SA Kart Championships revving to go

Delays only serve to draw National karting lines tighter, as the South African Kart Championships see biggest entry list in over a decade.

The start of the South African Kart Championships may have been delayed for several reasons, none of which will diminish the extreme action when it finally commences at Killarney in Cape Town on 29-30 March 2022. Monster grids from across the country and the board will ensure the racing is tighter than ever, especially if the action in the various regions so far this year, is anything to go by.

With the entry list sitting at a staggering 106, rest assured that there will be no quarter asked or given as Gauteng’s finest will be out to unsettle the best in the Cape on their home ground, with a good few from KZN, the EP and elsewhere running interference too.

DD2 (14 Entries)

It starts on top, in the premier direct drive gearbox DD2 class where local lads Joseph Oelz, Sebastian Boyd, Kyle Visser and Storm Lanfear have far more than just each other to deal with in their own backyard. Adding to the Cape contingent of drivers are Rafe Tayler and Michael Jordon.

Expect Gauteng front runners, Jamie and Brandon Smith, Nicolas Spanoyannis, Wayland Wymann and Niko Zafiris to be very competitive in the Cape. As will Kian Grottis and Divan Braak. All have shown front running prowess in the Gauteng Regional campaign thus far and will be dead set on mingling with the talented Cape Town crowd. Brent Walden from KZN will need to fly the Zulu Kingdom flag alone, but he has experience at the sharp end of a grid from his Senior Max exploits a few seasons ago and will be chomping at the bit to get his first taste at the fast and technical Cape Town circuit, keep an eye on his progress throughout the weekend.

DD2 Masters (10 Entries)

Local lad Conor Hughes is the likely Master’s man to beat alongside compatriots Marco Viegas, Jared Jordan, Andrew Thomas and Andre Steenkamp. The Cape Town locals will however have some incredibly stiff upcountry competition to deal with.

2021 National Champion Nick Verheul together with African Champion Eugene Brittz bring some serious Gauteng heat to the Cape Town table. Add KZN World Final front runner Jonathan Pieterse to the mix and you have 3 of South Africa’s most talented and experienced karters all gunning for the same step of the podium. Alistair Mingay bolsters the KZN gang while Carlo Gil makes his way to the Cape as part of the Gauteng based Ricciardo outfit.

Senior MAX (19 Entries)

The top chain drive solid-axle class, Senior Max is another national melting pot.

Local lads, double champion Tate Bishop, Charl Visser, Andrew Rackstraw and Storm Lanfear, are all top contenders in national main circuit racing. Add in Matthew Wadeley and Ethan Stier, both of whom have shown pace worthy of victory at Regional level, and you have what has to be the stiffest Cape Senior Max group in years.  They will be up against the best out of Gauteng and KZN though as Jaden Jacobs and Gio Hartman round out the local entries.

Highveld contenders hell-bent on a solid start to their National Championships are Olerato Sekudu, Karabo Malemela, Moosa Kajee and Ethan Bostander. These four Gauteng speedsters have claimed the majority of the Regional spoils in 2022 thus far, but don’t count out Roshaan Goodman and Hannah Daniel too.

A strong KZN contingent will have their challenge headed up by the incredibly fast Troy Snyman along with Yifan Li, Corben Spies and Juandre Nel, all of whom gave Snyman a stiff challenge at the recent KZN regional and will be outright keen to upset some apple carts in the Cape.

Junior MAX (16 Entries)

Expect fireworks in high school Junior Max.

Upcountry kid, KC Ensor-Smith has been on form in Gauteng, as have Nicolaos Vostanis, Jayden Goosen, Erich Heystek, Saaad Variawa and Wian Boshoff. But they are up against local Killarney experts, Reza Levy, Reese Koorzen, Joshua Smit, Ethan Deacon, Jude Stuart, Ashton Repsold and Oliver Roach.

The KZN attack will be led by the talented trio of Dhyvien Naidoo, Dylan Watkins and Jonno Wilson.

Mini MAX (19 Entries)

In the primary school classes, local lad Jordon Wadeley will be feeling extremely confident in under-13 Mini Max after a stunning performance at the last WP Regional race. His Cape compatriots Sabelo Ntuli, Keagan Beaumont, Matthew Chiwara and Liam Koekemoer have all shown race-winning pace this season and will be aiming for a great result at their home National.

Add Gauteng Regional front runners, Caleb Odendaal, Kent Swartz, Amani Kinyua, Spice Mailula, Aadam Kajee, Kegan Martin and lady racer Georgia Lenaerts, and you have probably one of the most tightly contested line-ups this weekend. The Gauteng punch doesn’t end there. Durelle Goodman, Gianna Pascoal and Ruald Hartzenberg all have National points to capture this weekend.

Travis Mingay, who travels down from KZN, will look to continue his winning form from home, along with Harry Rowe and Kyle Spies while ex-National Bambino Champion Caleb Moss makes the shortest trip of the lot from the Eastern Cape.

Micro MAX (12 Entries)

Moving on to under-11 Micro Max, Aiden Beaumont heads the local charge with a 100% win rate at WP Regional level in 2022. He will be backed by Michael Danks and Matthew Roach, both of whom have impressed in the class.

The Cape Town youngsters will have the undivided attention of the Gauteng party, where 2021 Champion Rafael Da Silva will be out for away National points along with Emma Dowling, Santiago Frade, Cristian Verheul, Matthew Shuttleworth, Rafael De Souza, Taylin Patel, Johan Nolte and newcomer to the National circuit, Franco Gibhard.

Bambino (16 Entries)

Top racing from Top Karts!

Liam Wharton has been the kid to beat in baby Bambinos in the WP Regionals at Killarney, despite Zach McAuley, Carter Cedras, Michael O’Mahoney, Zac Boshoff, Caleb Lingeveldt and Jayden van der Merwe’s best efforts. It will be intriguing to see how many of these young racing drivers get on in what is for some of them, the first experience of National competition, none more so than newcomer Yaqeen Gamieldien.

 

Heading the charge of that competition will be a strong Gauteng contingent including the on form Noah Cronje and Brodi Dowling, Diego Antunes, Omolemo Mfana, Ronaldo Koen, Bophelo Molatlhegi, Adriaan Steyn and Benjamin Gibhard.

Together We Race

The first of four rounds of the 2022 South African Rotax Max Challenge, Killarney’s action is open to the public, while out of town fans can follow the action via live streaming across Rotax Max South Africa’s social media, or on www.kart.co.za. The various South African champions over the four national rounds will then represent South Africa at the 2022 ‘Olympics of Karting’ in Portugal at the end of the year, alongside winners of the African Open at iDube in KZN in May.

Cover Image Credit: Moment In Time Images