Volkswagen seeks next racing superstar
THE MOTORSPORT LAP/ Motorsport Academy will pit hopefuls against each other in a November shootout
Over past three years Volkswagen SA has unearthed raw driving talent through an innovative talent search programme.
For 2019 the company has expanded the programme with the establishment of a dedicated Volkswagen Motorsport Academy. It’s headed up by multiple SA racing champion Michael Stephen, a veteran of Polo Cup, GTC and also once SA’s representative driver in the A1 Grand Prix.
The academy’s objective is to sustain South African motorsport, especially circuit racing, through the continued search and grooming of new talent. The company has successfully unearthed drivers such as Jonathan Mogotsi, who came close to winning last year’s national Polo Cup series.
The academy will run a number of courses throughout 2019 that will be commercially available to the broader and upcoming motorsport communities. As a bonus, participants in all the courses will also stand a chance to be selected for a final shootout in November where the winner could end up with a chance to join the official Volkswagen factory team.
Stephen, who isn’t currently involved in official competition racing, says of his new role: “Motorsport has given me so the much over the years. I am excited to now be able to give something back. SA has produced some great drivers over the years and I can’t wait to play a part in finding and developing the next batch.”
Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport, says: “Michael comes with great credentials and racing experience and with him as the lead coach, we are certain that participants couldn’t really ask for anything better.” Volkswagen SA remains one of the brands committed to SA motorsport through its representation in the GTC series as well as the one-make Polo Cup, which this year has acquired Falken tyres as series sponsor.
YOUNG GUNS WELCOMED
While last year was another straight fight between Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel, the promotion of some exciting young guns to top teams could see a three- or four-way race for this year’s Formula One title.
In the buildup to the 2019 season which begins with the Australian Grand Prix on March 17, F1 has seen one of its biggest driver shakeups in recent years with only two of the 10 teams retaining their 2018 line-ups.
Charles Leclerc arrives as Vettel’s new team-mate to replace Kimi Raikkonen, who has gone back to Sauber, and could bring a fresh new wind to Ferrari which hasn’t won a driver’s title since 2007.
The 21-year-old from Monaco impressed with his performance at Sauber in his debut F1 season last year and outclassed his more experienced teammate Marcus Ericsson. He was also right on the pace in his first test for Ferrari at the Abu Dhabi post-season test in November.
Another young gun who could become a title contender is Max Verstappen, with his Red Bull team believing its fortunes will improve with its switch to Honda power after 12 years with Renault.
Though McLaren struggled with the Honda power unit, Red Bull says it’s more powerful than the Renault unit, which should give Verstappen the ability to win more than the two races he picked up last year.
Verstappen should have an intra-team fight on his hands with the arrival of Pierre Gasly, the 2016 GP2 champion. The 22-year-old French driver moves over from Toro Rosso to replace Renault-bound Daniel Ricciardo, and Gasly’s impressive fourth place in last year’s Bahrain GP demonstrated his potential.
Other fresh talent in F1 includes three drivers who have taken 12 wins among them in the Formula 2 junior series: George Russell joins Williams, Lando Norris arrives at McLaren to replace the departing Fernando Alonso, and Alexander Albon comes into Toro Rosso.
While much interest will focus on the up-and-coming youngsters, so will the return of Robert Kubica who is back in F1 for the first time since nearly losing his right arm in a horrific rally crash in 2010.
The Polish driver will be at the wheel of a Williams, for whom he was a reserve driver last year, alongside 20-year-old Briton George Russell who is the reigning Formula 2 champion. Lewis Hamilton (Britain) Valtteri Bottas (Finland) Sebastian Vettel (Germany) Charles Leclerc (Monaco) Max Verstappen (Netherlands) Pierre Gasly (France) Nico Hulkenberg (Germany) Daniel Ricciardo (Australia) Kevin Magnussen (Denmark) Romain Grosjean (France) Carlos Sainz (Spain) Lando Norris (Britain) Sergio Perez (Mexico) Lance Stroll (Canada) Kimi Raikkonen (Finland) Antonio Giovinazzi (Italy) Daniil Kvyat (Russia) Alexander Albon (Thailand) George Russell (Britain) Robert Kubica (Poland)
NEW RACE SERIES FOR ELECTRIC SUVs
For more than 30 years the Royal Mail Ship (RMS) St Helena connected the small island of the same name with the rest of the world via Cape Town. Since the island opened its first airport the ship has been decommissioned but now it is set to get a new lease on life as a travelling paddock for electric racing SUVs.
At the launch on the ship recently, founder of Formula E, Alejandro Agag, announced the formation of Extre me E, a series that will travel to five remote parts of the world where climate change has been having the most devastating effect. This will include locations such as the Arctic, Amazon, Himalayas and Sahara Desert on race routes the organisers say have been destroyed by climate change.
All the teams will be based on the ship together with their equipment, where the cars will be parked and undergo preparation and maintenance.
The series is aiming to get under way in January 2021 and already has sponsors in the form of Continental Tyres and others.
Do not expect the races to be like Dakar though. electric vehicles are not yet capable of taking on those kinds of distances, especially in extreme conditions and at full tilt. Instead there will be a round-robin format for the 12 teams expected to take part.
Each will take on another team head to head on a 6km10km loop, much like a short version of the prologue that happens in the SA Cross Country Championship.
The races will not be televised live and given the remote locations, it’s unlikely there are going to be more spectators than just a handful of locals.
Instead the races will be packaged into individual programmes which show not just the races themselves but the plight of the areas in which each race is being staged.
“This is a hugely exciting project,” says Extreme E chairman and motorsport icon Gil de Feran. “Extreme E offers a unique sport, adventure and entertainment concept that has never been seen or done before. Viewers can expect a new way of consuming sport, with each episode telling not just the story of a race, but the wider race of awareness and the need to protect these remote and challenging environments being explored by Extreme E.”
VW HAS SUCCESSFULLY UNEARTHED DRIVERS