Local heroes

Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa has a rich heritage of engineering racing machines for the home market and, for 2020, has developed the world’s first competition Golf 8 GTi

- RICHARD GOODING

High-profile activities have shaped Volkswagen’s motorsport participation over most of the past decade. The top-fl ight Polo R WRC won the FIA World Rally Championship for four consecutive seasons from 2013, and the Golf GTi Touring Car has dominated international TCR series since 2016. A customer sports racing programme similar to that of the Polo GTi R5 cars the Hanoverbased Volkswagen Motorsport outfit also builds, the GTi TCR has been phenomenally successful for the German manufacturer in terms of wins and exposure, and has even inspired a road car with the same name.

The arrival of the eighth-generation Golf has yet to see the racing TCR updated but, away from the glare of the official home motorsport activity, the world’s first Golf 8 racer has been unveiled. Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa announced the Golf GTi GTC (Global Touring Cars ) circuit racer in July 2020. A locally-engineered racer, the GTi GTC will defend Volkswagen’s current Global Touring Cars championship title.

The South African team is used to developing its own product. The Polo Cup series was launched in 1997, and is one of the most popular one-make series in the country. Locally-built Polo rally cars for the national rally championship have also emerged from the outfit’s workshops in Johannesburg.