Capetonian Caleb Lingeveldt brought the heat to some chilly Highveld conditions this past weekend, taking the over spoils at the third and penultimate round of the South African Rotax MAX Challenge (SARMC) Kart Championships. Hosted at Formula-K Raceway in Benoni, Caleb was in solid form. He recorded two wins out of three to be crowned the Round 3 winner and scored valuable points towards his national Bambino championship.
Caleb, who qualified in second on Friday afternoon, made a brief attempt to take the lead from Alonzo de Oliviera in Heat 1 before falling back and in the clutches of Aston Verheul. Caleb and Aston battled it out before a slight touch between them saw Caleb lose momentum and third place to cross the finish line in fourth.
Starting from fourth for Heat 2, Caleb made up an early position but would drop two as the field jostled for the early positions. Maintaining a steady pace, Caleb would pass fellow Western Province Motor Club driver Radhi Harris for fourth while closing the gap to the three ahead, who were now squabbling over the lead. Having caught Aston, who had dropped off the leading duo, he and Radhi continued their push forward. With the laps counting down, Caleb made a pass on the inside of Aston at Turn-4, inheriting the final podium position. After two blistering laps, the RDSA-assisted driver was at the rear of the two leaders. With only a few laps remaining, the leader had contact with a back marker while Caleb wisely avoided the carnage to take the lead and the eventual victory.
Starting from pole for the final heat, Caleb would lose out at the start, dropping to fourth before the first turn. From there, he delivered another gritty drive to take a second victory on the day, his third in the national championship, to top the overall result and head back to Cape Town victorious.
The final round of the SARMC Kart Championships is scheduled for 30-31 August at Zwartkops Kart Raceway in Pretoria.
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix
Picture Caption: Caleb Lingeveldt
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