Pros, amateurs and a shot at racing fame
THE MOTORSPORT LAP/ Round 14 of the MotoGP Championship took place this past weekend at the Aragon Grand Prix circuit
The 14th round of the 2017 MotoGP Championship took place at the Aragon circuit in Spain, where Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) once again proved his mettle as he romped to the top podium spot.
He was followed in second by teammate Dani Pedrosa, while Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) rounded off the podium.
In the Moto2 class, Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex) managed to stay ahead and claim victory, followed in second by Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex) and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM). His teammate and South African rider, Brad Binder, finished in fifth position.
In the Moto3 class, Joan Mir (Leopard Racing Honda) took the laurels ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Del Conca Gresini Moto3 Honda) and Enea Bastianini (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Honda). Unfortunately, the race was reduced to 13 laps due to fog delays, which could have a bearing on the final season result had the race gone all the way to the scheduled 20 laps.
Moving back home and the 2017 Volkswagen Driver Search has resulted in eight young prospective racing drivers making the cut, while the six who didn’t make it after the first round at Zwartkops Raceway will be left rather disappointed.
“It’s been a tough two days for the 14 candidates who were selected to compete in this year’s event,” said Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport after announcing the names of the eight who will go through to the next round of testing.
“We most certainly threw them into the deep end, but again, the reward is massive so we want to make sure we get the right man for the job.”
Rowe is correct in saying that winning the Driver Search is a life-changing event. The racing experience of 2016 winner Jonathan Mogotsi had been previously limited to gaming.
“Volkswagen is all about people. With that in mind, this programme was designed to unearth raw driving talent, and with Jonathan we certainly managed to do that,” Rowe said.
The prize was a full factory drive with Volkswagen Motorsport in the Engen Volkswagen Cup. “It is the most competitive racing series on the circuit where nearly 20 cars are often separated by less than a second. In this company, Jonathan has developed into a real racing driver and has even claimed a maiden victory in his first year.”
The winner of the current programme could end up as Mogotsi’s teammate for the 2018 season. “He will first have to beat the other seven finalists and impress the judges in the process,” said Rowe.
The 14 hopefuls were put through a number of challenges over the first two days of the event, including a series of fitness tests at the University of Pretoria’s High-Performance Sports Centre and a first taste of competitive driving at the Tshwane-based racetrack.
The programme also consists of other racing-related elements such as lectures on media and sponsorship, sport psychology and the theory of driving.
At the end of the next tests, Volkswagen will end up with two finalists who will then join forces in a three-hour endurance race in Port Elizabeth in November. The overall winner will be announced a week later at the final race meeting of the year at Zwartkops.
The eight finalists moving on to the next phase are Raais Asmal, Terrence Khalo, Sudev Singh, Prince Ndiweni, Austin Zungu, Moses Mahlangu, Talha Moosajee and Keshave Erriah.