Leyton Fourie and Jeffrey Kruger cemented their positions at the top of the all-Volkswagen Polo SupaCup championship table at the Red Star Raceway in Delmas on Saturday, July 2.
Fourie started the weekend with his best foot forwards when he put his Express Hire Supa Polo on to his commanding maiden SupaCup pole position from Universal teammate Kruger. Keegan Campos’ Turn 1 Insurance shared the second row with Arnold Neveling’s Pagid Polo and brother Jason Campos’ Campos Transport car.
Team Perfect Circle lad Keagan Masters and JP van der Walt’s Platinum Wheels car occupied row four, ahead of VW factory driver Jonathan Mogotsi, who has shifted across from GTC to a Sonax Motul SupaCup following the tragic events the previous round. Mogotsi lined up ninth alongside Tato Carello’s Carello Auto car.
Trinity Security duo Nathan and Damian Hammond were next up ahead of a surprise in front of the Masters class grid. Fresh grandpa Iain Pepper put Rui Campos’ car on pole as Rui took the weekend off. Danie van Niekerk was next up from Masters class trio Nick Davidson, Paul Luti and Stefan Snyders.
Fourie and Kruger escaped a wild first turn melee, where the Campos brothers, Mogotsi, Nathan Hammond and Pepper were either spinning or avoiding contact. Neveling best navigated the mess to chase the escaped leaders ahead of Masters Van der Walt and Carello.
Keagan Masters then slowed and stopped, while Keegan Campos and Mogotsi fought back gamely. So, by the time the flag flew, Fourie took a measured win, his first right-way-round win after a couple of reverse race wins the past two rounds from Kruger, Neveling and Van der Walt. Keegan Campos drove his way back up to fifth from Carello, Mogotsi, Damian Hammond and Van Niekerk.
Davidson got ahead in the Masters class from the get-go and stayed there to win from Luti, with Nathan Hammond next home from Masters class third and fourth men Iain Pepper and Stefan Snyders. Jason Campos succumbed to damage originating from that turn 1 incident to join Masters in retirement.
The top six were inverted for reverse grid race 2, which put Carello on a sunset pole position from Keegan Campos, Van der Walt, Neveling, Kruger and Fourie. This time it took three turns for the trouble to start. Van der Walt was tagged as he, Damian Hammond and Davidson fell back and Mogotsi was rendered hors de combat.
There was more drama at slippery turn 3 a lap later. Leader Keegan Campos slipped wide and a fast-starting Kruger, who had best navigated his way through, took the lead. A wild lap later, Fourie was through to second, but had a sizeable gap ahead of him. So he put his head down as the sun sank on a fiery red Delmas horizon.
The drama behind took four laps to settle as Kruger led Fourie, Neveling, Keegan Campos, Van Niekerk, Masters, Carello, Nathan Hammond and Van der Walt. It took Fourie half the race to close the gap to Kruger, but once he was there, no matter what he did, he could not draw alongside to try and pass.
Behind them, Van der Walt passed Hammond and Campos found a way past Neveling. So Kruger won from Fourie, Campos, Neveling, a delighted Van Niekerk, resurgent duo Masters Carello and Van der Walt and Nathan and Damian Hammond. And Luti won Masters as Snyders kept Davidson behind for a close second.
Overall, Fourie took the day from Kruger to keep their championship advantage intact. Just a handful of points still separate them. Late starter Neveling made it three podiums in three rounds in third with Keegan Campos fourth from Van der Walt, Carello and Van Niekerk.
Damian and Nathan Hammond and the troubled Keagan Masters closed out the top ten. Davidson did his SupaCup Masters championship lead no harm at all with a fourth overall win out of four ahead of Luti, Snyders and Pepper.
SupaCup races next at the East London Grand Prix Circuit on Saturday, August 6.
Source: MotorsportMedia/Photos: Niel Philipson
