Mikel Bezuidenhout’s 2024 motorsport season got off to an impressive start as the Johannesburg teenager took to the Zwartkops Kart Raceway for the inaugural African Karting Cup. Mikel was one of several African drivers invited to compete in the OK-N class.
Having completed an entire 2023 season in the then newly introduced OK-N class, Mikel, backed by Vivo Mobile South Africa and MTN Cosmo Net, showed much more confidence in the kart. He shared his thoughts on Friday afternoon.
“Now that I have had a full season in the kart and have grown accustomed to the power delivery and characteristics of the OKN engine, it has been somewhat easier today. It certainly helps that we are all on an even playing field with the same chassis and pool motors. Tomorrow’s qualifying should be close.”
And close it was, with Mikel placing fourth on the grid, where he would start all three race heats, only 0.166 seconds off the pole time. Starting from the second row, the NBR Racing driver maintained his position over the first six laps of Heat 1 before a technical issue forced him to retire. Eager to compensate for the disappointment, he made a strong start and moved up to the podium placings before losing the position again to finish fourth in the second heat.
After finishing fifth in the final qualifying heat, his accumulated points from the three qualifying heats saw the avid scuba diver given a seventh-place start for the final, a winner-takes-all race. In a race that saw Mikel record his fastest lap time of the day, he made up two positions from the start to finish fifth. Mikel further benefitted from a post-race penalty to a competitor ahead, allowing him to secure fourth place to end a weekend of determined driving.
“I am pretty satisfied with how our weekend progressed, considering it the first race of my season. We showed that we had a strong pace throughout, which is something for us to build on. These karts are evenly matched, and I think it was only down to race experience in the end. Well done to Wally on the win and thank you to the team for the hard work.”
Mikel will immediately prepare for this weekend’s opening regional Rotax round at the same venue where he is set for his second full Senior MAX season.
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix
Picture Caption: Mikel Bezuidenhout
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