DD2 Masters driver and Victron Energy Ambassador Kyle Lawrence left the iDube Raceway with the third overall trophy on Saturday evening, 5 March, following an impressive performance at the opening round of the MSA South African Rotax MAX Challenge (RMC).
Lawrence, who returned to karting in 2023, was up against the talented competition in five-time RMC Grand Finals winner, Cristiano Morgado and former African Open champion, Jonathan Pieterse, both home-track favourites. Despite this, Lawrence managed to qualify second in the DD2 Masters class for the opening heat.
Heat 1 would be unfortunate for Lawrence, who lost several places on the opening lap before fighting his way back up the order to finish sixth on track, but third in the DD2 Masters behind Pieterse. The second heat would see Lawrence and Pieterse battle to improve to a fourth on track and third in the Masters class. The final part of the day was marred by a horrific accident involving a recovery vehicle and Junior MAX competitor Matthew Chiwara, who was hospitalised and underwent emergency surgery. The final heats, however, continued, with Lawrence finishing fifth overall and third in class.
“First and foremost, I extend my best wishes to the Chiwara family. I hope that the young man is fine and that he will make a speedy recovery,” said Lawrence. “As for my weekend, I’m pretty satisfied with the results. If I am completely honest, I didn’t expect coming back to be as hard as it is, especially at the front, so I will be putting in double the work to make sure I arrive at the next national not only competing for wins in masters but overall as well. Big shout out to Victron Energy Southern Africa for making life that much easier at the circuit with their battery chargers and inverters.”
Round 2 of the MSA Northern Regions Regional Karting Championships will return on 28-29 April to the Formula-K Kart Circuit, Benoni. This is also the circuit that Lawrence will participate in this weekend as he resumes his regional Rotax karting campaign.
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix – Raymond Cornwell
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