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Brilliant Close Racing At the 2009 Rotax Max Challenge Finals
Zwartkops International Kart Raceway, October 3 &4
OFF TO EGYPT FOR THE WORLD FINALS
Johannesburg's Sean Frost won the 2009 Rotax Max Challenge series at the Zwartkops International Kart Raceway on Sunday, October 4).
Frost withstood intense pressure from Jason Georgiou over the two-day event, who placed second. The pair win placings in the World Max Challenge Finals which take place in Egypt in Sharm El Sheikh on December 9 to 12, 2009.
Also winning places in the Egypt finals were Aston Hare and Raoul Owens who locked out the top two places in the Junior Max Class.
Caleb Williams won the super-quick DD2 gearbox Rotax class, and also gets a berth in the Egypt finals, as does Gary Marais who won the Masters class in the DD2 Class.
All three winners also win South African Champion status following their victories yesterday. The other South African Championship wrapped up yesterday - but which doesn't carry a trip to Egypt - was the Mini Max class, won by Raoul Hyman.
The two-day SA finals of the 2009 Rotax Max Challenge series race meeting held over the first weekend of October counted towards two-thirds of the overall championship. The other third was made up by points earned by drivers over the the year in regional events counting towards the championships. These regional events were held in the Northern Regions (Gauteng area), KwaZulu Natal and the Western Cape.
This unique Max Challenge points scoring system meant that although a driver may have dominated the two-day final, it still may not result in the championship, if enough regional final points weren't taken into the championship final.
The meeting saw the running of two pre-finals and two finals for all the Rotax-powered classes over the two days. All four races counted for the championship, so it was vital not to drop out of any of the events.
The support GP Junior class was also run at the championship, and saw all competitors uses the new Maxterino engines for the first time.
ROTAX MAX CHALLENGE FINALS, 2009
In the Max Challenge series, the most competitive and prestigious karting series in South Africa, a total of 27 entries contested the championship and the racing was tight and competitive throughout the field. Leading the points table going into the finals was KZN's Chad van Beurden on 95,6, followed Jo'burg's Sean Frost on 94,2, Cape Town's James Ryan on 90,6 and Jo'burg's Shau Mafuna on 87,6
Former Rotax Euro junior champion Arnold Neveling of Vereeniging stood only an outside chance of taking the title, as he had scored in only two rounds of the regional finals, due to racing in Formula Renault overseas (where he scored two podium finishes).
However, in the pre-finals it was Jason Georgiou who surprised all the hot-shots by winning both. Georgiou won from Neveling, Rory Atkinson and Chad van Beurden in the first, and in pre-final two Georgiou led-home Sean Frost, Olivier Calkoen and Neveling. Early favourite Shau Mafuna had problems in both pre-finals and effectively dropped from title contention.
In both the finals, Arnold Neveling absolutely dominated proceedings, showing why he is seen as a rising international talent in single-seaters. He won both the finals in an effortless, relaxed style that was a joy to watch. However, the gritty Sean Frost had done enough to become the 2009 South African Max Challenge Champion, running out a worthy winner from the very determined Jason Georgiou. Third in the overall standings was James Ryan, just shading Neveling by less than a point, with Rory Atkinson fifth and Shau Mafuna sixth.
JUNIOR MAX CHALLENGE
The action for the Junior Max Challenge title was fast and furious. Cape Town's Aiden de Nobrega led going into the finals weekend from fellow Capetonian Luke Herring, but ominously close on points was Zwartkops regular Aston Hare. And it was Hare who showed brilliant consistency, taking three race wins over the weekend, including back-to-back wins in the two finals which netted him 55 points each time.
Thus Aston Hare is the 2009 South African Junior Max Champion. Raoul Owens never gave up trying, winning the second pre-final and placing second and third in the two finals, to finish runner-up and earn his place for the World Finals in Egypt. Michael Taylor was placed well in the four races and was good enough for third in the championship.
ROTAX MAX DD2 GEARBOX CLASS
The super-fast DD2 Gearbox class was expected to be a Caleb Williams benefit and that's pretty much the way it turned out. The super-smooth Williams netted three wins and a second to just miss out on a perfect weekend's racing, but it was more than enough to see him crowned the 2009 DD2 Gearbox Champion. Ian Young's two seconds, a third and a fine win in Final 2 was good enough for second place ahead of Justin Allison who was always mixing it in the top three.
Nic Verheul looked good for a third or a fourth championship placing before being knocked out of the second final with a nasty hand injury, with fourth place going to Eugene Britz.
The Masters category saw Gary Marais take his SA Championship - and a trip to Egypt - after some tough and entertaining dicing with George dos Ramos and John van Wyk.
MINI MAX
The jump to Mini Max is never an easy one for youngsters from the much less potent GP Junior Class. But three times the horsepower over the tiddler class has never seemed to faze Raoul Hyman in 2009, and he indeed had the perfect weekend, scoring wins in all four races, and thus the SA Championship.
One had to feel for second placed Dewald Brummer who led the title-chase going into the finals weekend, but three strong second places and fourth was good enough for runner-up position, ahead of Nathan Parkins and Lyle Ramsay.
GP JUNIORS/ MAXTERINO
The new Maxter engine was introduced in the MAX FINALS weekend as the power-plant that will be used for this junior support class to the Max series in 2010. This new Italian-made 60 cc engine is being proposed as a replacement for the ageing 60 cc engines used for many years in GP Juniors, and they are expected to be much more reliable and thus cost-effective.
Ed Murray Racing, SA distributor for Rotax Max engines, provided engines for the entire GP Junior field on the Sunday for the two finals, the engines being drawn out of a hat.
The switch to the new Maxter engine saw lap times come down by as much as two seconds, but the new power-plants made little difference to the results.
Having won both pre finals on the elderly 60 cc engine by the veritable country mile, Sheldon van der Linde won both finals on the Sunday with the new motor.
But he was pushed much harder in the two finals by Bradley Liebenberg, particularly in Final 2, Liebenberg earning overall second place in this non-championship event.
Harpal Shayur was good value for his third overall, followed in fourth place by Aedan van Vuuren, Julian van der Watt in fifth and Clinton Bezuidenhout rounding out the top six. |
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