Hello readers and welcome to what is our final pre-report for the 2022 WPMC Regional Karting season. You can give yourselves a pat on the back for what has been another incredible year of racing.
2022 has blessed us with some enthralling racing which has kept us all on the edge of our seats. As a club we are very lucky to have the drivers and talent that we do, juking to be the best in their own classes.
4 out of the 9 classes still have some extremely tight battles on their hands while the rest are all but settled, almost…
This is racing and as we all know, anything can still happen.
One thing is for sure, we are in for a treat of a final round in our beautiful Mother City!
Bambino (5th – 9th birthday)
The C52 championship is one that is going down to the wire.
Current leader Liam Wharton (Topkart) sits 12 points ahead of his nearest rival. The driver with the most experience in the field but the rookies have given him a serious challenge. He will have his work cut out as he tries to capture his first WPMC regional championship.
Zac Boshoff (Topkart) has been the biggest threat so far and has been on a charge of late. With plenty of points still up for grabs, he will need to aim for a perfect run of 3 wins and then let the rest work itself out.
He is joined by Michael O’Mahoney (RDSA Topkart) who holds onto P3. It is amazing to see 2 rookie drivers in their first full year of racing competing for podium spots in the championship.
Carter Cedras (Topkart) and Jayden van der Merwe (Black Widow Racing Topkart) find themselves in P4 and P5 but they are definitely still a threat for some race wins on race day. Especially Black Widow driver van der Merwe, who has found some good form recently and even picked up his first-ever overall P1 at Round 7.
Wrapping up the C52 standings are the duo of Caleb Lingeveldt (RDSA Topkart) and Slater Smith (Topkart). Lingeveldt sits steady in P6 and has been improving at a rapid rate on a consistent basis now. Smith meanwhile sits P9 overall and will look to jump a few places in the championship with some good results.
The Lone Ranger C50 Micah Corneilse (Topkart) has been fantastic to mix it up with the C52 boys and finds himself in P7 overall. He obviously leads out the C50 category as well. He will be joined once again by C50 rookie Tshepiso Modimosana (RDSA Topkart) who had a blast on debut! Proud to welcome another newcomer Yaqeen Gamieldien (Topkart) who is set to take part in his first-ever race.
Kid ROK (6th – 10th birthday)
Runaway driver Max Boshoff (Exprit) has been in a league of his own over the course of the 2022 season. He sits 59 points clear at the top and just needs to finish in order to claim the title.
Logan Roehrig (Exprit) holds onto a comfortable P2 which he can’t lose so he can afford to push the limits in order to get some wins on race day.
P5 driver Max Denisov (OTK) is next on our entry list. He has enjoyed some great battles with Zac Boshoff (Exprit) and you can be assured that this pair will battle it out once again on Saturday.
P7 Aadiv Singh (Exprit) is still trying his best to get up to speed so that he can compete with the boys ahead. He’s progressing nicely and in time will get his fair share of racing action.
Micro MAX (7th – 12th birthday)
We have a new championship leader going into the final round!
Matthew Roach (CRG) is your new championship leader and leads the overall standings for the first time this year after a string of very impressive results.
Michael Danks (CRG) slots into P2 as the previous leader Aiden Beaumont (Strive Racing/RDSA CRG) collapses down to P3 after that unfortunate technical difficulty. Don’t worry though, these boys still have plenty of fight in them. With only 10 points covering the top 3, it’s going to be an absolute belter for the spoils this Saturday.
Liam Wharton (CRG) is really starting to get to grips with the Micro Max class and holds on steady in P4. He is perfectly positioned to jump at any opportunity that might arise with the fight ahead. Lined up behind him is Zach McAuley (Zanardi) who sits comfortably in P5.
Nicolas Lennox (Zanardi) is steadily climbing the rankings and will have Bambino star Michael O’Mohaney for company while making his debut is youngster Ruben Gelderblom (CRG). Welcome to WPMC karting, hope you have fun!
Mini ROK (8th – 13th birthday)
James Nash (LN Kart) and Max Boshoff (Exprit) will have to keep each other company as current championship leader William Marshal (OTK) is out due to breaking his collarbone on International duties, get better soon chap. While he is out, we can enjoy the fight for P1 on race day.
Sebastiano Human (OTK) still finds himself competing for P2 in the championship but will need to dig deep to overcome a tough spell he is enduring. Aaron Mason (FTW LN Kart) returns after missing out last time. He too has the potential to finish on the podium on race day.
Troy Ribeiro (Autocrat Motors OTK) will have his hands full once again as a good battle seems to be on the cards with Cecil Koorts (OTK), Manelisi Nkomo (LN Kart) and Eastern Cape lightie Caleb Moss (CRG). Daniel Arendse (Kosmic) brings a fresh face to the Mini Rok grid.
