Summarize

The 2021 SA National Championship Polo Cup Final races will join the G+A Motorsport Festival at Killarney in Cape Town 9-11 December 2021. Polo Cup will now race its final heats alongside the G+A Festival’s eagerly anticipated special edition classic races on Friday and Saturday, and Saturday’s final round SA Endurance Series 9 Hour. The Polo races replace the Kyalami ICGT heats cancelled after this weekend's international Jo'burg 9 Hour was postponed on latest travel ban issues.

“We are delighted to be able to accommodate one of the jewels in the crown of South African motor racing in the Polo Cup Finals at the G+A Motorsport Festival at Killarney on 9-11 December,” Festival organiser Gunter Drotschie confirmed. “Not only is Polo Cup one of the most exciting series on track, but we have a Capetonian fighting for the title again this year, so it was an easy call to shuffle our program a little to welcome the Final after the Jo’burg meeting was canned.”

"The events of the last few days were most unfortunate and we thank our competitors for their understanding and positive approach shown to concluding our Championship in Cape Town,” Volkswagen Motorsport manager Mike Rowe explained. “This could be the biggest race to date in many of these young driver’s careers and we at Volkswagen are very pleased that we are in a position to see the Volkswagen Polo Cup fought out on the racetrack.”

The Volkswagen Polo Cup title fight boils down to a straight fight between championship leader Leyton Fourie who sits 17 points clear, and Cape Town lad Jurie Swart. Swart won both previous races in his rivals' Zwartkops back yard last time out. Third placed Vaal man Arnold Neveling is also still in with a mathematical title chance, while KZN driver Clinton Bezuidenhout sits fourth in the points ahead of Jozi youngsters Jayden Els and Nathi Msimanga.

Swart will have at least three Cape drivers alongside him on his home Killarney grid. 2021 regulars and multiple SA karting champions, Charl Visser and Tate Bishop, and Giordano Lupini, who returns to the series to celebrate 95 years of his family in racing this weekend, are confirmed. At least two other Cape drivers may well also now enter the local finale.

The G+A Festival will also cater for f pre-86 historic races including  two, faster and slower groups of saloon cars, as well as sports cars and single seaters. Tin top entries include Willie Hepburn’s monster V8 Opel Record that he raced back in the day, Rudolph de Vos’ rapid ‘Little Chev’ Firenza CanAm, Colin Ellison’s 64 Ford Fairlane Thunderbolt and F1 driver and Le Mans winner Jan Lammers' MGB V8. Lammers will also race a Hawke DL17 in the eclectic single seater race that includes Greg Mills’s F5000 Sana Buick.

The SAES 9 Hour has meanwhile attracted a cracking star studded 32-car entry. Pending international travel, none other than Red Bull F1 team boss Adrian Newey is up to share a Chevron B19 with Colin Ellison and Greg Thornton. SA F1600 champ Andrew Rackstraw, Nick Adcock, Michael Jensen and Dean Venter, and Jeffrey Kruger and Riaan Botma share a pair of Ligier, JS53 Evo2s, and Jurie Swart joins Francis Carruthers to race a Pilbeam MP84 among the sportscars.

GT entries include Xolile Letlaka and Tschops Sipuka's Lamborghini, Huracan GT3 EVO, Charl Arangies and Arnold Neveling's Porsche, 997 GT3 Cup, SA Cross Country champion Henk sharing another GT3 Cup with dad Heinrich Lategan and Verissimo Tavares, and Gavin Cronje, Bradley Scorer and Mikaeel Pitamber's Ferrari 458 GT3. Also expect a fleet of Backdraft Roadsters and some of SA’s top tin top names among an impressive saloon car field in typical 9 Hour style.

 

With spectator entry costing all of two rand per person as Killarney quite literally goes back 50 years, race fans should be quick to book considering the current 2,000 spectator limit imposed by lockdown. Pre-purchase your ticket from the admin block at Killarney now to avoid disappointment. Contact info@wpmc.co.za or 021 557-1639 during office hours for details.