Bay drivers in Portugal finals
TWO Port Elizabeth drivers have been included in the South African lineup for the 2017 Rotax Max Challenge grand finals starting in Portugal tomorrow.
Michael Stephen and Joshua Coertze will join drivers from 60 countries as part of the 10-member national team at the biggest karting championship on the planet.
About 15 000 karters have competed for the privilege of a place in the championship, again being staged in the town of Portimão in Portugal’s Algarve region and culminating in the finals next Saturday.
Stephen, 36, who lives in Chelsea on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth, is one of the most successful competitors in the history of motorsport in this country. He has claimed 12 SA titles – seven in karting and the rest on the main circuit in sedan cars.
Stephen is a three-time SA production car champion, the reigning Global Touring Car champion and is currently leading the SA GTC 2017 series in his Audi.
This highly qualified engineer, who runs the Terry Moss racing team, came agonisingly close to winning the World DD2 Masters Championship in Portugal two years ago.
“I was leading the final but was taken out with 1½ laps to go,” said Stephen, who will be racing in the GTC championship at Kyalami tomorrow before flying out to Portugal straight after.
“We are racing at the same venue so expectations are high. The target is to bring home world champion status,” he said.
Stephen prepared for the event throughout the year while competing in the DD2 South African championships.
“Since qualifying for the world finals I’ve put in a fair amount of seat time to stay fit and sharp, as well as general exercise, mountain biking, running and skipping,” he said.
“As the world finals’ weight limit is slightly less I’ve also been on a ‘health diet’ and have lost 5kg in a month to ensure I am the required minimum weight in Portugal.”
He said he was most looking forward to the challenge of taking on “all the best drivers from around the world in a world final”.
Stephen has contested several world finals and achieved his best individual finish – third place – in Italy in 2006.
Twelve-year-old Joshua, the other Bay karter who is off to Portugal, has been racing since the age of five and will be joining the Rotax team for the first time. However, he has been racing under the SA flag in the ROK Series world finals every year since 2014.
Joshua earned his place in the team by winning the Junior Max category in the African Open Championship in August. In 177 races to date, he can lay claim to 111 podium places and 71 victories. He was the EP regional champion in 2013, 2014 and 2015, and won his first national title last year.
“I’ve been training for these events since I started racing,” Joshua said. “I have to be seat-fit and physically fit, so that means lots of laps on track and lots of laps in the gym.”
The Grade 6 pupil at Amadeus Independent School also lists tennis, ice-skating and cycling among his interests.
He said he was especially looking forward to the event as he did not normally race in the Rotax Series and had not raced against any of the other competitors before.
The Rotax Karting Series has been hosting its grand finals since 1999, and South Africa has a proud record in the championship, having won 13 world titles over the years.
Rotax only allows a set number of entries per country. These drivers must be champions in their countries or winners of special one-off Rotax championships like the African Open race challenge held here once a year.
It is the only race in the world that ensures absolute equality by supplying every driver with a new kart, engine, tyres, fuel, tools and kart trolley for the week-long event.
“We have a very strong team for this year’s grand finals,” South Africa’s Rotax importer Ed Murray, who will be accompanying the team, said. Stephen and current SA DD2 champion Brad Liebenberg both brought a wealth of experience to the team, he said.
“I think we have shown over the years that our South Africans can compete with the best, no matter what the age group. Last year we had 12-year-old Jayden Els winning the Mini Max Championship.”
The event will be streamed live on the internet and enthusiasts can cheer on the SA team by logging on to www.kart.co.za