Tasmin Pepper set for a one-off Polo drive alongside La Réserveé & Beningfield in Port Elizabeth
Pepper Racing confirmed Wednesday that Tasmin Pepper will return to the Engen Volkswagen Polo Cup field when she steps in to drive Rookie Daniel Duminy’s car at the East London Grand Prix Circuit this weekend.
A regular Polo Cup winner in the past, Tasmin chose rather drive in the Gauteng-based Comsol GTi Challenge this year and she has dominated in that series; but with Duminy choosing skip East London in order to concentrate on chasing the SA Junior Max karting championship next week, Tasmin has been cleared to stir things up at the sharp end of his SMD Polo. Tasmin hopes to make a lasting impression on her former series when she races alongside regular Polo Cup winning teammate Shaun La Réserveé and rookie Brad Beningfield.
“I am driving in Daniel's car this weekend as he isn’t able to make it,” Tasmin explained. “I’m really looking forward to racing Polo Cup again — the class has been nothing less than action packed and East London is one of my favourite places to race — the fans are always great and the racing is always close, so let’s see how it goes…
One of the main men Tasmin will compete against is Pepper Racing teammate Shaun La Réserveé, who heads to East London looking to make it three wins in three meetings following a race win in each of the recent Cape Town and Port Elizabeth Polo Cup rounds, while Brad Benningfield is looking to impress on the classic high-speed Border racetrack.
Durban driver La Réserveé is relishing his return to the East London Grand Prix Circuit in his Alpine Volkswagen Pepper Racing Polo. “East London is a magnificent track — its long straight with the super-quick Potters Pass and Rife Range bends and the twisty infield section next to the beach are unique and challenging,” Shaun explained. “I have had two flag-to-flag wins in the last two meetings and it would be great to do it again, but I’m also looking forward to the slipstreaming battles that this track is famous for. "Let’s do it!”
East London is in essence another home race for Rhodes journalism student Brad Beningfield, who heads to the Border to race the Nashua Pepper Racing Polo hot off attending the MSA Motorsport Development Academy. “I hope to apply some of what I learned at the Academy to my best benefit,” Brad confirmed. “PE was a tough weekend but we were very quick — now I just need to deliver that sort of performance when the chips are down!”
“I am excited to see how Tasmin goes this weekend,” team boss Iain Pepper admitted. “She has been in blinding form in the Comsol series so this will be an interesting race. “Shaun has had a strong run in the last two races and we intend to keep up that winning performance at the same time as seeing to Brad continue to improve — we are ready to race in East London.”
