Durban - Motorsport enthusiasts Talha Moosajee and Raais Asmal have raced into the last stage of the 2017 Volkswagen Driver Search competition.
After four days of physical tests, psychological evaluations, media lectures and a string of driving tests at the Zwartkops Raceway in Pretoria recently the judges cut the original field of 14 hopefuls down to the two finalists.
They will battle for the 2017 Volkswagen Driver Search honours where the ultimate winner could earn a drive with Volkswagen Motorsport in the 2018 Engen Volkswagen Cup.
“Volkswagen have always been about being a responsible investor in our country and developing our country’s most precious resource, it’s people, but at the same time we are also passionate about motorsport. With the Driver Search programme we are able to combine both these objectives and reach our goals," commented Mike Rowe, head of Volkswagen Motorsport.
The competition was fierce, with the final four candidates finding the limits of their near-standard Volkswagen Polos as well as the limits of the circuit. Ultimately Moosajee and Asmal topped the scoresheets.
Moosajee hails from an off-road racing background while Asmal has done some karting, so it was a steep learning curve to climb into a Polo and drive it around a racing circuit.
“I don’t know what to say. Words can’t really describe how I feel right now,” said a delighted Asmal afterwards. Moosajee was equally pleased: “I now have a lot of work to do and will do everything I can to be ready for the 3-hour race.”
They will share a car, alongside 2016 winner and Engen Volkswagen Cup regular, Jonathan Mogotsi, in the Port Elizabeth 3-Hour Endurance Race scheduled for November 18. The winner will be announced at Zwartkops a week later at the year's last race meeting.
“We wish them both the best of luck. They both impressed us over the last few days and both have come a long way in a short time, but now it gets serious. We are looking forward to finding out who the next Driver Search winner is going to be,” said Rowe.