Exciting Opening Round predicted
for 2009 ROTAX Max Challenge Nationals
- Cape Town
Since its inception in 2000, the ROTAX
Max challenge series has grown to become the most competitive
and prestigious kart racing series in South Africa and
the world. The championship offers the winners of Junior
Max, Senior Max and ROTAX DD2 an all expenses paid entry
into the ROTAX Max Challenge World Final taking place
in December at Sham El-Sheik in Egypt. The winner of the
Junior GP series can look forward to winning a brand new
Mini Max engine. Mini Max competitors will also look forward
to many great prizes.
Due to strong competition, South African
drivers have won many ROTAX Euro Challenge races and World
Finals since it was first held at the end of 2000. Recently
Leeroy Poulter won the DD2 World Final in Italy and last
weekend Ralph Odendaal won the first round of the ROTAX
Euro Challenge in Spain!
The first round in the 2009 South African
ROTAX Nationals will be held at Killarney Raceway on Easter
weekend.
The ROTAX Junior Max for drivers between
13 and 16 years old also has a fully sponsored world final.
Here the likes of local Luke Herring (CRG), Aston Hare
(Birel), Jarryd Evans (Tony Kart) and Tom Lautenbach (CRG)
will have their work cut out to beat Gauteng glamour girl
Naomi Schiff. Schiff stamped her authority on the first
round of the Northern Regions SARMC event by winning all
her heats taking maximum points.
The ROTAX DD2 class will be making it's
National debut in Killarney. KF2 2008 National Champion,
Red Bull's Caleb Williams, steps up to race in the ROTAX
DD2 class in 2009 and will be the man to beat. Birel protagonists
Ian Young, Nick Toner and Eugene Britz snapped at Caleb's
heels at the first Regional Race at Zwartkops and clearly
hope to provide a strong challenge in Cape Town.
Several young stars moved up from Junior categories to
the Senior Max category including Sean Frost, Shau Mafuna,
Jason Georgiou and others hope to upstage seasoned campaigners
like National and Euro Challenge star Arnold Neveling
(PCR), Tasmin Pepper (Birel), Duke Ridgway and Chad van
Beurden. Local hero James Ryan (Tony Kart) will be a man
to watch.
South African Kart Racing Academy drivers
will have their first taste of National Competition. Chad
Bell showed great pace at the first Cape Town regional
and his younger team mates in the other classes will have
their baptism of fire.
Engines used in the ROTAX Max Challenge
Series are identical sealed 28bhp single cylinder units
the choice of chassis is free. All competitors use control
Bridgestone YJB tyres. This successful formula has worked
so well that it now includes categories for all age groups
based on the same one make sealed engine concept. More
than 50 000 Max Engines have been sold world wide.
Bridging the gap between 60cc GP Junior and the high speed
ROTAX Junior Max Challenge is the ROTAX Mini Max class.
Using 15 bhp detuned (restricted Junior Max) engines,
drivers between the ages 11 and 14 battle it out for top
honours. Raoul Hyman, Dewald Brummer and Morgan McColl
have been the pick of the crop this year in the Northern
Regions but will have their work cut out with the locals
including Chad Daniel, Marco Busi and Jurie Swart.
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