Engen Xtreme team gets off to a flying start

Thursday, 25 February 2010

After a humdinger of a weekend for the Engen Xtreme team the mood in the Engen camp was mixed, despite the team having a positive first outing in the 2010 WesBank Super Series at the weekend.

Michael Stephen fought hard for a well deserved 3rd place overall while teammate and returning driver Tschops Sipuka being less fortunate, suffering engine trouble early on. This caused him to be less than competitive as the day progressed, with his best performance coming in Race 2. Overall Anthony Taylor took the number one spot, while 2009 Champion, Johan Fourie only managed a disappointing 8th place. In the Engen VW Polo Cup stalwart Miguel Pasqualli recreated some of the magic he conjured in the last race of the 2009 season to finish 2nd overall with teammate Kosie Weyers finishing 3rd. The front runners were however dominated by 2009 Champ Matthew Hodges who out-manoeuvred Pasqualli and Weyers to claim first overall.

The Xtreme team will have returned to Mandela Bay to get to the root of Tschops' mechanical failure, aiming at getting his Audi race ready for Killarney in two weeks time. After his first outing in the Engen Xtreme colours, Tschops had the following to say, "My weekend got off with a positive start. We unfortunately had a misfire, but got it sorted for the second race until we were affected by an engine failure. However, going into Cape Town we remain positive seeking a podium finish."

After the first race of the season the Engen Xtreme team accrued a total of 83 points (and a total of R10 790) toward Engen's Racing for Red campaign. As supporters of the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital, Engen will continue to use its motorsport sponsorship property as a vehicle to raise funds for this worthy cause in aid of the hospital's Burns Unit. The campaign forms part of Engen's overarching "R1 million by 2010" campaign which is supported by all Engen's sponsorship portfolios.