Pepper is junior title holder
BLUE VALLEY - Midrand racing car driver Jordan Pepper ended a successful campaign in the German-based ADAC Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup championship at Hockenheimring.
The 17-year-old from Blue Valley led the junior cup battle for most of the nine-race series, which started at Hockenheim in May, but it turned out to be a closely-fought battle as the races near the end of the season counted for double points, which meant any mistake would have been costly.
Heading into the final round, as the youngest driver of the series, he was one of three drivers with a chance of winning the championship, but he knew it was a slim chance.
Pepper said, “I only really have a mathematical chance of winning the title. Kelvin (van der Linde) is the clear favourite, but Oschersleben showed that it is not over until after the final race.”
During the free practice, Pepper headed the time-sheets in the final session and was second fastest in the qualifying, but he’d run off the track, so his three fastest laps were disallowed and fourth fastest lap was only good enough for a 12th place starting position.
In what can only be described as a hard, physical race, Pepper had a tough battle in a seven-car paint swapping fight to come home in ninth place, which gave him not only the Junior Cup trophy, but placed him third in the overall championship. It is quite a remarkable achievement considering the Volkswagen Scirocco-R Cup championship was only his second full season of circuit racing.
“A special thanks to my sponsors, Blue Label Telecoms, PG Glass, Cornright Motors and then my parents for everything you have done to help me do what I did this year. Also to those who have helped and guided me back home in SA to get me to where I am. I managed to win the Junior championship and come third in the overall Scirocco-R Cup championship. With all the ups and downs, I got one win and another podium this year which I’m really happy with,” said Pepper.
