Summarize

Killarney’s Saturday 12 August sixth-round Western Cape Regional Karting Championship races are set to be harder fought than normal, with two of the day’s heats contributing to drivers' Rotax Max Challenge national championship scores in most of the classes. So considering several local drivers are involved in national championship title fights, this weekend becomes a sort of mini-national.

That should particularly apply to the WP high school Junior Max title chase, which should attract a full field considering that local lad Jason Coetzee (RKT Kosmic) narrowly leads the national class with fellow Capetonians Charl Visser (Charl Electric FA Kart) second and Sebastian Boyd (Boyd Boss Freight Kosmic) a close fourth in that chase. Coetzee also leads the local WP Junior Max championship from Boyd and Visser, but don’t discount Simon Simpson-Heath, brother Storm and sisters Gabi and Jade Lanfear and Nicholas Sage from this fight.

There’s a similar state of affairs in the Senior Max class, where just three national championship points separate Luke Herring (LHR RKT FA Kart), who leads the national race from Dino Stermin (Designer Trims Kosmic) in third, with Jason Coetzee (RKT Kosmic) also right in there in fourth, so a few points difference at Killarney this weekend could very well make a major difference in their national championship scores, come the end of the year.

Herring, Coetzee and Stermin are first, second and fourth in the WP championship too, so expect fireworks between them this weekend, while the likes of Andrew Rackstraw, Hilton Pieters, Reece Oellerman, Tristan de Nobrega and Marco Viegas are all keen to put a spanner in their national rivals' spokes.

Umpie Swart (EMR CRG) will be looking to dominate the DD2 gearbox class to bolster both his local championship chances and his third place in the national Max Challenge chase. His job should be made easier with WP championship leader Julian van der Watt away on Zwartkops main circuit duty, but the likes of Jonathan Thomas (Partners Hair CRG), Jacques De Bruyn, Connor Hughes and Roy Gruer should give Swart more than enough work to keep him busy for the day.

Tate Bishop (TPB Kosmic), Troy Dolinschek (Makita Kosmic) and Kyle Visser (Charl Electric Zanardi) will likewise be after maximum points to bolster their respective second, fourth and seventh in the national Max Challenge primary school Maxterino 60cc chase, as much as they will be out to better their home title lots, where Bishop leads Visser in the WP chase. But they will all have their work cut out by the likes of WP flyers Dylan Snell, Jason MacBeath, Denis Joubert, Mikhail Fernandez and Paul Malcolm.

Kai Van Zyl (SAKRA Kosmic) sits second, Tate Bishop (TB Kosmic) fourth and Sibo Solomon (Kosmic) seventh in the national Mini Max Challenge race, but Joseph Oelz (Kosmic) has been dominant in the Western Cape primary school Mini Max title chase, so that one should prove most interesting, especially if the likes of Thaqib Meyer and Andre Le Rich have something to say about it.

Valentino Hoffman (GP Energy FA Kart), Reza Levy (ALR CRG), Joaquin De Oliveira (ESA Partner FA) and Reese Koorzen (FA Kart) have all had strong runs in the national Micro Max Challenge chase too, as much as they are involved in the local fight, where de Oliveira leads Hoffman, while Julius Schweiger, Ethan Stier and Mischa Williams are also competitive, so Saturday’s races should be hard fought in that under-11 class.

Three other Cape-only classes round off a busy WP regional bill next week, with the second round of the super-quick new DVS class likely to feature the chase to see who will be the first driver to lap the Killarney Kart Track in under 40 seconds. Kohen Bam (Kosmic) is back in a kart there to take on his understudy Jason Coetzee (RKT Kosmic), cousins Dino Stermin (Designer Trims Kosmic) and Sebastian Boyd (Boyd Boss freight Kosmic) and Delano Fowler (Suprocom CRG) among those after that first record lap distinction.

The baby 50cc under-8 Cadets are on the other side of the Cape karting spectrum, racing on a shortened version of the track where the likes of Reese Koorzen, Joshua Smit and Luan Mostert will be chasing race wins and Eric Norman, Ethan Deacon and Tahir Abrahams in close pursuit.

Last but lost least the Cape Clubmen (and woman) see Isabelle Fowler as the lady to beat with Andrew Thomas and Jody van Rensburg fully intent to do just that. Terry Watt is chasing Class B and Class C will be fought out by the likes of Charles Matthewson and Lamahl Padayachi, while Christopher Vrettos, Faheem Meyer and Graham Stephen are back in the saddle too.

Killarney Raceway is on Potsdam Road, Killarney Gardens with the kart track situated across from the main circuit pit complex. There’s always a cool atmosphere at the track with entertaining commentary and great grub and drinks at the clubhouse in the pits. Entry is R60 per adult, R20 for under-16s and under-12s are free.