Final round of the 2017 Sasol GTC Series to be contested at Zwartkops

The Volkswagen Motorsport squad will want to repeat their winning performance from earlier this month when their GTC race cars hit the tarmac for the last time in 2017 this coming weekend at Pretoria’s Zwartkops Raceway to contest the final round of the Sasol GTC Series.

“Our last outing at Kyalami just a few weeks ago yielded an excellent result,” commented Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport. “Mathew Hodges claimed the overall win after two action-packed races while teammate Daniel Rowe joined him on the winner’s podium for race two. To top it all off, young Keagan Masters rounded off a brilliant season by becoming the GTC2 Champion, and that with one round to spare.”

Rowe however is very much aware that Zwartkops will present a new challenge. “We’ve had a typical motorsport season that included both ups and downs. Zwartkops is different to Kyalami but we’ve been quick there in the past and both Mathew and Daniel are keen to fight for race victories.”

The team have put in a lot of effort to ensure that the two Volkswagen Jetta race cars will be ready to do battle for one last time in 2017. South Africa’s premier circuit racing formula has proved to be a tough challenge for all the cars competing in it, and the Volkswagen squad are very determined to end the season on a high. “It was fantastic to walk away from Kyalami as the overall winner on the day,” said Mathew Hodges. “I would like nothing more than to do the same this coming weekend and thank the team and Volkswagen in the process.” Teammate Daniel Rowe have similar objectives. “We can still help Mathew to gain a position or two on the overall points ladder, but if we find ourselves in a position to fight for victory I will grab it with both hands,” added young Rowe.

Hodges and Rowe will not be the only ones behind the wheels of Volkswagen race cars at Zwartkops. The official Volkswagen Motorsport squad will once again include the two dominant Golf GTi’s of Keagan Masters and Mandla Mdakane. The latter added his name to the record books when he won a race earlier this season, but the GTC2 category will be remembered for what can only be described as a perfect year for Masters. The youngster led the way in terms of pole positions, fastest laps and race wins, a performance which ultimately won him the coveted title. “You don’t win a championship in one weekend,” said Masters. “We pushed hard when we could and consolidated on other occasions. In the end we accumulated enough points to take the title. In the Golf we had an excellent car all season and I would like to repay Volkswagen by hopefully taking a few more wins at Zwartkops this coming weekend,” he added.

Qualifying will take place on Friday afternoon, 24 November with two races scheduled for the Saturday. “Competition in the Sasol GTC series is fierce, but we will like nothing more than to end the season with our drivers on the top steps of the podium,” concluded Mike Rowe.