PREVIEW - SA NATIONAL - CT - Posted: 28/07/2010

After the 2010 Engen Supa Kart national championships kicked off at Port Elizabeth in March there was a long break until round two at Idube, but now round three at Killarney beckons on 08 August.

Held over four rounds, the Engen Supa Kart series is hotly contested as there isn’t room for a bad result, even though the lowest scores of the season are discarded at the end of the year.

The 60cc GP Junior class, where all drivers are between 8 & 12 years old and aboard identical Wildkart chassis fitted with the strictly regulated Comer engine, produces close action as drivers try to establish themselves as future stars.

After winning all three races at the last round Clinton Bezuidenhout in the Unity Car Hire example leads the championship with a nine point margin over of Bradley Liebenberg (Blue Label Telecom ) while Keegan Masters (Elite Autobay) is third.

The chasing pack is headed by Kohen Bam (PSW Sport) and Raais Asmal but tough competition comes in the form of Chayse Augustus (Hugo’s Panel Shop), Wessel Pretorius and Michael Potgieter.

There’s everything to fight for in the ultra competitive Junior Rok class. Pretoria’s Raoul Hyman (CRG) is on top with a mere one point lead over Kelvin van der Linde (Vd Linde Developments Birel) with Pietermaritzburg’s Mathew Swanepoel (Tetra Mobile/CRG) a further two points adrift.

There’s a hungry pack sniffing their exhausts and Chad Maciver (Datapost/Birel) lies fourth followed by Mitchell Licen (Engen Xtreme/TonyKart) and Nathan Parkins (CVLT/Birel).

Another rising star to watch is Michael Taylor (The Grid TonyKart) who recently competed overseas and will be a good bet for top honours. Jordan Pepper in the PG Glass backed TonyKart and Castrol Toyota Development driver Morgan McColl will also be out to claim top six placings.

Super Rok is not only the biggest class of karting in South Africa, but also the fastest and the big question is whether or not Simon Moss (Southern Sun TonyKart) can stop Ian Young’s impressive run of wins in the Independent Projects/Birel. Chad van Beurden in the Beurden Construction Birel is the dangerman who could upset both their plans. Philip Viljoen gave the new Tecno kart a good outing at Idube as he was in the top six in all three races.

But they will all be kept on their toes by Naomi Schiff (Selacor/RKT/TonyKart) who will be looking for a win on Woman’s Day. Her teammate is none other than former champion Bjorn Roos who is also capable of running at the front. The 16-year old Sandton schoolgirl was placed second in the last heat at Idube and she desperately wants a win.

Aston Hare (Head2Head Birel) and teammate Wesleigh Orr can never be discounted and make a formidable pair.

Johannesburg’s Fabienne Lanz (PCR) and Durban’s Shaun la Reservee (Alpine Motors/Tonykart) are also fast and could upset the applecart.

Hard trying PE racer Chassen Bright (FIS/PCR) and Duke Ridgway are other drivers to keep an eye on along with Ayrton Good (Engen Xtreme/TonyKart), Keagan Blanckensee (TonyKart), Mandla Mdakane (Engen Xtreme/Southern Sun TonyKart), Peter Daley (TonyKart) and Durban’s Luca Canderle (Red/Intrepid) are other drivers in the hunt for a good points haul.

The Killarney track offers superb facilities with a good food and refreshments available for the entire family.

REVISED 2 - Qualification criteria for Rok World Final Seat 2010 - Posted: 12/07/2010

1. Leader of South African National Championship after Round 3 – Cape Town for Junior Rok – Automatic Junior Rok Seat

2. Leader of South African National Championship after Round 3 – Cape Town for Super Rok - Automatic Super Rok Seat

3. Leader of South African National Championship after Round 3 – Cape Town for GP Junior - Automatic Mini Rok Seat

4. For points 1 to 3 above, the competitors 7 best races/heats will count e.g. 2 drops

5. Regional Championships- scored only up until 7th August 2010 (Cape Town national):

6. All regional points will be scored by Rok Cup Promotions for the purpose of allocation / qualification of seats
a) The points scoring will be as follows 1st Place – 20 points, 2nd place – 18 points, 3rd place 17 points 4th place 16 points and so on
b) A competitor who has a DNF will score as if he/she received last place. ( in other words last place on track - 1 point )
c) In the event of a competitor qualifying and competing in one or more races in that class on the day but not making the grid for one or more of the races due to mechanical failure or injury, he will also score as if he/she was in last place. ( in other words, last place on track -1 point )
d) TMRT will be responsible for the scoring

7. Allocation of seats:
a) 30% of the competitors regional points will be added to the competitors national total points
b) A competitor who’s Region does not provide a regional championship for him/her will use his national points total plus a extra 30% of his/her national points for this scoring purpose from the first 3 Rounds, e.g. 9 heats/races
c) If a competitor does not have a regional championship in his/her region and they travel to a region outside his he domicile then 30% of those regional points scored may be used, to a maximum of 9 heats/races
d) Drivers from GP Junior will be allocated Mini Rok Seat
e) Drivers from Super Rok will be allocated Rok Cup Seats
f) There will be no drops/discards of races/heats except were a region holds more than 3 rounds or 9 heats/races in their championship Where a region holds more than three rounds the competitors best 9 races/heats in his/her region will count up until the final National championship event
g) Competitors that do not meet the International age limits will be discarded for the sake of allocation of seats. The driver will NOT be allocated a seat to a lower class, e.g. If he/she races in the Super Rok class but does not meet the international age he/she will not be allocated a Junior Rok Seat
h) Qualified Seat allocations will be as follows other than those in points 1 to 3 above and subject to the actual number of qualified seats allocated by Italy
i. 2nd place SUPER ROK with regional and national points added – Super Rok Seat
ii. 3rd, 4th and 5th place SUPER ROK with regional and national points added –Rok Cup Seat
iii. 2nd & 3rd place Junior Rok with regional and national points added – Junior Rok Seat
iv. 1st place Mini Rok from Mini Rok shoot out at National events – Mini Rok seat

8. Number of extra seats to be allocated will be announced as soon as TMRT are notified by the ROK Cup International body on what is available

9. The promoter, TMRT reserves the right to allocate extra WILD CARD SEATS as they deem fit.

10. All travel arrangements regarding the Rok World Cup will be made by TMRT for the entire team. Team members, their accompanying family members and mechanics/support staff will travel as a team to and from the event in Italy.

KARTING HISTORY

The first karts in South Africa were produced here in the Cape by Adrian Pheiffer. Karing is internationally the premier introduction for youngsters wanting to become stars on four wheels in the motorsport fertility.

Our Karting Club is situated within the Killarney Motor Racing complex and has been in existence since the late 1960’s. We cater for all age groups (in different classes) ranging in ages from 4 years old to the over 50's!

All karts are privately owned and we run a Regional, Club and National Championship. Our W.P. Regional Championship consists of 8 race meetings and the National Championship is run over 5 events in different regions including Killarney.

We are extremely proud to have 2 World-Champions in our Club. Claudio Piazza-Musso, former World Rotax Max Challenge winner and Wesleigh Orr, the current World Rotax Max Challenge winner. Claudio is the owner of Kartsport SA, a dealership situated at the Karting circuit.

We have 100 karting pits at the circuit, a fully equipped Clubhouse with bar facility, which is open every day of the week as well as on weekends when competitors are practicing. The Clubhouse is also available for private functions and offer great catering for any occasion, if you are interested you can contact Glenda on 082 228 1870.