UPDATE: African Karting Cup moved to Pretoria

Benoni has lost out on hosting the highly-anticipated inaugural Africa Karting Cup (AKC), which was set be held at the Formula-K Karting Circuit, in Morehill, from February 15 to 17.

Motorsport South Africa (MSA) and ROK Cup South Africa confirmed in a statement on today (February 5), that the event will now take place at the Zwartkops Karting Circuit in Centurion, citing safety issue around the Formula-K Raceway.

“MSA and Rok Cup South Africa confirmed that due to safety concerns surrounding the Formula-K kart circuit in Benoni, the AKC will now be taking place in South Africa at Zwartkops Kart Circuit,” read the statement.

Benoni would have played host to 40 participants from over 15 African countries who will compete in the event.

Nail-biter

According to Rok Cup South Africa’s Cindy van der Laan, the event will see OK-N competitors vying for a seat at the 2024 FIA OK-N Karting World Cup or comparable competition as decided by the promoter.

“The African Karting Cup will be a real nail-biter. For the first time in Africa, we will showcase two classes, OK-N and OK-J as an-arrive-and-drive format, and we are very excited to announce that we will also be introducing a Mini Rok invitational.”

She said the AKC holds a special attraction due to its unique format and the sheer thrill it offers.

“It’s a unique format offering two classes, namely OK-J and OK-N with a total of 40 competitors plus the Mini Rok invitational event,” said Van der Laan.

To add to the excitement, the track layout will be kept secret until February 15.

Van der Laan explained karting is the foundation of motorsport and the starting point for any talented youngsters to first learn their craft and hone their skills in the playground of motorsport.

The CEO of Motorsport SA (MSA), Adrian Scholtz, agreed saying the majority of drivers who reach the pinnacle of motorsport began their careers in karting.

“Karting in SA produces some exceptional talent. Some big-name drivers over the last few years have included Kelvin van der Linde, Sheldon van der Linde and Jordan Pepper to name just a few.”

South Africa will be represented in the OK-N class by Muhammad Wally, Niko Zafiris and Mikel Bezuidenhout and in the OK-J class, Sebastian Dias, Wian Boshoff and William Marshall will be competing.

Following the event, winners of the OK-N class will head to Europe for the global FIA Karting World Cup while the OK-J driver winners will receive automatic qualification into the 2025 African Karting Cup.

The winner of the Mini Rok invitational will win a qualified drive for the prestigious Super Final which takes place in October in Italy.

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