SA’s Jonathan Mogotsi to race in Nürburgring 24 Hour for VW-backed Max Kruse Racing team

In his tenth-year of racing for Volkswagen, Jonathan Mogotsi is set to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hour endurance race in 2026.

Image: Volkswagen

2024 South African Touring Cars SupaCup champion Jonathan Mogotsi is set to compete in the Nürburgring 24 Hour endurance race for Volkswagen AG-backed Max Kruse Racing team in a race-ready Golf 8 GTI TCR. Mogotsi will earn his Grade A ‘Ring Licence’ through the NLS1 and NLS2 4 Hour endurance races at the legendary circuit to qualify to race in the 24 Hour in May.

Max Kruse Racing team will run three Golf 8 GTI TCRs during the qualifying rounds, as well as during the 24 Hour race, where Mogotsi will be allocated car #2. The Volkswagen Golf GTI TCR is a track-focused, front-wheel-drive racing car developed for the TCR International Series and endurance racing. Under its widebody shell is a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine developing 257 kW and 420 N.m, and paired with a seven-speed sequential transmission.

Mogotsi’s journey with Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa started in 2016, when he won the Volkswagen Driver Search. The three-month programme culminated in a track shootout, which led to the Johannesburg business analyst landing a seat in the 2017 Engen Volkswagen Polo Cup. That year, he claimed his maiden win at Aldo Scribante and finished ninth overall.

In 2018, Mogotsi ended the Polo Cup season in third position after a double victory from pole position at East London. Mogotsi progressed to the Volkswagen SupaCup in 2020, where he placed third in the season, before clinching his first SupaCup win in 2021, narrowly missing out on the title.

In 2022, a move to Global Touring Cars was cut short following an accident that sidelined the factory cars, returning him to SupaCup. In his first full season in SupaCup 2023, Mogotsi had a successful season with multiple wins and podiums, finishing second overall. He dominated the 2024 SupaCup season, claiming five victories and ultimately winning the title that year. After five more wins in 2025, Mogotsi finished runner-up in the championship. In addition, Mogotsi competed as a leading driver in the Knysna Simola Hillclimb and managed to claim multiple consecutive class wins in the SupaPolo championship in 2025.

Mogotsi will once again race at Simola, the Zwartkops Top of the Hill and Cape Town Speed Festival this year, as well as guest drives in the South African PoloCup Germany.

“I am absolutely delighted to confirm that we will be taking my next step in my incredible ten-year Volkswagen Motorsport journey when I qualify for, and race in the 2026 Nürburgring 24 Hour,” said Mogotsi. “Like the rest of this incredible trip, it’s a dream come true and I cannot thank Mike Rowe and Volkswagen Motorsport South Africa team more.”

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