The Engen Volkswagen Cup single-make series crowned its newest champion at Kyalami on Saturday. Mathew Hodges (31) and his PG Glass Polo kept his nose in the fight with some excellent driving to claim the title at the final round.

This series, where every competitor takes to the circuit behind the wheel of a 2.0 litre Volkswagen Polo with hand-made Continental slick racing tyres, is notoriously challenging. The title is always a hard-won affair and drivers with championship aspirations have to push if they hope to succeed.

It has been no different for Hodges - or any of the other hopefuls still with a chance at the final round - who had to be on form to produce the desired results. Aside from Hodges, it was Gennaro Bonafede (3) in the Champion Racing entry, Devin Robertson (7) in another Champion Racing Polo and Bryan Morgan (5) in the Timken car that all entered the final round entertaining podium dreams.

According to the new champion, a victory for the season was the only possible outcome after his second-place finish last year.

''We have worked hard this season,'' says Hodges. ''Everyone did their part and it’s been a fantastic year, we've had just as much fun as the work has been hard to get here.''

For Hodges it was the victory in race one and the third place in the second race (for first overall on the day) that provided him the points for the championship title. In second place for the season it was Bonafede (who finished a position better in the championship than last year) and finally it was Bonafede's teammate Robertson who claimed third - improving on his 2008 result by four positions.

''After round one in Port Elizabeth, we have always been on the back foot this season,'' says Bonafede. ''We've had our share of ups and downs and unfortunately, luck just wasn't on our side. Both my dad and Ronnie from Champion Racing worked tirelessly to ensure that our team finished in the top three this year.''

For Robertson the season started on a good note but things just didn't stay that way.

''We've battled with the car since Cape Town and the accident there,'' he said. ''There's a new car planned for next year and there's lots of practise waiting in the future.''

Just to make things a little interesting on the day, the weather decided to play a factor in the final race meeting - ensuring there was more than a little rain to keep the racers working for their results. Adding to the flavour of the final race meeting, the Engen Xtreme entry of Kosie Weyers (27) was found to be a kilogramme underweight in the qualifying session and he had to start the first race at the back of the grid.

For racer Trevor Bland ( ) the practise session was hardly kind on Friday. Bland’s Polo made an unscheduled exit from the race track, hit the tyres and he suffered a broken collarbone in the incident, bringing his race weekend to a very abrupt end.

International visitor to the Engen Volkswagen Cup series, Maciej Steinhof - quickly dubbed ''Matchstick'' by the locals, found the local series a challenge compared to the more advanced race cars he normally contests in the ADAC Polo Cup series. Steinhof appears a shoe-in for the title of his home series, a championship which is every bit as competitive as the South African racing.

Steinhof posted a tenth-place result in qualifying, improving to sixth place in race one and eighth in the second race for a fifth place finish overall for the day.

Race results for the day put Mathew Hodges (31) and his PG Glass car in first with Gennaro Bonafede (3) and his Champion Racing entry second with Kieren Quarmby (30) and his Interfile / Gallardo ITE Polo in third for race one.

Race two was won by Miguel Pasqualli (4) in his Engen Xtreme car with Devin Robertson (7) and his Champion Racing Polo second with Mathew Hodges (31) in the PG Glass entry third. Overall standings for this race meeting were Mathew Hodges (31) in the PG Glass Polo first, Gennaro Bonafede (3) and his Champion Racing car claimed second with Bryan Morgan (5) and his Timken entry in third place for the day.

The Engen Volkswagen Cup competitors will now have a few months off before the start of another highly challenging and super-competitive 2010 season.