Variawa, Neveling show the way at Zwartkops GTC round

April 24, 2022

Some will say that Saturday’s (23 April) Global Touring Cars (GTC) races at Zwartkops’ National Extreme Festival represent a turning point for the series. Young talent came to the fore to challenge the old guard and perhaps usher in a new beginning. 17-year-old Saood Variawa stunned with the Dunlop Pole Position before chasing Robert Wolk all the way home to second in the first race. Variawa then repeated his second place behind Julian van der Walt, who delivered a second, stunning Race 2 win. Brad Liebenberg impressed in his first outing in his newly-built Volkswagen Golf 8 GTI.

It was a similar state of affairs in the equally spectacular GTC SupaCup. Arnold Neveling delivered a dream debut, competing against his former Polo Cup protégé and fellow 2022 series rookie Leyton Fourie. All results and championship positions remained provisional at the time of writing, in the light of continued backroom wrangling following several incidents through a spectacular afternoon of racing.

Variawa used one of his three high boost joker laps of the season to outpace champion Robert Wolk’s similar Chemical Logistics machine and put his Gazoo Racing Toyota Corolla in a stunning pole position Saturday morning. Michael van Rooyen made it a Corolla 1-2-3 behind Wolk in the second Gazoo car. The next surprise was Liebenberg putting his brand-new Hype Energy Drinks Golf first of the Volkswagens in fourth ahead of works duo, Daniel Rowe and Jonathan Mogotsi. Van der Watt’s Chemical Logistics Ford Focus RS was next from Mandla Mdakane’s third Gazoo Corolla and the troubled Andrew Rackstraw’s Investchem RDSA Audi S3.

It was a hectic start to the first race as Wolk swooped to take the lead at Turn 1 with Liebenberg emerging in second amid the jostle. But the red flags flew to stop the race because of an unusual incident. The red lights shining brightly on the gantry above refused to go out as the field approached the line for the rolling start. The restart saw a repeat of the aborted one, as Wolk grabbed the lead from Liebenberg who forced Variawa back into third place, closely followed by Mogotsi and van Rooyen as Rowe spun wildly in the middle of the pack.

The status quo remained until Liebenberg went off at Turn 1 allowing Variawa to move back up to second behind Wolk and ahead of Mogotsi and van Rooyen. The big mover in this heat, Andrew Rackstraw slotted into fifth, one up on Mdakane, as Daniel Rowe fought back to seventh ahead of Van der Watt after Liebenberg stopped.

Van der Watt made the break at the start of the reverse grid second heat to lead Rackstraw, Van Rooyen, Variawa and Mogotsi. By lap two, however, Robert Wolk had put himself in the frame and was already up to fifth place. There were several bumps and grinds in the ensuing laps, among which would have officials and stewards huddled for hours after dark and results provisional for now.

At the front, things stayed static for a couple of laps, until Variawa unseated Van Rooyen. Wolk soon sliced through to end the tour in second place, but never quite close enough to catch the flying Van der Watt. All was not as it seemed, however, as Wolk for one, was handed a five-place penalty for an energetic pass on Rowe, among other misdemeanours dealt with, and subsequent appeals and enquiries still in progress at the time of writing.

Van der Watt went on to take his second Race 2 win in two rounds, off the reverse grid pole position. He beat Variawa, van Rooyen, Mogotsi, Rowe, Mdakane, the demoted Wolk and Rackstraw. And, for now at least, it’s Saood Variawa who took the day overall for Gazoo Toyota Racing with Race 1 winner Wolk second from a very happy Jonathan Mogotsi, who kept out of trouble for a welcome podium. Michael van Rooyen was fourth from Andrew Rackstraw, Mandla Mdakane, Julian van der Watt and Daniel Rowe. Following his terminal mechanical problems in Race 1, Liebenberg did not start the second race.

In the GTC SupaCup races, the first heat proved dramatic. Frontrunner Jason Campos was eliminated after contact in the chaos at that first attempt to start the race. Jeffrey Kruger made a good getaway to lead the restarted race, but this however lasted only two laps before he too, was forced to retire with an exploded side shaft. That allowed Keegan Campos to take the lead on the road, which he would hold to the chequered flag.

Campos was however penalised three places following an intimate braking moment with Leyton Fourie’s Express Hire machine, so the race win went to Keagan Masters who had run second for the duration of the race in his Team Perfect Circle Polo, having fended off the attentions of Arnold Neveling’s Stradale Racing entry and debutant Tato Carello, while Jean-Pierre van der Walt spent the afternoon hovering on the fringe in his Platinum Wheels Polo SupaCup.

Fourie got away well from the reverse grid second race start, to lead the remainder of the race under fierce pressure from debutant Neveling and the fast-closing Kruger. Jason Campos was next home from Van der Walt and Carello, on a memorable day for the Campos Transport family with dad Rui and sons Jason and Keegan racing together.

It was a great day for young blood overall, as debutant Arnold Neveling added to rookie Variyawa’s overall GTC win as he took the GTC SupaCup day from rookie Leyton Fourie, Jean-Pierre van der Walt, another debutant Tato Carello, Keegan Campos, Cape Car Care Clinic lad Danie van Niekerk and Masters winner Nick Davidson, who beat Andre Bezuidenhout’s Team Perfect Circle and Paul Luti’s Finishline machines to the Masters’ honours. The overall results are based on accumulated times for both races and used for the promoter’s prize-giving ceremony and do not have an impact on the points table.

But the day was all about young blood as rookie and debut winners put the writing on the wall – Global Touring Cars, and GTC SupaCup are fast becoming the stomping grounds of South Africa’s finest young racing talent as the series embarks on a thrilling new era. That will continue to unfold at round 3 of 2022 at Gqeberha’s Aldo Scribante on Saturday 28 May.