Engen Xtreme Team travel to Zwartkops in August

Monday, 24 August 2009

After a positive performance by the Engen Xtreme team at Kyalami in June, the team is preparing for the sixth meet in the WesBank Super Series at the Zwartkops Race Circuit on 15 August.

After finishing 1st overall Michael Stephen will be hoping to close down the gap on his nearest rival at a track that has proven to be a lucky one for him. When asked this week what his feelings were after Kyalami, and how he is keeping race fit, Michael commented, "After a Race 2 win, and an overall victory at Kyalami, the team is once again putting a huge effort into improving the car, so that we can again be at the front of the field at Zwartkops. This is a track where I have always been fast and had good results, so a race win is definitely on the cards."

"As this is one of the longest breaks in the calendar, it is important that I keep fit. As always, I am at the gym in the morning before work doing mostly cardio to keep fitness levels high. I have also been testing karts on the weekends, to keep both fit and sharp. Hopefully this will give me an edge over my rivals!"

His team mate and 2007 Championship winner, Shaun Watson Smith when asked on his performance for the rest of the season, commented, "The rest of the season presents an opportunity to make a charge for the championship for me, similar to 2007 when I won it at the death. The team have made some exciting strides recently in terms of performance, and I am confident that my electronic issues at altitude have been sorted out. I look forward to winning some races soon, starting at Zwartkops!"

At the end of the day, it is Engen Xtreme Team Principal, Terry Moss that has the final say as to the team tactics leading up to Zwartkops. When asked as to the teams performance at Kyalami and how preparations are progressing for the 15th, he commented, "Whilst I consider the Kyalami performance average, even though we achieved 1st and 3rd, we have been very busy manufacturing many exhaust configurations, in search of power improvement at the top end, however this goes hand in hand with engine mapping on the Dyno, burning up over 400 litres of fuel to achieve what we believe will bring us the championship in the end. I am confident ahead of Zwartkops, as I have two of the best drivers in the business and am expecting an improvement in our performances from here on."

If these comments are anything to go by, the Mandela Bay boys are charged up and fiercely determined more now than ever to attack the Zwartkops race track with all they have in a race to score maximum points before the final race at Kyalami in October.