After an action packed weekend and the last meeting before the drivers take a two month break, the Engen Xtreme Team had a great showing with both Engen Audi’s and Engen Polo Cup teams walking away with podium finishes at the popular Kyalami circuit in Midrand on Saturday 5 June, 2010.

Bridgestone Production Audi

Bridgestone Production Audi driver, Michael Stephen (A3) found it challenging moving ahead of the turbo charged BMW, Nissan and Subaru’s, resulting in a seventh place finish for race one. Stephen held Audi opponent, Johan Fourie (A4) at bay throughout the first race, seconds away from almost claiming a sixth place finish. Audi team mate Tschops Sipuka (A4) experienced the same challenges as Stephen, crossing the finish line with eighth position in race one. However, Stephen and Tschops pushed harder in race two, with both drivers moving up one place. This improvement put the Engen Audi drivers in a good position for the third and final race, having completed the 12 lap chase; Stephen achieved a hard earned third place podium finish with an impressive fourth position finish for Sipuka.

Engen Volkswagen Polo Cup

Engen Polo driver, Miguel Pasqualli (5) really impressed his teammates by claiming a third position finish in race one. Placed right behind Pasqualli, was team mate Kosie Weyers (6) revving his Polo engine to fourth place for race one.   Known for his successes on this renowned circuit, Pasqualli confidently delivered on the expectations despite the mechanical difficulties he experienced with his breaks and as a result he completed race two in second position.  Unfortunately due to unexpected changes to the car, Weyers came in at sixth place for race two.

Overall

Overall the Engen Xtreme Team thrived, in spite of experiencing a few challenges along the way.   Engen Audi driver, Sipuka moved his way up in the ranks and claimed an overall fifth place for the day, with Stephen standing up on the podium in third position.

A remarkable overall performance by Pasqualli, securing first place in the veteran category and finishing second place overall for the day. Pasqualli proudly comments: ‘The team had a good day, we put in a lot of effort despite the minor mechanical problems, we managed to finish second and look forward to the next meeting at Phakisa’.   After an eventful day, Weyers finished in sixth position and despite having made some radical changes to his car by changing the springs; he still managed a good showing.

Engen Xtreme Team Principal, Terry Moss believes that the team is on their way up. Moss commented: ‘We had a tough day and the result in the third race with the Audi’s gives us hope as well as a marked improvement in the Polo’s. We expecting the new and improved cars to be in action very soon and we will certainly be a force to be reckoned with’.  The team looks ahead to the second half of the race calendar, which will commence in August at the newly repaired Phakisa track.

The Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital continues to form part of Engen’s ‘Racing for Red’ initiative where a generous amount of R130 is donated for every point the drivers score during the race.  To date, the team scored 203 points moving this season’s ‘Racing for Red’ campaign up to R 26 390.