Rotax MAX back to the Vaal

Gauteng Kart Championships Round at Vereeniging this Saturday

Rotax Max Gauteng Regional Karting action returns to the Vereeniging Kart Track for the first time in a while Saturday 14 May, where local racers will be looking to set the pecking order following the recent National opener at Killarney in the Cape.

DD2 (7 Entries)

Premier division DD2 is challenging to predict, but the Smith brothers, Jamie and Brandon are likely the men to beat although still absent from the entry list at the time of writing, with Wayland Wyman and gearbox class rookie Kian Grottis, Nicolas Spanoyannis, Niko Zafiris and Hamza Jassat, as well as Dusan Radojevic and newcomer Heath Bent among those out to prove a point. National and Regional Championship front runners from the BirelART SA Team have yet to enter and should we see them this weekend, it could make for some incredible action at a circuit where the majority of the grid has had limited testing.

DD2 Veterans (8 Entries)

DD2 Veterans for older drivers, who are firmly still young at heart, boasts a solid entry for the weekend fracas at the Vaal. It’s Frikkie Cornelius versus Philippe Chapat and Derrick Joseph with stiff challenges anticipated from Johan Kruger, Rob Nicholson, Robert Fulton, Jonathan Kairuz and Kurt Schultz. It is incredible to see this growth in the Vets class in such a short space of time.

  

Senior Max (10 Entries)

It is great to see ex SA Champ Mohammed Wally set to make his Senior Max debut this weekend and he will be out to contend with regular Senior front men Karabo Malemela, Moosa Kajee, Ethan Bostander, Daniel Kruger Olerato Sekudu and Kian Spies. They are the quick Gauteng karters in the open age group Senior Max but those with a point to prove at the relatively unknown circuit will be Rohaan Goodman and Ryan Wustmann.

Junior Max (11 Entries)

KC Ensor-Smith will want to repeat his National success locally in high school Junior Max to continue his rich run of dominant karting form, but watch out for Nicolas Vostanis, Jayden Goosen, Erich Heystek and Wian Boshoff who are primed and ready to dethrone the in form Ensor-Smith and claim some silverware themselves. Add double duty man Mohammed Wally who returns to a more familiar hunting ground in the Junior class. He will most certainly add to the spice at the front end. Entries from Christian Padayachee, Ndzalo Khoza, Brandon van der Nest and Jean Hendrik de Villiers bolster what is an impressive Junior class boasting speed, experience and fresh talent looking to make a mark on the class.

Mini Max (10 Entries)

In primary school, under-13 Mini Max action, Caleb Odendaal has been the man to beat so far this season. Kegan Martin, however, had a great outing at the Cape Town National and is ready to take it to Odendaal around the Vaal circuit along with Adam Kajee, Amani Kinyua and Georgia Lenaerts. Class Rookie Spice Mailula grabbed a win in tricky conditions at the previous Regional and he will be out for more of that sort of success again this weekend but will have to fend off the challenges posed by Gianna Pascoal, Durelle Goodman, Torben Roos and High Zhang.

Micro Max (9 Entries)

So far the under-11 Micro Max season has been a Taylin Patel, Rafael Da Silva and Rafael De Sousa show but Emma Dowling will have something to say about that having grabbed a race win when the class last did Regional battle.  Keep an eye out for Matthew Shuttleworth and Cristian Verheul who continue to show signs of challenging for race wins while Logan Billau and Santiago Frade will be hoping for a better run of form going into the Vaal unknown and Franco Gibhard makes his second Regional appearance of 2022.

Bambino (12 Entries)

Noah Cronje and Brodi Dowling have dominated at both National and Regional levels thus far, but in the pint-sized Bambino class, anything is possible and more often than not, probable. Diego Antunes has proved the biggest threat to the two up front but he will have the attention of Ronaldo Koen, Bophelo Molatlhegi Adriaan Steyn and Omolemo Mfana firmly in the fight. Don’t overlook improved performances from Luhan de Wet, Luke and Callum du Toit, Benjamin Gibhard and Tristan Parsons.

Find the Kart Track behind the Vereeniging Showgrounds, just off the R28 interchange on the R59 freeway and be sure to come by for another dose of high-speed, adrenalin pumping Gauteng Kart Championships action.