THE Mother City lures Engen Volkswagen Cup racers to Killarney for round two of the WesBank Super Series on Saturday (13 March). This round will see competitors still finding their feet this season but, if their first outing is any comparison, the racing will be packed with action.

Defending champion Mathew Hodges (1) and his PG Glass Polo showcased the racing skills that made him a champion last year when he claimed overall honours at Kyalami. A double-victory at that first round has Hodges at the top of the scoreboard – a good start to his championship defence.

There is also an interesting dynamic at work already this season. The Engen Volkswagen Cup series now effectively has two categories. The first is the national championship while the second is a non-championship Masters class for racers who have passed the age limit for this series.

While this allows older racers to compete (look for white numbers on black to identify the Masters versus the black numbers on white of the championship racers) side-by-side, they do not score points in the national series. So, while Miguel Pasqualli (5) and his Engen Xtreme entry were second across the line for each race, this did not make him a direct threat to Hodges’ championship aspirations – just his racing pride.

The flipside of this is that when a Master finishes ahead of a championship contender they do not affect the points for the title chase. This was highlighted at Kyalami when Pasqualli – who finished second overall after the day’s racing – saw his teammate Kosie Weyers in the other Engen Xtreme entry claim second overall on the national scoreboard after finishing fifth and second in the two races.

Currently third place is Devin Robertson (3) in the Ferodo / Big Boss Auto Polo. Robertson claimed a bonus point at Kyalami with a fastest qualifying time for race one. The second race saw him claim just two points which has left him with a 15 point deficit to the championship leader.

This early in the season though, it is unlikely to have any significant impact as Robertson has already proved in previous seasons that he has the competitive skills to reel in the two leading drivers and stamp his authority on the 2010 championship.

The existence of the Masters’ category is proof of the perennial popularity of this single-make series. This category now has Pasqualli as the points leader with Leon Odendaal in second and Graham Donker in third place. While there is no national championship at stake for these racers, the points will still count as a matter of honour.

It is, however, the pure joy of racing, of competing that attracts racers to the series. There is also the benefit of limited costs as there is factory-backing for this formula.

While the leading competitors in the championship fight things out and the Masters have a battle to themselves, it is the racers who have not yet shown their pace this season that will make this racing truly interesting.

Getting points on the scoreboard is vital to making progress toward the championship finale, the more points the better. This means that competitors like Robyn Kruger (19), Trevor Bland (25), Jacques Joubert(20) in the Momo / Big Boss Auto / The Car King / Nyaleti Investments Polo and Darren Nathan (35) in the Sextrader.co.za car will all be aiming for a maximum points haul in Cape Town.

Competition is expected to be typically fierce between the racers and this means a visual treat for spectators as the competition moves into high gear at Killarney.