The third round of the Rotax Max Karting Championship took place in Vereeniging on Saturday, May 25, offering an exhilarating day of racing.
Cape racer Jason Coetzee, who has chosen to compete upcountry for his regionals this year, celebrated with a two-heat-to-one overall victory in the DD2 class, besting the consistent Karabo Malemela. Race 1 winner Jamie Smith’s weekend took a downturn, ending with him on the third step of the podium, followed by Dusan Radojevic and Olerato Sekudu. Carlo Gil finished sixth overall, but Justin Rogers did enough to beat Gil for the DD2 Masters win despite a troubled Bjorn Roos and Grant Veenstra rounding out the top positions.
In the Senior Max class, Kent Swartz bounced back from a second-place finish in the opening heat to win heats 2 and 3, securing the overall victory for the day. He was followed by race 1 winner Mauro Da Luz, Mikel Bezuidenhout, and Roshaan Goodman, with Brandon van der Walt, Liam Polome, and Kian Spies trailing.
Kegan Martin dominated the Junior Max category with a clean sweep of all three heats, leaving Luke Hill to fend off Amani Kinyua for second place. Georgia Lenaerts clinched fourth, ahead of Reece Buts, Andre Froneman, Wian Mulder and Cristian Verheul.
Tshepang Shisinwana appeared poised for the U13 Mini Max win with victories in heats 1 and 2, but a challenging final race handed the overall win to heat 3 winner, Durelle Goodman. Rafael De Sousa was the best of the rest, followed by Brodi Dowling, Kiyaan Reddi, Ruvan Maritz, Ronaldo Koen, and Zac Hindley.
Matthew Shuttleworth triumphed in the U11 Micro Max category, holding off Luke du Toit for the win. Luhan De Wet, Retlotleng Thekiso, Alessio Britz, Kireev Chetty, Ronald Venter, and Adriaan Steyn followed.
Alonzo De Oliveira was flawless in the Baby Bambino class, winning all three heats. Sebastien Shuttleworth, Aston Verheul, Anabile Madikane Anash, Liam de Beer, Emre Froneman, and Gabriel Wyatt Joseph completed the field.
The Rotax Max Challenge continues with a KZN round this coming weekend, followed by a doubleheader at Killarney in the Cape and Zwartkops Gauteng on June 22. The season will culminate in the Rotax Max National Final at Formula K on Saturday, July 6.
Source: MotorsportMedia / Photos: Motorsport Fanatix
