![RMC1_Aiden_Beaumont](https://images.caxton.co.za/wp-content/uploads/sites/50/2022/02/rmc1_aiden_beaumont-780x470.jpg)
The Western Cape Rotax Max Challenge quite literally exploded into action with a thrilling afternoon’s action at Killarney on Saturday. Perfect late summer conditions greeted the biggest Rotax Max field for some time, as several upcountry karters joined the action. It proved a little too close for all the wrong reasons in some cases, on a day of domination in other classes.
Sebastian Boyd drove away in the premier class DD2 first and final premier class DD2 heats, but had to escape a tight first few laps in the second race as he, Jason Coetzee, and Joseph Oelz diced hard early on. Coetzee overcame Oelz two second places to one to take second for the day while Kyle Visser kept a watching brief in fourth. Masters winner Conor Hughes was fifth from Rafe Tayler and Masters trio Jared Jordan, Marco Viegas and Andrew Thomas off a healthy 14-kart field.
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The meeting was marred by a wholly avoidable accident in the red flagged second combined Senior and Junior Max race. It left karts wrecked and drivers limping away. Other less competitive classes of six or less karts raced alone on the day, yet organisers insisted that the super competitive Seniors and Juniors once again raced as one. So both classes’ front runners fought two battles in one bunch. That incident eliminated title contenders from both classes. All while karting officials continue to put karting politics before racing safety.
Charl Visser fought Andrew Rackstraw and KZN Senior visitor Troy Snyman off while also contending with the Junior dice around them in the opening heat. Snyman then led Storm Lanfear and Visser amid the parallel Junior fight, when that fourth lap race 2 incident eliminated a sore Rackstraw for the day. After which Visser got away to win the restarted race while Snyman fought through the Junior melee to take second from Lanfear. Visser overcame Snyman to take the final and the day from Snyman, Lanfear, Ethan Stier, Matthew Wadeley and Jaden Jacobs.
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Reese Koorzen overcame an early spat to escape and beat all the senior runners as well as his Junior rivals Reza Levy and Wian Boshoff in the fraught first Junior race. Boshoff was then ahead of the Senior top two, Levy and Koorzen when that inevitable red flag incident went down to also eliminate first heat winner Koorzen for the day. Levy went on to win the restarted race from Jude Stuart and Joshua Smit, before taking the final from Boshoff and Smit. Levy won overall from Stuart, Smit, Boshoff, Ashton Repsold and Ethan Deacon.
The primary school classes were all about domination and the Beaumont family. Elder brother Keagan Beaumont drove away under-13 Mini Max as he left Matthew Chiwara, Jordon Wadeley and Sabelo Ntuli to fight over the scraps, with Kegan Martin and Dale Hobbs in pursuit. And kid brother Aiden Beaumont only had to overcome Michael Danks at the start of race 2 as he stormed to the under-11 Micro Max triple. Danks ended second from Liam Wharton, John Norman, Zack McAuley and Matthew Roach, whose race 2 exclusion cost him second for the day.
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It was a similar scenario in the baby Bambinos, where Liam Wharton was untroubled as he led all the way to a triple race win to take overall honours. Carter Cedras took two seconds to Zac Boshoff’s one to stand on the second step of the podium with Zach McAuley fourth from Caleb Lingeveldt and old school C50 class winner Micah Corneilse in sixth. The next Rotax Max regional is iDube’s 6 March KZN pre-national before a double Cape Killarney and Gauteng Formula K Saturday 12 March and the opening national back at iDube 25 March.
Source: MotorsportMedia /Photos: Michelle Lupini