VW Polo Cup: Tasmin Pepper Returns!

Image credit: W-Series

Former W-Series driver and 2018 VW Polo Cup Championship runner up Tasmin Pepper makes a long-overdue return to local motorsport as the National Extreme Festival heads to the Mpumalanga-based Red Star Raceway on September 24-25.

Pepper competed in the inaugural 2019 W-Series, an all-female single-seater racing championship, where she finished 10th overall. While she was available for the 2020 season, the global pandemic saw endless delays and eventual travel restrictions that ended her international single-seater hopes. Sidelined since then, Pepper has not competed in motorsport and will make a brief return to the VW Polo Cup grid as she fills in for Keegan Campos, who makes the crossover to GTC SupaCup this weekend.

"I'm looking forward to racing again," said Pepper. "It's been a while since I lined up on a grid, and I'm pretty excited, to be honest. As they say, you don't know what you're missing until it's gone. I haven't raced a Polo since 2018, and a lot has changed since then. But I'm just happy to be back on the circuit. A big thank you to Rui and Keegan for giving me the chance to drive the Campos Transport Polo. Hopefully, I can also convince my dad, Iain, to come out of retirement and get his hands dirty like before. I'm expecting an action-filled two races as usual but wouldn't trade it for anything."

Friday will see Pepper out on track for three practice sessions ahead of a late afternoon qualifying session. Two 10-lap races are scheduled for 12:30 and 14:45. While spectators are still not permitted to attend, a live-stream feed from the circuit will be available on the Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa Facebook page.