The Volkswagen Motorsport team will kick off the 2022 racing season with the opening race at Killarney Raceway in Cape Town on 5 March 2022.
The Volkswagen Motorsport team will compete in the popular CompCare Polo Cup as well as the Global Touring Cars (GTC) series.
The GTC Series, which started in 2016, has grown to be one of South Africa’s premiere racing competitions. This year will see four brands competing for the title over seven races.
“We are excited to be racing the Golf 8 GTI in the GTC series once again. Before the pandemic curtailed the 2020 season, we were leading the championship with Daniel Rowe, so I’m thrilled that we can continue where we left off,” said Mike Rowe, Head of Volkswagen Motorsport.
Volkswagen Motorsport will be represented by drivers Jonathan Mogotsi and Daniel Rowe in the GTC series. Rowe has won the most races for Volkswagen since joining the GTC series six years ago.
Rowe will be joined by Jonathan Mogotsi who has come full circle with the Volkswagen Motorsport team. Six years ago, Mogotsi won the Driver Search competition which secured him a place in the Volkswagen team for the Polo Cup. With only a background in gaming, Mogotsi has continued to impress with his racing talent and last year he was also the runner-up in the competitive SupaCup series.
“As Volkswagen, we are passionate about unearthing talented drivers who would have otherwise not had an opportunity to compete in the sport. Our partnership with Squadra Corse is giving us a pipeline to unearth and nurture new racing talent. This year we will have a new driver who will be representing Volkswagen Squadra Corse in the CompCare Polo Cup,” added Rowe.
Current CompCare Polo Cup driver, Nathi Msimanga will be joined by new driver, Xolela Njumbuxa. Msimanga, in only his second year of racing for Volkswagen, finished in sixth place out of 18 drivers on the grid in the 2021 season. Njumbuxa is a new face to motorsport and will join the Volkswagen Squadra Corse team for this year’s season. Njumbuxa is currently studying Motor Trade at Midlands College in the Eastern Cape where he has also gone through a motorsport development programme with Algoa Motorsport Club.
“This year is geared to be a nail-biting season and we are incredibly excited to make the most of it. We are also grateful to our new partners, CompCare Medical Scheme, SONAX Care Products and Motul, who have joined the Volkswagen Motorsport programme this year,” concluded Rowe.
Dates for the 2022 Extreme Racing Festival:
- 5 March – Killarney Raceway, Cape Town
- 23 April – Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria
- 28 May – Scribante Race Track, Gqeberha
- 2 July – Redstar Raceway, Delmas
- 6 August – East London Grand Prix, East London
- 17 September – Killarney Raceway, Cape Town
- 15 October – Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria
