As predicted, this weekend’s KZN Regional SARMC event will have an amazing vibe, as many of the up country karting teams will be participating and preparing for the 1st Round of the 2018 Rotax SARMC National which will be held over the Easter Weekend at Idube. “Currently we have 88 entries with 24 competitors in the premier DD2 and DD2 Masters Class, and 23 in the Max 180 Class,” said Chairman, Alistair Mingay.
In the Micro Max class 15 entrants will be doing battle, and the KZN karters can expect some stiff competition from the likes of Muhammad Wally. KZN’s Troy Snyman had a good outing during the first Regional this year, and also performed exceptionally well when competing at the Northern Regions event at Zwartkops two weeks ago. Keira Naidoo, Dhiyven Naidoo, Holly Pietere, Travis Mingay, Ross Wuyte and Uzair Khan will certainly be relying on their knowledge of the track to stay up front. The Mini Max class will see Jordan Brooks and Kyle Visser join the local boys – and here again a good solid performance can be expected from Troy Snyman and Mandla Mlageni.
Junior Max pilot, 13 year old Nicholas Wuite has his goals set for 2018 – “I would like to continue to improve my pace and look at being competitive at National Level in 2019, but in the mean time I will be doing the Club and KZN Regional events,” said Nicholas. He will have a good taste of National race pace this weekend as Tiffany Napier, Jayden Els, Charl Visser and Joseph Oelz have all entered this weekend’s event.
The Max Challenge fray will see Dominic Lincoln (BirelArt) and Shrien Naidoo (TonyKart), both having delivered first class racing in the first KZN Regional. Dominic then went to the Northern Regions and kept his Red BirelArt machine right in front winning all three his heats. Dominic has his sights set on clinching the Senior Max title and making the SA Team to participate at the Rotax Grand Finals in Brazil. They will be joined by Cristiano Morgado, Robert Whiting, Jason Coetzee and Jonathan Pieterse. Grade 11 Michaelhouse student Riley Horner will be behind the wheel of his Tonykart and this is his first year competing at National level. Another driver aiming to clinch the Senior Max title this year with only seven months of race experience, is Brent Walden in his BirelArt kart.
23 Karts on the start line for the Max 180 class – all regional entries and three club entries will be another humdinger of a race. Too many to name in this class, but there is always such good competition and good off track banter amongst these teams. With only four teams not from KZN, this strong field will all be wanting a place on the podium.
All eyes however, will be on the DD2/DD2 Masters class, with 24 entries. Benjamin Habig who changed back to the TonyKart Chassis for the 2018 Championship season, set a blistering pace at the 1st Regional earlier this year, and bagged two wins at Zwartkops. 2017 SA DD2 Champion Bradley Liebenberg will be behind the wheel of his BirelArt, and these two youngsters will show their mettle.
One of the ladies who you do not want to mess with is Ivana Cetinich who can keep up with the boys at any pace. Cristiano Morgado and Simon Moss both return to the track after a break, and whilst Morgado showed good pace at the 1st Regional and was involved in a tight tussle with Jonathan Pieterse, Daniel Duminy and Robert Whiting, it will be Moss who may find that some of the youngsters are extremely competitive. Justin and Ryan Wilde have both been running up with the front runners on occasions resulting in podium finishes.
All in all it promises to be a bumper day at the Idube Raceway on Sunday, with racing starting from 08h30.