The single-seater Formula Volkswagen series concluded its first national championship at Kyalami on Saturday. Here competitors faced a wet-and-dry race day in the fight to settle second and third for the season.

The first Formula Volkswagen champion, Jayde Kruger (5) and his Motul / First Freight entry claimed the title at Killarney - the penultimate race meeting of the season. This left the last race meeting for racers to settle the challenge for the final two podium positions.

As Kruger had already claimed the title, he could afford to be cautious and settle for seventh in race one and third in the second race.

''I didn't want to spend that cheque for first place in the championship on spares after a wet race,'' says Kruger. ''The championship started well (winning both races at round one in Port Elizabeth) and we aimed for the title - and we got it right in Cape Town.''

Wesleigh Orr (4) and his Global Consulting Solutions / Bravo Holdings entry claimed second place in the series after winning race one and finishing down in 13th place in the second race. This was enough to ensure he couldn't be caught by the rest of the field and it was then just third place up for grabs.

Here the fight was between Gordon Connelly (33) in the Bravo Holdings / Cowan Signs entry and the Formula Volkswagen of Tasmin Pepper (31) and her PG Glass / VW Racing car. Pepper was in with a serious shout until a spin in the second race put her behind Connelly - and off the podium.

''Things have been up and down this season,'' says Orr. ''We went for the strong finish, but have made a fair number of car and driver errors this season. We've learnt a lot as a team though and gained valuable insight into the car. In 2010 I believe we're going to be a lot more competitive and we'll have a great deal more experience.''

Connelly is justifiably pleased with his performance this season - he has shown tremendous growth as a single seater racer, working hard to reach a championship podium finish.

''I knew we had a good car in the wet and I just had to finish ahead of Tasmin,'' says Connelly. ''Once I got ahead of her I could relax. I think we had the potential to win this season, but we've had loads of bad luck and it has taken a lot of work to catch up again. Overall I'm happy with our finish, ending on the podium is not easy against drivers of the calibre of this series.''

While the Formula Volkswagen field competed in the dry for race one, the second race took place in very wet conditions - in an almost carbon copy of their Cape Town race experience. The wet race track translated into slippery conditions and many of the drivers found themselves spinning out at unexpected moments. This made an already exciting race even more exciting and a brilliant finish to this category's first national championship season.

The Formula Volkswagen racing at Kyalami on Saturday saw Wesleigh Orr (4) and his Global Consulting Solutions / Bravo Holdings claimed the first race win with Tasmin Pepper (31) and her PG Glass car in second. Third across the line was Tschops Sipuka (10) in the Southern Sun / Oakley car.

In race two, it was Simon Moss (6) and his Southern Sun / Oakley entry winning the race with teammate Tschops Sipuka (10) and his Southern Sun / Oakley car second with Jayde Kruger (5) in the Motul / First Freight entry taking third.

Overall results for the day put Tschops Sipuka (6) in the Southern Sun / Oakley entry in first with Tasmin Pepper (31) in the PG Glass car second and Gordon Connelly (33) in the Bravo Holdings / Cowan Signs entry in third place.

The Formula Volkswagen racers will tackle season two of their national championship when the WesBank Super Series gets underway in 2010.