‘6Speed Racing’ Giordano Clenches Season Win: Job Well Done!
Beating the Best, With the Least, Was a Blast!
6SpeedOnline racer Giordano Lupini’s incredible season of CompCare Polo Cup racing concluded at his at home Killarney home track over the weekend.
The Franschhoek, South African youngster also closed off a splendid part-time campaign as closely followed by 6Speed over the past three years.
Winning in an Old Jetta Twice His Age
It all started back in 2021 as lockdown eased when the then 2019 Class C champion stepped back into his local GTi Challenge aboard a Volkswagen Jetta almost twice his age. Albeit starting a bit late in the season, that did not prevent the young man from taking a winning challenge to his latest model Polo rivals in a thrilling comeback thwarted only by an unfortunate technical issue running the season on literally a thousand dollars a race!
Later that year, Gio convinced his sponsors to step up to national championship in the CompCare Polo Cup, a hugely competitive series that spawned the international careers of DTM champion Sheldon van der Linde and his brother Kelvin, among others. Lupini put it on pole position for the first round of the 2022 season and went on to win his first race in the series later that year (below).
Giordano Made a Big, Winning Step Up To Polo Cup
His main sponsor slashed his budget forcing Gio to miss the first round of this year’s championship, but the team made a plan to race in Round 2 at home in at Killarney in Cape Town. That kicked off another a rollercoaster year on track, bursting back onto the scene with a dominant grand slam double victory that day at Killarney, before heading upcountry and winning in his Johannesburg rivals’ Zwartkops backyard, too.
“We were not supposed to even race this year but decided last moment to enter our Tork Craft Volkswagen at Killarney in March,” Gio explains. “That was a bit of a surreal weekend, but my mom must have packed some special pasta for the road that day, because we dominated with two race wins, two fastest laps and a lap record off pole position on a day none of us will ever forget!
Rollercoaster 2023 was an Impeccable Season for Giordano
“So we entered the next race up at Zwartkops and trekked up to Pretoria. I put it on pole position once more, and won again there, which is a huge feather in our little Cape team’s cap. It’s been a wild ride since, but to have won four times in South Africa’s most competitive national championship, scored four pole positions, three of them on the trot at Killarney, and set several fastest laps and records, was way beyond expectation.
“Best of all, we did all that as a tiny three-man team with my race engineer Nian, my dad and me, towing around the country on the tightest possible budget against some highly professional teams and outfits who have left noting to spare from the outset. One thing we had more than enough of doing that, was fun, so I’d say that’s job done!
Huge Thanks to Everyone Who Helped Make it Happen!
“We are not sure where we are going from here, but it’s been a blast! Huge thanks to all our fans and supporters back home and around the country and here on 6Speed around the world. And our greatest appreciation to our sponsors, Tork Craft Tools, Red Earth Projects, Bullion IT, Pabar Auto Components, Accident Guru, Nian du Toit Racing, and everyone else who made a difference over the past three seasons.”
Photos: Motorsport Media