What Volkswagen Rookie Cup Round 1 Review
Where Aldo Scribante, Gqeberha EP
When Saturday 16 September 2023
Community South Africa National
Visser, Bertholdt & Naidoo impress at Aldo
Dunlop Tyres was justifiably proud when three youngsters starred in the recent inaugural all-new Volkswagen Rookie Cup at the Aldo Scribante Racetrack in Gqeberha. Bjorn Bertholdt, Kyle Visser and Dhiyven Naidoo all three greatly impressed in the first-ever Rookie Cup race.
Established to deliver a solid platform for young karters as a step up to main circuit racing, the Dunlop-shod Rookie Cup is designed to fully prepare these young guns for their next racing step up to CompCare Polo Cup, GTC SupaCup and beyond. Among the first ever crop of Rookie Cup racers three young stars of the future, Kyle Visser, Bjorn Bertholdt and Dhiyven Naidoo starred first time out. Bjorn put it on pole position and Kyle won the first two heats, before both of their former karting rival Dhiyven took the final.
Besides that vital on-track race time, each Rookie Cup driver is also schooled in race fitness and readiness, disseminating racecar data, and learning how to communicate with team personnel and their race engineers as part of their training. The first round included an early morning track walk, several test session and debriefs in the build up on Friday, before the action commenced with qualifying and three races on Saturday.
Bjorn Bertholdt has already won in the Dunlop shod Pabar VW Challenge Class C Brat Pack and is a regular front runner in another Dunlop class in the Toyota Gazoo Yaris League. Bjorn wasted no time to make best use of the Dunlop Direzza semis slicks he knows well to put his Rookie Cup Volkswagen Polo Vivo on pole position from Visser and Naidoo. Bertholdt makes no bones of it: victory in the Rookie Cup can only take him to his racing level!
Kyle Visser is confident that his experience in winning in Class B of the Dunlop-shod Alert Engine Parts Cape GTi Challenge, together with his new Rookie Cup campaign will catapult him into CompCare Polo Cup. Kyle wasted no time to put that experience to the test as he held his young rivals off to win the super closely contested first-ever Volkswagen Rookie Cup race from Bjorn and Dhiyven. It was much the same in heat 2, but Dhivyen Naidoo clearly learns fast. He set the quickest second heat lap to claim pole position for the final.
The youngest of four young racers selected to represent South Africa at the FIA Motorsport Games in Marseille, France and KZN Kart Club Driver of the Year, Dhivyen trusts that the Volkswagen Rookie Cup campaign will launch his dream of becoming a professional racecar driver. He wasted no time to go on to win the final heat of his main circuit racing debut against two highly qualified rivals. That was enough for second overall for the day, behind Visser and ahead of Bertholdt.
“Dunlop Racing is delighted to be on board as tyre supplier to Volkswagen Motorsport’s Rookie Cup and the first races show precisely why,” Dunlop Tyres PR & Events Manager Joanne de Freitas explains. “Of the three drivers to strike on that first weekend, pole lad Bjorn Bertholdt is a regular in two major Dunlop tyre race series. Double race winner Kyle Visser also knows his way around the main circuit on Dunlop racing tyres. And young Dhivyen Naidoo made an exciting claim to fame by winning on his main circuit racing debut.
“Dunlop Tyres is proud to contribute to the development of young South African racing talent and this first weekend of VW Rookie Cup is already showing great results.” The four-round inaugural Volkswagen Rookie Cup moves on to Zwartkops Raceway as part of the South African Endurance Series Spring Festival on Saturday 21 October.
Issued on behalf of Dunlop Motorsport
Photography Supplied by: Volkswagen Motorsport
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