What GTC SupaCup Round 2 Report
Where Killarney International Raceway
When Saturday 18 March 2023
Community South Africa National
Bradley Liebenberg scores a Killarney GTC SupaCup grand slam
Bradley Liebenberg bounced back from a comeback to forget last time out, to dominate the all-Volkswagen SuperPolo second round GTC SupaCup races at Killarney on Saturday. Liebenberg took pole position before scoring double victories with the fastest lap of the day too, chased all the way by championship leader Keegan Campos. The returning Arnold Neveling ended third from second in the title chase, Volkswagen factory driver Jonathan Mogotsi.
Bradley Liebenberg’s Hype Energy car led the all-Volkswagen SupaPolo grid from late entry and championship leader Keegan Campos’ Veloce Carello Polo. Jonathan Mogotsi started third from local rookie Tate Bishop’s Angri machine, and the returning Arnold Neveling’s Stradale Goscor version. Chemi Liquid Energy brothers Dominic and Calvin Dias, Tato Carello’s Carello Auto SupaCup and JP van der Walt’s Platinum Wheels machine closed off the grid, all of them within a second of pole position.
Liebenberg made a perfect getaway form the rolling start to lead the way in heat 1, as drama brewed behind. Keegan Campos kept Bradley honest enough once he’d shaken Jonathan Mogotsi’s efforts off for second ahead of Arnold Neveling, who had also passed Tate Bishop for fourth. Tato Carello had a relatively lonely race to fifth ahead of Dominic Dias, who passed brother Calvin on the final tour after Jean-Pierre van der Walt retired with engine failure.
Bradley Liebenberg had to work a little harder to win the second race after a wild fist corner when four cars tried to occupy the same piece of tarmac at the same time. All that happened was that they conspired to prove Isaac Newton quite correct. Happily bar a few scuffmarks and dings, Keegan Campos emerged ahead after all of that from Liebenberg, Mogotsi and Neveling. That changed to Liebenberg, Campos, Neveling and Mogotsi through the course of the second lap, and it stayed that way through to the finish.
It was far wilder all the way behind the top four. A splendid four-way dice ensued between Bishop, van der Walt and the Dias brothers. Dominic, who came off worst in that first lap bump and bash, drove a cunning race to come home fifth from the duelling Bishop and van der Walt, and Calvin Dias. But the star of the Killarney GTC SupaCup show was Liebenberg, who took a grand slam with pole position, two wins, the fastest lap of the day, and overall victory from Campos, Neveling, Mogotsi, Bishop, Carello, Dominic and Calvin Dias, and van der Walt.
Keegan Campos’ solid weekend allowed him to extend his provisional GTC SupaCup championship lead to 15 points over Jonathan Mogotsi, while Bradley Liebenberg’s stellar effort shot him up into third ahead of Carello. Bishop sits fifth from Neveling, whose good first day out saw him leap to sixth in the rankings.
Zwartkops is next in Pretoria on Saturday 20 May, where several big hitters are set to return as GTC SupaCup switches to a new Dunlop SportMaxx semi-slick tyre dispensation that’s sure to throw a fat cat among the SupaPolo pigeons. Diarise that now!
Volkswagen Motorsport thanks its partners CompCare Medical Scheme, Dunlop, Motul, Sparco and VW Genuine Parts.
Issued on behalf of Volkswagen Motorsport
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