What Rotax Max Challenge South African National Round 3 Report
Where Killarney Kart Track, Cape Town
When Saturday 1 July 2023
Community South Africa National
Home heroes star at Killarney Rotax National
The storms took a break as a perfect Cape winter’s day played host to an epic third round Rotax Max Challenge Karting National at Killarney on Saturday. Local heroes stared on a day of multiple winners, cracking racing and great excitement that also saw most national class championships tightening up en route to August’s Zwartkops finale.
Home hero Sebastian Boyd was the only driver to score a clean sweep on the day as he swept to premier DD2 gearbox class victory from compatriot Jason Coetzee and championship leader out of Gauteng, Bradley Liebenberg. Kian Grottis and Jamie Smith followed ahead of DD2 Masters’ class winner Kyle Lawrence, who ended sixth overall from Nicolaos Vostanis. Second Masters man Jonathan Pieterse followed from Reza Levy and third in Masters, Jared Jordan tenth Overall.
Senior Max was arguably the class of the day. Muhammad Wally took the opening heat after first home Troy Snyman took a nose cone penalty. Wally then fought back from fifth to take heat 2 after second man Charl Visser took a 10 second penalty. Championship leader KC Ensor-Smith then went lights to flag to take the finale. So, Wally took the day from the consistent Storm Lanfear, Snyman, Visser and Ensor Smith. Ethans Stier and Bostander, Roshaan Goodman, Kian Spies and Matthew Wadeley rounded off the top ten.
Another local hero, Reese Koorzen beat upcountry visitor and dominant opening heat winner Wian Boshoff two races to one to take hard fought high school Junior Max honours for the day. Three more locals, Jude Stuart, Jordon Wadeley and Ethan Deacon kept home fans content in third, fourth and fifth ahead of Amani Kinyua, Jonno Wilson and Georgia Lenaerts, with Kent Swartz and the troubled Joshua Smit next up.
Buffalo City lad Caleb Odendaal kept his title intentions intact as he held local lad Kegan Martin off to take a 21-kart under-13 Mini Max win two races to one. Odendaal came from behind to take the first win, while Martin beat Keagan Beaumont to the second heat and Odendaal likewise got one over Beaumont on the last lap of the final. Durelle Goodman ended up third for the day, from the hapless Beaumont, Jack, and Joshua Moore. Emma Dowling, Jesse Swart, Franco Bensch and Reagile Spice Mailula closed off the top ten.
Micro Max was all about the Rafaels, as Rafael Da Silva took two under-11 heats to namesake De Sousa’s one to take the day. De Sousa however lost his third race result on a technicality to drop him to twelfth overall, leaving Ronaldo Koen to hold Matthew Shuttleworth, Brodi Dowling, Johan Nolte and Cristian Verheul off for second. Jayden Van Der Merwe, Michael O’Mahoney, Callum Du Toit, Kiyaan Reddi, and Carter Cedras were the other top ten finishers in another epic 21-kart grid.
Local lad Michael O’Mahoney won one Bambino race versus upcountry visitor Adriaan Steyn’s one, but a couple of seconds in the heats were enough for him to take the day. Championship leader Luhan de Wet scored a second and a couple of thirds to stave the closing Steyn off for third overall, ahead of another local, Yaqeen Gamieldien and Luke du Toit. Slater Smit, Caleb Lingeveldt, Aston Verheul, Radhi Harris, and Ronald-Bodhi Venter rounded off the top ten.
Four more Rotax Max National Championship heats now follow in each class at Zwartkops’ Final in August. When crowned, six South African champions will join October’s African Open winners in the National team to represent South Africa at the Rotax Max ‘Olympics of Karting’ in Bahrain in December.
Issued on behalf of Rotax Max Challenge
Photography by: Abri de Bruyn
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