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SOUTH AFRICAN KARTERS IN EGYPT THIS WEEKEND TO TAKE ON THE WORLD'S BEST
DECEMBER 9 - 12, 2009
Six top South African karters will compete in Egypt this weekend in the 2009 Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals.
The event has attracted 216 competitors from 55 countries, and South Africa is once again one of the favourites to emerge as one of the top competing nations.
Sean Frost (16) and Jason Georgiou (16) will be looking to take home the Rotax series ultimate prize in the Max Challenge series.
In the DD2 gearbox class Caleb Williams (16) , Ralph Odendaal (22) and Master division driver Gary Marais (40) will be doing battle in the twin-speed Rotax machines.
And in the Junior Max division, Cape Town's 15-year-old Raoul Owens is looking to take the title for younger drivers before moving up to the senior Max Challenge division next year.
The race is held In Sharm El Sheikh, in the Sinai peninsula, right on the Red Sea. This is the second time the event is being run in the dusty environs of Egypt, this being the Rotax Max Challenge equivalent of the world championship for karters.
Indeed, since first being held in 1999, the Rotax Max Challenge championship has become, in many karting experts eyes, the equivalent of the ultimate championship for karters on the planet.
Its unique format sees all drivers provided with brand new Rotax 125 cc watercooled engines and brand new CRG karting chassis. As well as running on equal tyres, the equipment parity in this formula is regarded as the best in the world, so the emphasis is all on driver talent, rather than engine tweaking and chassis advantage.
South Africa has an amazing record in the Rotax Max Challenge Grand Finals, our country's record being as follows:
Gavin Cronje of Roodepoort won the inaugural 2000 Max Challenge title in Peurto Rico..
In 2001 the Max Challenge Grand Final went to Cape Town's Claudio Piazza-Musso in Malaysia.
The following year Gavin's brother Mark won it at Zwartkops International Kart Raceway near Pretoria.
In 2003 Durban's Christiano Morgado again won it for South Africa, while Wesleigh Orr made it five in a row for South Africa in 2004.
Wesleigh won the RM1 category in Malaysia 2005 in, while Leeroy Poulter won the DD2 class at the Grand Finals in 2008 in Italy.
With a record like that, the 2009 team has a massive reputation to protect.
"I think the reason we've done so well here is that, despite being a small country, we run an ultra-competitive Max Challenge series here in South Africa," says SA team leader Jennifer Verheul. Jennifer is herself a top former kart racer.
"The weather has also played into our hands over the years because most of the races have been dry. And we seem to have a tremendous fighting spirit amongst our karters."
The South African team left for Egypt last weekend (Saturday, December 4) and the early part of this week leading up to the finals is taken care of with registration and drawing engines, karts and tyres, as well as provisional practise rounds.
The qualifying rounds start on Thursday, December 10, with the pre finals for all classed held on Friday and the finals for Junior Max, Rotax DD2 and Max Challenge being run on Saturday, December 12.
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