They’ve done it again!
How do they manage it?
by Ken Walker
That might well have been the reaction
of the Europeans, and drivers from 3 other continents,
when the dust finally settled on the 2006 Rotax Euro Challenge.
Four Classes were contested and 3 of
them were won by South Africans, Wesleigh Orr in the Senior
and DD2 categories and Claudio Piazza Musso in the Masters.
Well one answer to that hypothetical question is that
they are both great drivers and had fast Karts. But so
much more was evident. Wesleigh has embarked on a Fitness
regime which has clearly paid dividends and Claudio showed
the race craft and wily experience of a former World Champion.
The bottom line is that the South Africans
at present are still the very best at this level. For
me, the best showing in the Final Round in Belgium was
by Arnold Neveling. An early exit from the DD2 pre-Final
meant he had to start the Final from last place. Fearing
a potential exclusion he had to drive meticulously carefully
through the field to the front. In an immaculate race,
he got up to 2nd place by the 17th and last lap of the
Final, and in my opinion would have won had there been
just one more lap, and certainly so had it been a 20 Lap
Race distance.
David Perel drove well in Italy and Austria
and there were good showings in the series from guys driving
a one-off Round most notably Leeroy Poulter and to a slightly
lesser extent, Matthew Hodges in Italy.
The only class not won by a South African
was the Juniors. Jack Hawksworth of the UK was the champion
but Raymond Johnson put on a good showing in Austria.
Finally it was good to catch up once
again with the indefatigable Steve Wicks, though he did
turn up in disguise. Several of us had never seen him
other than beneath a Sherlock Holmes deerstalker hat.
Somebody even remarked that he really looked quite normal,
though that view was voted down by the majority.
I look forward to meeting up with my
South African friends at the RMC World finals in Portugal
in November. (Your’e not going to run away with
all the titles yet again are you?)
The Finals will be televised as were
all the Euro Challenge Rounds. They can still be seen
on www.raceworld.tv by clicking on the Karting button
and following directions to the archive section.
Good Wishes to all my South African friends
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