The Vereeniging Kart Club played host to the third round of the Firestone/Bridgestone National Karting Championships on August 21 and 22. Those who trekked out there were treated to a red-hot display of racing.
A full programme provided for non-stop action and the youngest category, the GP Juniors, did its best to entertain by producing three winners in its heats. In the end though, consistency paid off for Caleb Williams and he won the day by a single point from Chad van Beurden, the winner of the final race. Olivier Kalkoen filled third place on the rostrum.
There was no stopping Trent Williams in the Mini Max class. He did well to fend off pressure from the likes of Devin Robertson and Lourens Dunn and sailed to four comfortable wins ahead of Tasmin Pepper. Dunn took third spot after a battle with Sam Tingle, Duke Ridgeway and Tatum Galway.
Arnold Neveling proved unstoppable in the Junior Max category, leaving Willem Botha, Jamie-Lee Rossiter, Gennaro Bonafede and Zane Nel to pick up the scraps.
The Max Challenge was a spectacle on its own with Wesley Orr managing to win three out of four heats after some very tough racing. Orr, Leeroy Poulter, Neil Basilio and Marc Auby thrilled the crowds with an excellent display of tight racing, but Auby eventually stole the laurels from Orr, who failed to finish the final heat. Poulter’s consistency netted him second place, while Basilio came in third.
The 125 Grand Prix class saw a super-smooth Michael van Rooyen taking the overall win from Deon Auby, who narrowly beat his son Jimmy in the standings. Jimmy Auby started from the back of the grid at the second final and pulled out all the stops in an attempt to catch the flying Van Rooyen, but to no avail.
The Max 172 Masters saw Rocky Gush winning three out of four heats after Steve Ridgeway and Derick Smalberger took turns harassing him. Rob Kellock won the pre-finals in fine style, which gave him the runner-up spot, while Andrew Vryenhoek finished four points adrift of Ridgeway in third place.
Marc Murray had a dismal time in the Max Challenge races, but made good in the RM1 category after two titanic duels with Claudio Piazza-Musso. Piazza-Musso and Murray travelled in tight formation in the finals, with Murray getting the better of the experienced Piazza-Musso when it counted most.
Ricky Perdigao had to settle for fifth overall after failing to finish the first pre-final, while Wayne Riddell had his best finish to date and took third overall and first in the Masters category ahead of Christopher Frost.