Summarize

South Africans, Sebastian Boyd, Kyle Lawrence, Reagile Mailula and Rafael Da Silva all qualified for Saturday’s ‘Olympics of Karting’ 2023 Rotax Max Grand Finals after a gruelling round of Pre Finals at the Bahrain International Kart Circuit.

While Boyd exited his DD2 gearbox Pre Final in dramatic fashion when he was spun out of fifth by a rival position on Friday, the Cape driver had amassed enough points through the three days of competition to qualify for Saturday’s direct-drive gearbox class Grand Finals. Albeit outside of the top six where he ran most of the week, Boyd will line up 21st on the Final grid.

Mailula had a tougher run through the week, but two competitive heats and an excellent Mini Max Pre Final, where he climbed ten places to end tenth, scored enough points to see the Jozi lad line up 33rd on Saturday’s under-13 grid. Da Silva will similarly start 33rd in the under 11 Micro Max Grand Final after finishing there in his Pre Final, and Lawrence  starts 23rd in DD2 Masters after a strong 17-place climb to 14th in his Pre Final. 

DD2 drivers, Jamie Smith and Kian Grottis, Senior Max duo KC Ensor-Smith and Erich Heystek, Junior Max drivers Kent Swartz and Wian Boshoff, and Mini Max lad, Caleb Odendaal were among the half of their world class fields to be eliminated after three gruelling days of racing. The Rotax Max Grand Finals now see the top 36 in each class racing Saturday’s Grand Finals to crown the various 2023 Rotax Max world champions.