a-half seconds ahead of his championship rival. Henning and Govindsamy had a race-long battle that saw them spend the entire ten laps within a couple of car lengths of each other with Henning managing to stay ahead of his younger challenger. Needham finished a somewhat lonely fifth. Sixth went to Andy Gosman (Chamdor Veridot & Police Clearance Golf) who got the better of a three way battle with Piet Potgieter (Polo) and Hall.

Class C championship leader Smith got a great start and opened up what looked to be a comfortable lead by the half-way mark but Elke van Vledder was having none of that. She slowly closed the gap and was just half a second behind Smith when the flag came out. Wayne Crouse was third followed by brother, Shaun, with Jakes Jacobs (Nathan’s Motorsport Polo) and Henry van Vledder in fifth and sixth respectively.

In the second race Robbertse had an off-track excursion which damaged the sump of his Polo. He didn’t realize what had happened and spread oil around most of the circuit. With cars sliding off and spinning everywhere, the race officials had no alternative but to red flag the race while the marshals cleaned up the mess. The race was reduced to a six-lap sprint.

Atkinson used his pole position to take the early lead but he could only hold off a determined Hurley for a couple of laps. Once in front Hurley opened up the gap and crossed the line more than a second ahead of Atkinson. Smalberger was third in his Beetle with Stevenson – whose team had done a sterling job to change his engine in the break between races – in fourth. Ross and Garland rounded out the top six.

Ramsay again took class B from Nathan with Govindsamy on the final step of the podium. Henning claimed fourth just ahead of Hall with Potgieter in sixth.

Smith took another comfortable win in class C. His win was made easier by the dice for second between Elke van Vledder and Wayne Crouse. The superior performance of the Polo under braking eventually gave Crouse the advantage he needed and he slipped through to take second at the flag. Jacobs nursed his ailing Polo to fourth. Van Zyl crossed the line in fifth but was later excluded after the stewards found him responsible for an incident with Shaun Crouse under red flags. This promoted newcomer Graham Savage to fifth in his Goldwagen Golf.

Hurley took the overall win in class A with Ramsay the victor in class B. Smith’s two heat wins gave him class C.

The final round of the 2014 VW Challenge takes place at Zwartkops Raceway on 15 November 2014.

Overall Points