12 drivers in 7 classes draw brand new karts in Portimão
Team South Africa has its karts and the team has been hard at work getting them ready. Sunday 8 November was kart raffle and collection day at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals 2026 in Portimão, Portugal. Once our 12 drivers in 7 classes had drawn their brand new karts, the mechanics and parents got stuck into seat fitting, lead ballast and tyre mounting to set up each kart perfectly for its driver before practice starts on Monday.
The 26th RMC Grand Finals runs from 7 to 14 November at the Kartódromo Internacional do Algarve. It is the fifth time the event has come to the 1.53 km circuit. Up to 60 national teams are taking part and 424 brand new karts were lined up on the start-finish straight for the qualified drivers. Namibia and Mozambique are also flying the Southern African flag with 4 drivers between them.
THE KART RAFFLE AND COLLECTION
At the RMC Grand Finals nobody brings their own kart. Every driver races on equal equipment supplied by the official chassis partners and fitted with a new Rotax 125 MAX Evo engine or Rotax E-Powertrain. Karts are handed out by raffle so no driver knows which chassis and engine they will get until their number is drawn.
The raffle ran class by class on Sunday morning, starting with DD2 at 10:40 and finishing with the new E10 class at 13:25. Straight after each draw the drivers and their mechanics collected their karts along with seats, tools and lead ballast. The rest of the day went into seat fitting, tyre mounting and handing in fuel tanks to parc fermé before the track walk in the afternoon.
Rotax Karting shared a video of Kyle Lawrence walking a French driver through the raffle step by step.
Sodikart karts ready to roll after the raffle for Ronaldo Koen and Brodi Dowling
Luhan de Wet with his new Charles Leclerc Kart in Mini Max
Ronaldo Koen’s number 217 Junior Max kart being set up in the drivers tent
Seat fitting on Luke du Toit’s number 164 Mini Max kart
Three chassis partners supply the karts this year.
| Class | Chassis | Partner |
|---|---|---|
| Micro Max | Praga Monster EVO 3 | IPKarting |
| Mini Max | Charles Leclerc Kart CL C28 S19 | Birel ART |
| Junior Max | Sodikart SIGMA RS3 | Sodikart |
| Senior Max | Formula K Dragon EVO 3 | IPKarting |
| DD2 | Birel ART RY30 S19 RX | Birel ART |
| DD2 Masters | Sodikart SIGMA DD2 | Sodikart |
| E10 | Praga Monster EVO 3 | IPKarting |
| E20 Senior and E20 Masters | Sodikart SIGMA DD2 | Sodikart |
The chassis partners also provide technical advice and a parts service at the track all week. E10 makes its RMC Grand Finals debut this year with 36 qualified drivers.
Kohen Bam’s Praga Monster EVO 3 on its way back to the tent
TEAM SOUTH AFRICA
Look out for these numbers in the results and on the live stream.
| No. | Driver | Class | Chassis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33 | Alonzo de Oliveira | Micro Max | Praga Monster EVO 3 |
| 118 | Luhan de Wet | Mini Max | CL C28 S19 |
| 164 | Luke du Toit | Mini Max | CL C28 S19 |
| 208 | Brodi Dowling | Junior Max | Sodikart SIGMA RS3 |
| 217 | Ronaldo Koen | Junior Max | Sodikart SIGMA RS3 |
| 370 | Kian Spies | Senior Max | Formula K Dragon EVO 3 |
| 371 | Keagan Beaumont | Senior Max | Formula K Dragon EVO 3 |
| 403 | Charl Visser | DD2 | Birel ART RY30 S19 RX |
| 405 | Jamie Smith | DD2 | Birel ART RY30 S19 RX |
| 523 | Justin Allison | DD2 Masters | Sodikart SIGMA DD2 |
| 802 | Michael O’Mahoney | E10 | Praga Monster EVO 3 |
| 807 | Ruhan Victor | E10 | Praga Monster EVO 3 |
Michael O’Mahoney and Ruhan Victor are part of history as South Africa’s first drivers in the E10 class at the RMC Grand Finals.
NAMIBIA AND MOZAMBIQUE
| No. | Driver | Country | Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| 809 | Mandume Kaiyamo | Namibia | E10 |
| 810 | Nande Kaiyamo | Namibia | E10 |
| 420 | Kian Fussell | Namibia | DD2 |
| 443 | Gabriel Figueiredo | Mozambique | DD2 |
DRIVERS PRESENTATION AND TEAM PHOTO
The week got going on Saturday evening when every class was called to the podium for the drivers presentation, followed by the welcome party in the paddock. Early on Sunday the team lined up in the green and gold for the official Team South Africa photo before heading to the raffle.
Team South Africa at the official team photo on Sunday morning
WHAT’S NEXT
Schedule update 10 November. Severe weather has forced the cancellation of all activities on Wednesday 11 November and the pre-finals have been dropped. Qualifying practice and Heat 1 now run on Thursday 12 November, the remaining heats on Friday 13 November and the finals and prize giving on Saturday 14 November. Read the official update here.
Follow the latest schedule and results on the Rotax Global App and on grandfinals.rotax-racing.com. We will keep you posted on kart.co.za and our social media all week. Go Team South Africa!
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Over 200 competitors have registered to compete in this year’s revolutionary new South African Rotax MAX Kart Championships. Have you?
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Over 200 competitors have registered to compete in this year’s revolutionary new South African Rotax MAX Kart Championships. Have you?
