CompCare Polo Cup | Bishop Lays Down Marker at Killarney Season Opener
Angri Racing's Tate Bishop got his CompCare Polo Cup Championship off to a strong start on Saturday, March 5, following three fiercely contested races that saw the 15-year-old claim his maiden win crossing the finish line first in two of the three races.
Bishop gradually increased his pace throughout Friday's three practice sessions to record the fastest qualifying lap during the late afternoon session. This automatically saw him progress into the SuperPole shootout for the top six qualifiers, which traditionally determines the grid for the weekend's opening race. Bishop missed out on the quickest time by a mere 0.021 seconds to end second but, more importantly, announced himself as a title contender in only his second season of national circuit saloon car racing.
"I had the perfect qualifying," explains Bishop. "The car was just fantastic, and I can't thank Marco (Busi) and the team enough. Superpole was tight, and there was very little in it at the end. Nonetheless, starting on the outside of the front row is not the worst place to be and there should be better grip for the run down to Turn 1."
Bishop, a three-time national karting champion, made the most of the more favourable starting position by taking the holeshot to beat his rivals into Turn 1. A train of cars soon developed with the Angri Racing Kart Academy instructor having to fend off the challenge of his closest competitor into Turn 5. In doing so, Bishop snatched a brake, and the front two made contact, with both continuing. Bishop retained and increased his lead over the next few laps before a safety car slowed the field down. Bishop, however, got the hammer down immediately after the restart and went on to cross the finish line in first, recording the second quickest lap of the race that would secure him another front row start for Race 2.
"I am just so happy to finally get the monkey off my back and take my first win in Polo Cup," said an elated Bishop. "It was a hell of a race competing with some of the more experienced national drivers in the field as well as from our regional race series. Jurie and I were going hard, and we touched at the final bend. Nothing too serious actually. Just so happy with the win."
However, the Cape Town teenager could not repeat his blistering Race 1 start and was forced to slot in behind the leader as the field made its way through the opening left-hander. Not happy to play second fiddle, Bishop applied pressure on the leader from the onset but soon found himself defending from the group of cars behind. A mistake into the final turn saw Bishop lose three places, allowing the leader to edge away and leave Bishop to battle for the podium placings. Reclaiming one position over the next lap, Bishop took the chequered flag in fourth.
The Grade 10 pupil from Parklands College started the final race from pole courtesy of a stellar qualifying performance on Friday afternoon. Flawless in his approach to the race, Bishop took a lights-to-flag victory putting on a driving display of note where the Capetonian stretched out his lead by an average of 0.200 seconds on every lap. He took the final race win by more than two seconds.
Bishop would later be stripped of his Race 1 victory and penalised one position to drop to second after the Race Stewards deemed Bishop at fault during the opening race incident.
"I don't want a penalty to put a damper on my weekend. To cross the line in first twice ahead of some of South Africa's most talented drivers is very rewarding. At Angri Racing, we believe that preparation is crucial and rewards hard work. My performance this weekend is a testament to that. The Angri Racing Polo was near perfect, and the team did an exceptional job. I cannot thank them enough. Thank you also to everyone for their words of encouragement and the messages of support. My championship bid is off to a great start, and I'm more motivated than ever to win it," said Bishop.
The overall result saw Bishop finish second. Round 2 of the CompCare Polo Cup is scheduled for April 22-23 at Zwartkops Raceway.
Watch Tate’s massive success at the first round of the VW Polo Cup at Killarney right here. (PRESS PLAY)