Mogotsi’s a racing prodigy
NEWCOMER’S PRIZE IS TO RACE IN VW CUP RACES – AND HE IS WINNING
Part of this writer’s duties involves travelling to racing circuits all over the country. I regard that as a massive privilege. Many inland enthusiasts would love to witness motorsport at Killarney, Aldo Scribante or the East London Grand Prix circuit, but financial reality makes that impractical.
Thus, I hugely appreciate flying to a coastal circuit.
It is never just another work trip – I get to witness local motorsport history being shaped.
And last weekend’s outing to the Aldo Scribante circuit near Port Elizabeth produced a brilliant highlight in that tapestry.
Regular circuit racing followers will remember last year’s Volkswagen Driver Search Programme, where a number of enthusiastic youngsters without practical motorsport experience were vetted, tested and honed in the art of race car driving.
Eventually, it came down to two, who got practical racing experience at club level.
The final overall winner’s prize was a drive in this year’s Engen Volkswagen Cup championship.
His name is Jonathan Mogotsi. Last Saturday, he showed that the competition judges’ faith in him was justified. Mogotsi, handling a VW Advanced Driving Polo, won the Volkswagen Raceday’s second Engen VW Cup race. Before doing so, he obviously failed to read the VW Cup script. With rare exceptions, no driver wins VW Cup races in his or her first season.
You spend that first year learning the circuits, adjusting to the murderously competitive ontrack action, and crashing a number of times. Not Mogotsi. He started the season by qualifying in mid-pack, and running there consistently, with the odd dent and bump.
Last weekend he qualified third – the top 17 cars were covered by a second.
He finished sixth in race one, which put him on the front row of the grid for race two, started from a partly inverted grid.
“I drove here in a three-hour endurance race late in 2016 as part of the Volkswagen Driver Search Programme, so I know the circuit,” said Mogotsi during the lunch break.
Then he won Saturday’s race, beating drivers like Devin Robertson, Juan Gerber, Darren Oates, Tasmin Pepper, Justin Oates and Jeffrey Kruger – hard racers all, without a milligram of fear, compassion, pity, empathy or friendliness between them on the track.
It was a great moment and one of the experiences I will recall with pleasure one day when I get too old to cover motorsport.
“The inaugural Volkswagen Driver Search Programme in 2016 came with risks and costs, but today we showed what can be achieved and that we have loads of raw talent in this country,” said Volkswagen’s motorsport boss, Mike Rowe.
“We just have to keep providing the opportunities and platforms for this talent to develop.
“For now we are more than pleased that our investment in South Africa, motorsport and the future is paying dividends.”