Round 7 was an absolute stunner with racing that doesn’t get much more exciting than that.
The stands were packed once again even though the weather let us down with some very windy conditions. Thanks to everyone who came out to support our drivers and make the day that much more exciting.
As penultimate rounds go it was right up there with some of the best. In some classes, the championships have been wrapped up but in others, it’s going down to the wire and we can’t wait to see the final outcomes!
Let’s not delay any longer though, on to Saturday’s race results we go.
Bambino (5th – 9th birthday)
Enthralling and absolutely incredible are some of the words to be used to describe the racing these kiddos put on. Aged between 5 and 9 years old, these kids are really a special group of drivers who look to bring many years of excellent racing to us.
After an epic day of wheel-to-wheel racing, Jayden van der Merwe (Black Widow Racing Topkart) and Michael O’Mahoney (RDSA Topkart) finished on exactly the same points. Both drivers got a tally of 94 points but it was the Black Widow Racing driver who took the overall win due to him getting a race win on the day.
Liam Wharton (Topkart) was also in the running all day but after his spark plug cap popped off in race 2, his chances of taking the overall win all but disappeared. This led to another equal point finish as Wharton and his championship rival Zac Boshoff (Topkart) finished on an equal 91 points. Such close racing between these top 4!
Caleb Lingeveldt (RDSA Topkart) finished a career-best P5! He looked like a driver on a charge and showed huge signs of improvement, exciting times for the RDSA driver.
Carter Cedras (Topkart) had a tough outing and will be hoping to bounce back next time around. P6 for him on the day.
The out-of-town drivers all lined up next from P7 down to P9, great to have them join us for some racing action. First up was Kyle Bezuidenhout (Topkart) followed by the sibling pair of Miko Botha (Topkart) and Mila Botha (Topkart). Slater Smith rounded off the standings for the C52s.
Micah Corneilse (Topkart) took the C50 class win over debutant driver Tshepiso Modimosana (RDSA Topkart)
Kid ROK (6th – 10th birthday)
Max Boshoff (Exprit) took a very commanding and somewhat lonely victory with 3 race wins. Unmatched and unchallenged on the day with maximum points in the bag.
Dylan Bezuidenhout (Riccardo Kart) and Logan Roehrig (Exprit) kept each other busy with a great fight for the 2nd step on the podium. Bezuidenhout managed to just come out on top with 2 points more than Roehrig to take P2.
Younger Boshoff brother Zac struggled to find his groove and was uncharacteristically off the pace. Nevertheless, he managed to find an on-track battle with Max Denisov (OTK) as they duked it out. Boshoff grabbed P4 while Denisov had to settle for P5.
Aadiv Singh (Exprit) rounded off the results in P6.
Micro MAX (7th – 12th birthday)
A class at boiling point with high emotions and incredibly tightly contested racing. The top 3 fight for the championship here is truly heating up.
Matthew Roach (CRG) muscled his way to a superb win on the day while Michael Danks (CRG) raced his heart out and showed the makings of a future champion. P2 on the day and a lot of experience gained for the young man.
Liam Wharton (CRG), another rising star, claimed his first-ever podium in the Micro Max class with a much-improved drive. He is now within touching distance of the leaders and looking stronger with each race.
The mid-pack battles were stacked with plenty of close racing! Leading that pack in the overall standings was Zach McAuley (Zanardi) who can be chuffed with his result in P4. Michael O’Mahoney (RDSA RS Kart) is another driver who can be well pleased. On his Micro Max debut, he grabbed a terrific P5 overall.
Right on their tail was out-of-town driver Ryan Falconer (Sodi Kart) who also had a fair showing. Behind him was the trio of Arron van der Merwe (CRG), Nicolas Lennox (Zanardi) and Aston van der Merwe (CRG)
Rounding off the standings and just unlucky on the day was Aiden Beaumont (RDSA/Strive Racing CRG) who got served a DQ for a missing idle jet in his carburettor.
Mini ROK (8th – 13th birthday)
William Marshall (OTK), James Nash (LN Kart) and Max Boshoff (Exprit) remember those names! What a drive from this trio as they fought tooth and nail for the win on Saturday. Each driver took a race win over the course of the day and it was thoroughly entertaining to watch. Some of the best racing to watch in the day for sure. In the end, Marshall took the narrow overall win from Nash and then Boshoff, well done lads.
The two Sebs came up next with Human just managing to beat out Blinaut for P4 and P5 respectively. Great
Cecil Koorts (OTK) also enjoyed a good race day bringing home a hard-fought P6 over Aashay Nagura (Exprit) who was tailed by the rapid Troy Ribeiro (OTK). Great to see battles happening all over the grid.
Daniel Arendse (OTK) rounded things off in P9.
Mini MAX (9th – 14th birthday)
Fantastic racing once again from the Mini Max boys.
Championship leader Keagan Beaumont (RDSA/Strive racing) managed to win 2 out of the 3 races but had a tough time and a serious challenge from behind. Beaumont got lucky to still come away with an overall win after his chain came off in Race 2 while he was leading with only 3 laps left.
Give credit where credit is due, well done Matthew Chiwara (Sodi Kart) for one of his best displays this year so far. He was highly competitive and looked to be a serious threat to the overall win. He just missed out by 1 point but no doubt he will be back for more in the next round.
