The Killarney Kart track in Cape Town played host to the Junior Max kart racing series with the second round of the SA National Karting Championship.
Johannesburg local, Tiffany Napier, competed in what turned out to be a very testing weekend for her.
“I laid it all on the line in qualifying and I was delighted to put it eighth on the grid despite still struggling with the two-lap national qualifying format and I had a really tough time in practice,” she said. “I was a bit nervous starting on the outside, but my fears were unfounded – I got an excellent start and was up to fifth and making a pass to take fourth when I was unfortunately taken out of the race from behind.”
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The second heat was no ordinary race. When a cable fell across the track just four laps into the race, the heat was red-flagged immediately and an hour later, the race was finally restarted.
“That was a crazy race. I had a good start and worked my way from stone last in the grid to run as high as seventh during a good scrap and I eventually ended up ninth on track, but 10th on the timesheets when the times of the two race parts were added together,” Napier explained.
The third and final heat proved to be an even trickier affair for her. However, despite the odds stacked against her, Napier, in Grade 10 at British International College showed great fighting spirit as she was able to counter every setback with a positive comeback throughout the race.
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“The third race was quite a challenge. The inside starting position never worked as well as I’d have liked and I lost two places on the start and then I got mugged in the 180s and again in Golf Club so I lost four more places and then my teammate managed to drive over me too, so I ended up last.
“I was not happy and I lost my rhythm through all that, but I thought to hell with it and decided to fight back with everything I had and I made up a few places despite my kart being crooked and handling terribly. I was quite happy with that.”
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