12 SA karters race in Brazil
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FINALS: 30 DRIVERS WILL VIE FOR WORLD TITLES ON SATURDAY
South Africa has a proud record at the competition since 1999, with 13 titles.
As you read this, a dozen South African kart racers will be fighting for places in this year’s Rotax Max world championship, held at the Circuito Internacional Paladino in Conde, Brazil.
The South Africans will join over 300 karters from more than 50 countries, all national champions or runners-up in their various Rotax Max classes.
They will tackle a number of qualifying races, quarterfinals and semifinals to whittle the fields down to the final 30 who will compete in the World final on Saturday.
Making the title chase unique, sponsor Rotax gives every competitor a brand-new kart chassis, Rotax engine, tyres, fuel and kart trolley to use in the event.
The rules preclude any modifications to the engines and all the 125cc units are factory sealed.
Competitors will draw their engine allocations from a hat.
The same will apply to the kart chassis and tyres supplied to each karter.
The South African Rotax Max Challenge is run according to international rules, so there will be no surprises regarding engine and race set-up.
The South African team will have entrants in all six world championship classes and they will be hoping to add to the country’s remarkable tally of titles achieved in the world’s biggest karting event.
In the inaugural event, held in 1999 in Peurto Rico, Gavin Cronje from Roodepoort was crowned as world champion and since then, no fewer than 12 South Africans have won Rotax World Championship races.
The dozen competing South Africans will be:
Arnold Neveling, Benjamin Habig and Wayland Wyman (DD2 gearbox class),
Cristiano Morgado, Michael Stephen and Jonathan Pieterse (DD2 masters), Dominic Lincoln (senior Max), Charl Michael Visser, Aqil Alibhai (junior Max), Kyle Visser (mini Max), Muhammad Wally and KC En- sor-Smith (micro Max).
For karting enthusiasts who want to follow the event, video coverage will be streamed live from today through to the finals on Saturday. Bear in mind that there is a five-hour time difference between South Africa and Conde, so racing will start later than the norm in South Africa.
To get live video streaming of the event and more details about broadcast times, log on to Rotax-kart.com or visit kart.co.za