Preview

Following a hard fought opening round of the Engen SupaKarts national championships in Port Elizabeth, there are bound to be some dramatic moments at round two this Easter weekend in Cape Town.

Once again there is everything at stake and a whopping entry of over 150 competitors from around the country are expected to converge at the track.

In the interests of containing costs, only four events make up this year's championship. Series promoter, Terry Moss says this teaches drivers to think carefully before taking too many chances. "They realize that with fewer races, the risk of not finishing a race is too much of a gamble. Racing at the opening round was of the highest order and there were fewer incidents, all of which combined to make great racing."

Following a full house of wins in PE, Clayton Herbst heads the 50cc Cadette class for drivers aged between four and eight years old. His main opposition will be from the likes of Aedan van Vuuren and Liam Pienaar.

Without doubt one of the closest and most exciting classes is the GP Junior brigade. This is usually the biggest field and incident packed from beginning to end. Aston Hare, a former Capetonian, upset the applecart in PE by winning from reigning champion Mitchell Licen.

Nicholas Surguladze, Dewald Brummer, Jordan Pepper, Jordan Williams, Bevan Williams, Devon Piazza-Musso are just some determined members of the chasing pack .

The Rotax Mini-Max class is always interesting and current form man is Caleb Williams (PCR) with Ritchie Napier (Birel), Olivier Calkoen, Ian Young and local ace Aiden de Nobrega all chasing. Another driver to watch is Toyota Development Karting Team member Axcil Jefferies (Birel).

Once again the Junior Max class will no doubt be full of surprises. Fresh from having dominated the Mini Max class for two years, Trent Williams (CRG) looks like continuing the form in the Junior Max class.

His greatest pressure is likely to come from local hero Jonathan Weihahn

(Birel) and CRG mounted Devin Robertson (CRG), but Kevin de Witt (PCR) has shown superb form this season and could be in the mix and it seems as though Caleb Williams will also be seen in this class. The two girls on their Birels, Tasmin Pepper and Vicki Kemp are also no to be discounted.

Max Challenge is well supported and is where up and coming drivers meet the established stars head on.

Free State's Willem Botha and fellow CRG driver Dean Lester are the two youngsters on form along with Birel mounted Gennaro Bonafede and Kyle Lawrence. Mathew Hodges (Birel) and Ralph Odendaal (PCR) have also shown form, but the danger man could well be PCR's Arnold Neveling who won the European Junior Max title last year.

Racing on home turf David Perel (PCR) and Mathew Symmonds (Arrows) will also be worth putting money on.

Junior Rok is another interesting class and Simon Moss won in PE, but Engen Extreme teammate Chassen Bright is determined to even the score. After a disastrous outing in PE, last year's champion Kyle Mitchell (TonyKart) will be on a mission to get back into contention for the title. Also looking for points are Daniel Rowe (Birel) and hometown hero Andrew Gatland (TonyKart).

Michael Stephen (Engen Extreme PCR) dominated proceedings at the opening round, and it doest look as though the result will be any different in Cape Town. Christopher Cuyler (Herbcon/CRG) will try his utmost to unseat Stephen, but will also have to deal with Simon Moss (Engen Extreme/Luk/VW CRG). Durban lass Jamie Rossiter could also throw in a surprise or two, as could Brandon Auby, one of the youngest drivers in the field.

Qualifying takes place on Friday afternoon with the racing on Saturday starting at 10:00 am. For further information please contact Michele Creese (021) 557-2844

Race Review

For full results - click here

Thrilling racing and perfect weather were the key ingredients of what turned out to be a memorable event.

Clayton Herbst was in a class of his own as he walked the 50cc Cadette class with Liam Pienaar taking second place in each of the three heats while Aeden van Vuuren claimed third for the day.

Former Cape Town resident Aston Hare returned home and calmly dominated the usually cut and thrust 60cc GP Junior class. He took three easy wins, but it was a different story behind him. A huge accident in the final heat accounted for a number of front-runners and Liam Venter eventually got second overall with Michael Taylor in third. Fourth was Dewald Brummer followed by Nicholas Surguladze and Jordan Williams.

Mini-Max saw Caleb Williams (PCR) eventually take the honours ahead of Birel driver and first heat winner Richard Napier. Sam Tingle brought his TonyKart home to third with local aces Andrew Gatland (TonyKart) and Jarryd Evans (TonyKart) and Toyota's development driver Axcil Jefferies sixth in his Birel.

The big news in the Junior Max class was that Trent Williams (Sportstor CRG) did not win each race. He qualified poorly when the tyre pressures weren't checked and the first heat win went to Kevin de Wit (PCR). Williams won the remaining two heats to win the day from Eerick Horn (PCR). A first corner accident in the final heat saw de Wit having to pit for a new nose, but he still managed to salvage third for the day. Fourth was Devin Robertson (CRG) followed by Caleb Williams (PCR) and Vicki Kemp (Birel).

With 33 drivers in the class it was non-stop action in the Max Challenge. Local driver David Perel (PCR) took two wins and turned the championship on its head by winning the day from fellow PCR driver Arnold Neveling as Ralph Odendaal made it a PCR 1-2-3. Laurent Calkoen had one of his best results in the series, taking fourth ahead of fellow CRG drivers Willem Botha and Dean Lester.

Local driver Jody van Schoor was eighth, but only after rebuilding his Birel which was all but written off in a high-speed practice accident.

Kyle Mitchell (TonyKart) took the Junior Rok class with a full house of wins, but his task was made a bit easier when Engen Extreme teammates Chassen Bright and Simon Moss got into a tangle in the opening race when Moss was leading. Alex Jacovides was third in his TonyKart with Daniel Rowe (Birel) fourth from Lourens Dunn (CRG) as Moss salvaged sixth.

There was no one capable of challenging Engen Extreme's Michael Stephen (PCR) in the Rok Cup. Christopher Cuyler (CRG) won the battle for second ahead of the Birel onslaught led by from Brandon Auby, Jamie-Lee Rossiter, Wiaan Swart and Nicholas Toner.

Round three of the Engen SupaKart national championships takes place at the picturesque Idube circiut in Kwa-Zulu/Natal on 7-8 July.