Perfect Rotax racing tightens the leader board
Karting is demanding and highly competitive, and the racing at Killarney Raceway on July 1 was simply spectacular in every sense of the word.
The third round of the Rotax Max Challenge Karting National tightened the championship standings, setting the stage for exciting racing for the remainder of the season.
Capetonian hero Sebastian Boyd was the only driver to achieve a clean sweep on the day, securing victory in the premier DD2 gearbox class. Kian Grottis and Jamie Smith followed in second and third positions.
Senior Max undoubtedly captured the most attention throughout the day. Muhammad Wally claimed the opening heat, despite Troy Snyman receiving a nose cone penalty. In heat 2, Wally fought back from fifth position to secure victory, with Charl Visser finishing in second place. Championship leader KC Ensor-Smith then led from start to finish taking the final heat. Thus, Wally emerged as the winner in this class.
In Junior Max, local hero Reese Koorzen triumphed over upcountry visitor Wian Boshoff, who dominated the opening heat.
Caleb Odendaal from Buffalo City held off Kegan Martin to secure the U13 Mini Max victory, keeping his title aspirations alive with a 2-1 race win ratio.
Micro Max was dominated by the Rafaels, as Rafael Da Silva won two U11 heats against namesake De Sousa’s one, clinching the overall victory. However, De Sousa’s third race result was disqualified due to a technicality, causing him to drop to 12th place overall. Ronaldo Koen secured second place, followed by Matthew Shuttleworth, Brodi Dowling, Johan Nolte and Cristian Verheul. Jayden Van Der Merwe, Michael O’Mahoney, Callum Du Toit, Kiyaan Reddy and Carter Cedras completed the top ten finishers in an epic 21-kart grid.
Michael O’Mahoney emerged victorious in one of the Bambino races, while upcountry visitor Adriaan Steyn won the other. However, O’Mahoney’s consistently strong performances in the heats were enough for him to claim the overall victory. Championship leader Luhan de Wet secured a second place finish and a couple of third places.
Four more Rotax Max National Championship heats will follow in each class at the Zwartkops final in August. Once crowned, six South African champions will join the winners of the October African Open to form the national team, representing South Africa at the Rotax Max ‘Olympics of Karting’ in Bahrain in December.
Source: MotorsportMedia