Mini MAX (9th – 14th birthday)
Keagan Beaumont (Strive Racing/RDSA CRG) holds a handy 26-point lead heading into the last round of the championship. He has been the driver to beat all year long and he will surely put up a fight going into the last one.
Jordon Wadeley (EMR Kartaport CRG) sits right up there with Beaumont and it’s between the 2 of them for the title. Keep it clean boys!
Sabelo Ntuli (CRG) and Matthew Chiwara (Sodi Kart) find themselves on equal points and are facing one heck of a fight to take the last spot on the podium for the year.
Liam Koekemoer (Nashua Cape Town LN Kart) is joined by younger Beaumont brother Aiden who had a fantastic debut last time out.
Junior MAX (12th – 16th birthday)
Reese Koorzen (RKT / Boss Parolin) has the championship all but wrapped up. 630 points and sailing into the distance he goes.
Ethan Deacon (Stier Racing OTK) has put up a valiant effort and controls P2 on 555 points. He will need to be in his best form once again to hold off Ashton Repsold (CRG) who has been rapid and is hungry for P2.
Jude Stuart (CRG) is next up and he will have a strong say for a podium on race day. Jordon Wadeley (EMR Karsport CRG) will be hoping to tag along as well as he will be making the full-time transition over to Junior Max next season.
Rounding off the grid is Oliver Roach (CRG).
Senior MAX (14th birthday +)
With some big names missing once again it has blown the championship wide open leaving the 2 Senior Max rookies with the opportunity to pick up their first Regional championship in the class.
Matthew Wadeley (EMR Kartpsort CRG) is in a very tight 2-point battle with a friend and rival Ethan Stier (Stier Racing OTK). They have been trading blows all season long, so this will be a thriller that will surely go down to the wire!
Behind them, the evert consistent Jaden Jacobs continues to impress. He is well on his way to P3 Overall in this year’s Championship while Zac Laden (Kosmic) rounds off the grid in what is a depleted field of drivers for the weekend.
DD2 (15th birthday +) and DD2 Masters (32nd birthday +)
Regular DD2 battle will resume as the showpiece of this weekend’s final Regional race of 2022 with a whopping 16 shifter karts all keen to some high-speed fun.
The battle upfront will be an intense one though, National Champion Sebastian Boyd (Boyd Boss BirelART) will line up alongside his SA rival Joseph Oelz (LN Kart), F1600 rookie Jason Coetzee (Mint Wraps Exprit) and top Western Province racing legend Jurie Swart (Umpini Kosmic), who makes a welcome return to the saddle of his kart as the main circuit off-season approaches.
Looking to absorb as much as they can from the star-studded lineup further up the road will be Michael Jordan (Jordan Racing BirelArt) Eugene Clark (CRG) and newcomer Max Smart in his Intrepid.
MASTERS
Leading the way with one of the larger individual class entry lists are the DD2 Masters.
Conor Hughes (Komsic) is well on track to secure yet another WPMC Regional title. The man has dominated DD2 Masters for the last few years and is a legend of the sport.
Looking to make life as difficult for Hughes as possible are Marco Viegas (CRG) who has been enjoying a much improved season of late, Jared Jordan (Jordan Racing CRG) and Johann Hamman (BirelART).
Next up Neville Chapman (BirelArt), Andrew Thomas (CRG) and Andre Steenkamp will duke it out for the best of the rest while Masters rookies Niel Lambrechts and Brendan Lennox will be keen to find further performance from their CRG machines.
WP Clubmans (14th birthday +)
Sean Le Riche (Seleka Racing) is in a rich vein of form and has enjoyed a successful 2022 season. His hard work on and off the track has seen the Clubman’s community grow once again and he continues to bring new faces into the sport by offering affordable easy-to-go racing. Awesome stuff!
Andre Le Riche (Seleka Racing Kosmic) finds himself back on the grid after missing out last time. Fast and hungry for race wins, he will be one to watch on Saturday as will his usual rival Luca Wehrli.
Gunning for points behind the regular front runners is Christopher Flack (Arrow) and Jason McArthur (CRG), Ethan Rutter (Arrow), Jase Smith (PCR) and gentleman race PJ Garbutt. This will be an exciting one to watch.
Conclusion
For the last time in 2022, let’s go racing!
For the drivers competing, stay safe, race hard and enjoy your last bit of racing action for the year. It’s been a fantastic season so far with plenty of highlights to recollect.
The memories made in 2022 will stick with us for a long time so let’s round it off together on a high!
See you out there.
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Issued on behalf of Western Province Motor Club (WPMC)