On the other hand, Jordon Wadelely (EMR Kartpsort CRG) and Sabelo Ntuli (CRG) had an off day as they struggled to match the pace ahead. The windy conditions didn’t help either and it made the karts that much harder to drive.
Dale Hobbs (BirelART) had a much-improved raceday and he needed it after the tough year he has had. His pace was much closer to the front runners and was more aligned with what we were accustomed to seeing back in 2021.
Liam Koekemoer (Nashua Cape Town LN Kart) keeps on trying and the improvements are visible. It is a highly competitive class so keep working hard and soon you will get there!
Aiden Beaumont (RDSA/Strive Racing) rounded off the results. He showed great pace and resilience to race against the older boys in the class.
Junior MAX (12th – 16th birthday)
Business as usual for Reese Koorzen (RKT/Boss Parolin) who took another dominant 3 out of 3 wins. He really is just on another planet at the moment and his opposition has no answers for him.
Ethan Deacon (Stier Racing OTK) was best of the rest and took a lonely P2 overall with 3 2nd place finishes on the day. He looks to have gapped the guys behind but needs to find a little more to catch Koorzen.
Jude Stuart (CRG) and Ashton Repsold (CRG) had a nice tussle to secure the final podium place. They kept each other honest and pushed right to the very end. It was great to watch and in the end, it was Stuart who got the better of Respsold, managing to take P3 by 2 points.
Oliver Roach (CRG) was left in a bit of no man’s land and had to settle for P5.
Senior MAX (14th birthday +)
Ethan Stier (Stier Racing OTK) took his first-ever overall P1 finish in the Senior Max class! A great drive from the youngster who kept it all together and handled the pressure to get 3 race wins. That’s how to maximize your opportunities to win!
Matthew Wadeley (EMR Kartsport CRG) showed some great pace in qualifying and managed to get the pole position. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to convert the great pace shown into the results he would have liked. P2 on the day and still a great learning experience for the young man who is still the championship leader.
Durban driver Yifan Li (OTK) found himself some good fortune and grabbed a P3 overall which he was ecstatic about. He kept on the black stuff and brought it home, well done.
Ever-improving Jaden Jacobs (OTK) tried his best to hunt for that last podium spot but it just wasn’t meant to be. He had pressure from newcomer Zac Laden (Kosmic) who also had his best outing yet.
Gio Hartman (CRG) rounded off the results while Andrew Rackstraw (RDSA CRG) was involved in a nasty incident in race 1 which left him badly hurt and unable to complete the race day. Here’s to a quick recovery for Rackstraw as he gets ready for GTC duty this coming weekend.
DD2 (15th birthday +) and DD2 Masters (32nd birthday +)
Joseph Oelz (LN Kart) held off a mighty challenge from Jason Coetzee (Exprit) to take P1 overall. Race 1 was definitely the highlight as the race went down to the last lap. Coetzee pulled off a great overtake to take the race win. It’s a real pity that Sebastian Boyd (Boss Boyd Freight BirelArt) was missing due to illness, this would have been an epic fight to watch between 3 quality drivers.
Michael Jordan (Jordan Racing BirelArt) was consistent as ever but missed out on the podium due to the mega performance from DD2 Master Conor Hughes.
Kyle Visser (Kosmic) was showing some great speed and was one for a podium finish until Race 3 where it all came undone. He would have to settle for P4 but still a good day of racing for him while Gil Simoes (CRG) rounded off the DD2 grid.
MASTERS
Connor Hughes (Kosmic) stormed to yet another race day win with 3 out of 3. He looked untouchable and was even giving some of the DD2 drivers a run for their money. A very well-deserved win and a good haul of 105 points added to his account.
Marco Viegas (CRG) came closest to beating Hughes but just didn’t have enough to mount a challenge. He will have to go back to the drawing board and see where he can find an advantage for the last round.
Johan Hamman (BirelArt) found himself in contention for a podium after Jared Jordan (Jordan Racing CRG) dropped out of the standings in what was his worst race weekend of the year. Hamman with all his experience held off the challengers and crossed the line to take P3 overall.
Andre Steenkamp (Kosmic) was next up with Niel Lambrechts (Zanardi), Neville Chapman (BirelArt) and Brendan Lennox (CRG) all chasing him down. A mention must be made for Lennox who managed to get himself on the podium in race 1.
WP Clubmans (14th birthday +)
The front 2 were in a league of their own. Luca Wehrli (OTK) took all 3 race wins by some scary margins, while Sean Le Riche (Seleka Racing Kosmic) backed him up with three 2nd place finishes.
Meanwhile, behind them, the rest of the pack was throwing the kitchen sink at it to beat one another. That fight for the last podium spot became a 3-way fight between Jade Smith (PCR), PJ Garbutt (CRG) and Jason McArthur (CRG). They really put on a showcase and after that checkered flag in Race 3, it was Smith in his yellow PCR that grabbed his first podium finish in Clubmans. Garbutt and McArthur followed him to the line but were very pleased with their efforts.
Ethan Rutter (Arrow) seemed to lack the pace we have seen from him previously. He will be gearing up for one last showdown no doubt at Round 8.
Conclusion
Another fantastic race day which turned out to be a huge success all around. A mention to all those involved once again for all the hard work. These racedays would not be possible without the club members and officials, so well done to all.
One more Round left!
Practice hard and we will see you for the finale in a few weeks’ time.
Issued on behalf of Western Province Motor Club (WPMC)
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