Local karters give best to USA
SOUTH African karters once again excelled at the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal last weekend, finishing the 2015 event in second place behind the USA.
The 10-member South African team scored 1 013 points to place second behind the USA, the winning nation on 1 184 points. In third place was the Netherlands, with no less than 52 countries scoring points in what is considered the world’s most hotly-contested karting championship. South Africa has an enviable record in this championship, having won 12 of the 16 Rotax Grand Finals held so far, but this year it was sadly lost with the finish line almost in sight.
In the DD2 Masters category Port Elizabeth’s Michael Stephen was well on his way to winning a 13th title for South Africa. Stephen qualified fastest out of 72 drivers and was leading the final 20-lapper with just two laps to go when he was crashed into by Finland’s Antti Ollikainen, leaving New Zealand’s Ryan Urban to take the win. The Finn was penalised by race stewards but it didn’t help Stephen’s cause, who finished 11th after regaining the track. The driver who ended up doing South Africa proudest was Jordan Sherratt who finished third in the Senior Max class. VOLKSWAGEN’S world rally champion Sebastien Ogier secured his eighth victory of the season in the final round in Wales on Sunday.
The Frenchman beat Citroën’s Northern Irish driver Kris Meeke by 26 seconds on a wet afternoon in South Wales. Norway’s Andreas Mikkelsen was third, also driving in a Volkswagen.
“Victory here is the best way to finish the season but there is no point to celebrate anything today. We have other things on our mind. It has been a difficult weekend,” said Ogier, referring to Friday’s Paris attacks that killed 129 people.
He displayed a French flag on his car’s windscreen afterwards.
Ogier’s team mate Jari-Matti Latvala won the final power stage, worth three bonus points, to finish second overall in the world rally championship table.
Mikkelsen and Poland’s former Formula One driver Robert Kubica took the other bonus points.
Ogier had already won his third consecutive title in Australia in September while Volkswagen have retained their manufacturers’ crown. - Reuters