Pune: Jeffrey Kruger impressed one and all with his performance in the first round of the Volkswagen Castrol Cup 2014. The young South African driver made an exciting debut in the Volkswagen Castrol Cup 2014 after having put a consistent and outstanding performance throughout the 2013 season of Polo R Cup in India. Claimed as the best rookie of the season, Jeffrey stands third in Volkswagen Castrol Cup 2014 after Round 1.

Jeffrey Kruger made his debut at the Volkswagen Castrol Cup 2014 in Hungary at the Hungaroring during the first round conducted from 25th to 27th April 2014. Jeffrey was promoted to this series after a run-away success in the Polo R Cup 2013 in India. He immediately managed to step into the higher racing category – from Polo to Golf GTI, which are driven in the Volkswagen Castrol Cup in Poland. The practice sessions and qualifying session of the first round were held in extreme weather conditions with heavy showers dampening the pace of the drivers. Jeffrey managed to climb up to 6th position in the qualifying and was delighted with the performance of the Golf GTI. With a lap time of 2:19.890 minutes, Jeffrey was 0.853 seconds off the pace set by pole position winner Marcus Fluch. The weather changed for the races, and both the races were in dry conditions. Jeffrey quickly improved his performance and finished 4th in his first race. During the second race, he made early moves to come in 3rd position and kept fighting for the 2nd place. Finally on the last lap, he managed to make a move on Maciej Steinhof to get into the 2nd place. For the debut, it was indeed a great finish for the South African driver who gathered 38 points from the weekend to stand third overall in the championship.

Commenting on the successful weekend, Jeffrey Kruger said, “This is my first time at Hungaroring. I liked this track and my feeling behind the wheel got better and better with every session. Sixth place for qualifying in such levelled pack of drivers was a very good result to start with. A 4th and 2nd place finish was the best I could have asked for! The second race was very exciting with no room for boredom. I had a great fight with Paweł Krężelok. We switched our positions many times. I want to thank all people who helped me in competing in Volkswagen Castrol Cup, especially Volkswagen Motorsport India.” Marcus Fluch, who qualifies on pole position, took victories in both the races to gain the top spot in the championship standings. Maciej Steinhof finished 2nd and 3rd in the two races to clinch 40 points and finish in 2nd place in the standings, 2 points clear of Jeffrey Kruger. The series moves to Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany from 23rd to 25th May for the second round of the season.

Source: Lokesh Shastri