A local racing duo recently outshone the rest during the Need for Speed Weekend Race which took place in Port Elizabeth. Charlie Rothman and his wife Arista each took first place at a race that saw over 100 contestants. Contenders from the Western, Eastern and Northen Cape regions attended the event.
It was not an easy day on the track but they did not let that keep them away from bring back the trophies though. On their arrival on Friday April 29 they were informed that the race had been postponed due to bad weather and they would only start racing on Sunday May 1.
According to Arista, she competed in the V8 Flexi class against 13 other racers. “It was not an easy day although I had to keep pushing.
“During my first heat in the beginning I was in eighth place. Fortunately after a lot of bumping, rubbing and shunting, I managed to complete the race and I took second place. In the second race, I started in the sixth place and I ended in fourth place.
Luckily my efforts paid off and I had enough points to qualify for the final race, although I was in third position overall.”
During the first lap of the final race Arista was rammed hard from behind by another competitor. She lost control and this caused her car to spin 360 degrees.
“Most of the cars behind me crashed into me, I managed to gain control again though. “We had to restart the race. By the second lap of the finals, I passed all the drivers and won the race,”
Charlie also had a challenging day on the track.
With more than 21 cars competing in his class (which is the 1660 modified class), they had to split into two groups and only the top 10 cars of both groups proceeded to the finals.
Charlie dominated the first heat. He started off in the eighth position but he managed to work his way to first. In the second heat he started at fourth place and ended second.
“During the final race one of the participants crashed into Charlie’s car and they had to stop the race. They all had to be taken one lap back, it was not a good thing as they had already completed about 75% of the race.
“Fortunately that setback actually worked in Charlie’s favour because he won the race,” said Arista.
Charlie is a SA1 racer who is racing under World of Motorsport South Africa (Womza).
