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MAX CHALLENGE REGIONAL FINAL A "MUST SHOW" EVENT
14.09.2009
The final round in the Max Challenge Northern Regions Championship on Sunday September 20 will be a "must show" for all karters in the Gauteng area who are serious about winning SA titles this season.
The Zwartkops International Kart Raceway will see up to 30 karters contending Round Five of the premier Max Challenge senior class, while entries for the Mini Max, Junior Max, the DD2 two-speed gearbox class and the GP Junior support class are expected to be the largest of the season.
And with the South African Championship final being held at Zwartkops two weeks later on October 4, a lot of top coastal championship contenders will travel up to The Reef to use the Northern Regions race as a "shake-down" session to achieve the optimum Zwartkops set-up.
A surprise leader in the Max Challenge series is young hot-shot Sean Frost, who holds a five-point lead over Shau Mafuna. This is Frost's first season in the premier Challenge Class and he has the likes of Mafuna and Duke Ridgeway - just one point adrift of Mafuna in third position - scratching their heads. Other strong championship contenders are Devon Tame and Jason Lowe. Tame is another surprise package, as this is only his second year in karts of any description.
The man who can upset the whole championship applecart is not really in contention for this year's title, having only raced in two rounds. He is Arnold Neveling, who won the European Junior Max Championship in 2005, and has also had podium positions in Formula Renault this year in the Europe!
Another Max Challenge karter who has top-flight single-seater success in his future will be seen in the DD2 class, which employs the unique Rotax twin-speed gearbox. He is Caleb Williams, arguably the hottest new driving talent on the South African scene in the past few seasons, who enjoys Red Bull sponsorship and recently tested a Formula BMW single-seater to good effect in Malaysia, despite still being in his mid-teens!
Talking of youngsters, the Junior Max Challenge class for drivers 16 and under is a hot-bed of talent. Here the Regional title fight is between Liam Venter, Raoul Owens, Aston Hare and impressive female driver Naomi Schiff, with the win likely to come from any of these, as well as last year's champ, Kelvin van der Linde.Son of Touring Car ace of the 1990s Shaun van der Linde, young Kelvin has suffered a few hiccups this season, but he has now found the pace to get right to the top on September 20.
In the Mini Max championship for drivers of 14 years and under, Dewald Brummer is just a scant two points ahead of promising Development Driver Morgan McColl. Third-placed Raoul Hyman is just one point adrift of McColl, while a driver who has been impressive after a fine career in GP Juniors is Nathan Parkins.
In the GP Junior support race for karters of 12 years-old and under, Shayur Harpal is another surprise log-leader after a slow start to the season. He is tie on points with the youngest member of the Van der Linde racing clan, Sheldon, with Bradley Liebenberg still within striking distance in third spot. The SA GP Junior champ for 2009, Keagan Masters, has not contested the Northern Regions series much this season, but expect him to right up front too for a race win on Sunday.
The Zwartkops International Kart Raceway is located in the main Zwartkops Raceway complex on the R55, just south of Laudium, and south west of Pretoria. Racing starts at noon on Sunday, September 20, with practices starting from 9 am. Admission is free. For further information, contact Jennifer Verheul of Ed Murray Racing on 012 374 0129
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