KC Ensor-Smith was crowned the 2023 Senior MAX National Champion after a fierce final round of the South African Rotax MAX Challenge at the weekend.
Zwartkops Kart Raceway hosted the final round of the Rotax-powered karting championship. Ensor-Smith started the weekend off perfectly, securing pole position on Friday afternoon. He would take the opening heat victory from there, beating out his championship rivals. The second heat would see the Witbank resident involved in an incident that dropped him to the rear of the field for his lowest-scoring finish of the day. He, however, bounced back in fine style to take the third heat comfortably. Things got pretty heated in the final heat, but Ensor-Smith remained calm, kept his nerve and finished the heat. He finished fourth overall and accumulated enough points to win his fourth national karting title, nine points ahead of the runner-up Troy Snyman.
“Firstly, I would like to thank the Toyota Gazoo Racing Junior Academy for their unwavering support and faith in me. A special thank you to Leeroy Poulter for always providing me with the best equipment, race setups, and advice. You are a great mentor, team principal, and a true legend. A huge thank you to Elvis Mashinga for giving me a flawless kart every time and always being by my side. Thank you to the staff, teammates, and family members at Xtreme Racing for your support. A special thanks to my parents for being my rock; none of this would be possible without you. Thank you to all the Senior Max competitors for a great season. Above all, I thank God for keeping us safe and guiding me to victory,” stated KC Ensor-Smith.
With this victory, Ensor-Smith has won championships in four different classes: Mini ROK (2020), OKJ (2022) and Junior Max (2022). As national champion, he receives an automatic entry to the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals set for a return to the Kingdom of Bahrain. This will be his third appearance at the event after competing in 2018 (Micro MAX) and 2022 (Junior MAX).
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix
Picture Caption: KC Ensor-Smith
MSA Publishes media releases from a host of different sources on our website as a service to the sport. It is not practically possible to vet/approve every release that is published. Some news items and articles are written by correspondents and do not necessarily represent MSA’s views.