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16th to eighth as Alibhai finds great Rok pace

Ormonde youngster Aqil Alibhai did South Africa proud with a come from behind eighth in the Vortex Rok World Kart Finals in Brescia, Italy over the weekend. Alibhai endured a tough damp weekend of hard knocks, but he made it onto Saturday's Senior Rok Final, qualifying 16th, before delivering a fine drive to end up eighth overall for the week.

“It was a tough weekend with changing conditions throughout,” Aqil reported. “It started with qualifying in the rain, but my bigger challenge was that I never had any speed down the straight. So I qualified to start all 3 qualifying heats in 18th. I made it up to tenth in the first heat, 12th in the second and the third was good - I managed to get all the way up to sixth.

“That put me 16th on the Final grid, but there was chaos at the start as always and I slipped back to 18th. “I took a lap or two to settle into it and started to work my way up the field. “The highlight of my race was overtaking 6 people in one corner! From there, I worked my way up to finish eighth. “I needed a lap more to finish top five, but that's racing! 

“Thanks to Richard Blom for the great set-up on my kart and my team RKT for always having my back. It was a great week all round, with great experience gained and some awesome karting memories. The season isn't quite done yet — we still have a few regionals and the Rotax Max African Open. Let’s see if I can make it a hat trick and find a way into the Max Grand Finals in Portugal that weekend!"

ENDS

Issued on behalf of Aqil Alibhai

What:Rok World Kart Finals
Where:Lonato, Italy
When:15-17 October 2020
Community:International

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