Summarize

Cape Town lad Jurie beats Pretoria’s best at home

Cape Town racer Jurie ‘Umpie’ Swart delivered an emphatic double victory in his Pretoria Polo Cup championship rivals’ Zwartkops back yard as he raced back into title contention in Saturday’s penultimate round Extreme Festival national races. Swart, who made a lightning start lead off the second row led from lights to flag in the first race before dominating the second heat from pole position. It was an even sweeter victory for the Killarney Alpine Autohaus team considering it's out of town disadvantage.

“We had solid pace throughout the weekend and were on the pace from the outset, “Jurie explained. "The car was however very loose in qualifying and we scraped through to Superpole. “Then we took a gamble on set-up for Superpole, which worked pretty well — that aggressive move made a huge difference. “We continued in that vein in warm up and we were pretty excited going into the race — our pace was brilliant.

“So I knew that if I put my head down I’d have a good day and we knew that it was all down to the start. “I aced it and went between Leyton Fourie and Clinton Bezuidenhout to lead into Turn 2, and to be honest, I never expected to be able to check out like I did. “Especially with a push to pass less. “I was waiting for the attack and it never came, so I just drove it home. “Somehow Clinton managed to stay ahead of his title leading teammate Leyton, which was also good for the championship!

"The start was just as important in race 2, because I knew if Tasmin Pepper got ahead from second, she’d be difficult to pass back. “But I got away beautifully again and pushed like hell to leave Tas to fight off the attack from behind. “The car was just phenomenal, so I was able to put in eight quali laps to win. 

"So yes, we hit the nail on the head. “Our team and car is getting better and better, we've always been quick at Zwartkops and a win here has been a long time in coming ” The result saw Jurie halve his title deficit to leader Leyton Foure with two races left to run at Kyalami in December, but he’s not fussed. “I’m not worried about the championship,’ Jurie concluded. “We just keep on trying to win and whatever happens, happens as we put a very good team together for a serious push in 2022.

“I need to say a huge thank you to my team — Gozzi, Kyle, my dad and I have worked ceaselessly to get this right. “We are a one man show out of Cape Town and man, it was just so good to beat the big guys right there in their back yard up in Gauteng!” The 2021 Volkswagen Polo Cup wraps up at the 9 Hour weekend at Kyalami 3-4 December.

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Jurie 'Umpie' Swart

What:Volkswagen Polo Cup Round 6 Report
Where:Zwartkops Raceway, Pretoria
When:Saturday 23 October 2021
Community:South Africa National

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