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Rookie Cup Racing Delights the Killarney Crowd

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Rookie Cup Racing Delights the Killarney Crowd:

The Volkswagen Rookie Cup delivered racing of the highest orders as its young drivers showed talent and nerve way beyond their years and experience to thrill the Cape Town Killarney International Raceway’s first round National Extreme Festival powered by Coca-Cola on Saturday.

“Our 2025 Volkswagen Cup Rookies have certainly raised the bar,” Volkswagen Head of Motorsport Mike Rowe reflected after a scintillating day of racing. “The second heat today in particular, delivered racing out of the top drawer as the top five drove out of their racing boots to deliver a race to remember. All our young drivers looked more like seasoned veterans today. If this is the start, we simply cannot wait to see what the rest of the season holds.”

Most of the Rookie field spent Friday practice learning their cars, the new circuit and in most cases, a main circuit race meeting for the very first time. It was perhaps no surprise then, that second year Rookie Cup racer Uzair Khan emerged on pole position. Newcomers, Giovanni Fiorotto, Mauro da Luz, Christopher Tait, Luke Hill, and young lady racer Berlin Robinson posted most impressive lap times to line up behind Khan with Josh Moore and Luke Corbett next.

Rookie Cup sophomore Khan then made no mistakes to lead the opening race from lights to flag, although oval track graduate Gio Fiorotto kept him honest all the way. VW Challenge Class C champion Christopher Tait ended third, while another second year rookie Josh Moore recovered well to lead karting kids, Luke Hill, Berlin Robinson, and Mauro da Luz home with Luke Corbett eighth.

The second race proved a thriller. One could literally throw a blanket over the top five throughout as the rookies diced all the way at the very limit. Mauro da Luz was however canniest of all as he emerged with the slightest of leads with a lap and a half to run and went on to hold Fiorotto and Khan off for the win. Hill kept Tait at bay with the top five all covered by under two seconds at the flag, and Moore, Corbett, and Robinson in pursuit. Khan was later placed behind Hill and Tait in fifth for his hand in helping Tait off the track during the race.

The upshot of all that saw Giovanni Fiorotto take the day from Uzair Khan. Christopher Tait’s effort was good enough for third ahead of Luke Hill, Josh Moore, Mauro da Luz, Berlin Robinson, and Luke Corbett. The Volkswagen Rookie Cup heads to the Aldo Scribante Extreme Festival next on Saturday 10 May.

The Rookie Cup is a Volkswagen Motorsport initiative open to young racing drivers between 14 and 16 years old who hold a valid MSA licence. Designed to deliver a seamless transition for that all-important step up to main circuit racing, Rookie Cup works as an academy of motor racing. It goes far beyond best racing lines, perfect brake markers and racecraft as recruits are trained in every aspect of racing with an eye to a career on track.

Young drivers interested in learning more and joining the Volkswagen Rookie Cup can email driving@vwsa.co.za with the subject line ‘Ref: VW Rookie Cup, and Volkswagen’s dedicated Rookie Cup team will be in touch.

– MyZA

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Ponte City: Transformation

As the “white flight” of the 1980s and 90s drained the inner city of capital, Ponte City underwent a dramatic and terrifying transformation. By the late 1990s, the building had become a “vertical slum” and a symbol of urban decay. It was famously “hijacked” by gangs; the retail levels were stripped, and the building became a fortress for drug dealing and human trafficking. The most haunting image from this era was the central core. Originally designed to be a light-filled courtyard, it became a literal trash heap. Residents on the upper floors would throw their refuse into the center of the building rather than taking it down. At its worst point, the trash in the core reached five stories high—a mountain of rotting debris, discarded furniture, and even, legend has it, the remains of those who had fallen or jumped.

During this period, the reputation of Ponte was so toxic that there was a serious proposal in 1998 to turn the entire skyscraper into a vertical prison. The plan was eventually scrapped, but the building remained a “no-go zone” for nearly a decade. The turnaround began in the mid-2000s when developers New Metro Property Group and later Dlala Nje began a massive, painstaking refurbishment. They cleared out the tons of trash from the core, restored the lifts (which had often been out of order, forcing residents to climb 50 flights of stairs), and implemented strict security protocols.