Publications
Partners
- Volkswagen is launching a new racing series to get young people into circuit racing.
- The Volkswagen Rookie Cup cars will be based on the 1.0 Polo Vivo GT.
- The series is exclusively designed for young racers between 14 and 16 years.
For 27 years now, the Volkswagen Polo Cup has been the breeding ground of South African saloon car talent and has given legends such as Graeme Nathan, Reghard Roets, Hennie van der Linde, Tschops Sipuka and Kelvin and Sheldon van der Linde a place to hone their door-handle-to-door-handle race craft.
The series is as well supported as ever, regularly featuring more than 25 cars. The Volkswagen Polo Cup is a one-make series that sees all competitors compete in identical cars on identical tyres, with modifications limited to the car's setup. The current polo cup race car is based on the latest Polo GTI, featuring a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine and a six-speed transmission, producing more than 150kW, which means it is a serious racing car.
Volkswagen Rookie Cup offers a stepping stone from karting
With the launch of the Volkswagen Rookie Cup, Volkswagen aims to give youngsters looking to move from karting or getting started in the sport a more cost-effective formula to learn the nuances of tin-top racing against competitors of similar age.
The Volkswagen Rookie Cup is thus limited to drivers aged between 14 and 16 years. The idea is that they progress to the polo cup after that and then into SupaPolo or GTC a few years later, creating a pipeline for talent development. The Volkswagen Rookie Cup championship winner will be awarded a fully sponsored drive in the Volkswagen Polo Cup for the following year.
The Volkswagen Rookie Cup car is based on the Volkswagen Polo Vivo GT, which is fitted with a 1.0 TSI engine. The vehicle features limited modifications to prepare it for racing, including a stripped-out interior that now houses a full roll cage, a Sparco race seat, a harness and a steering wheel. Shocks and springs will be upgraded, as will the engine management system, to ensure an equal playing field. All cars will run on identical Dunlop semi-slick tyres.
The series will be run on an arrive-and-drive basis with cars prepared by VW Motorsport to ensure that all vehicles remain equal while at the same time eliminating the need for competitors to have to employ race engineers to assist them in running the cars. The Volkswagen Rookie Cup is set to kick off in August this year.
