Summarize

Cape Town drivers continued in the ascendency at the second round of the South African Rotax Max Challenge Nationals at Vereeniging, just across the Vaal River on Sunday. With a few exceptions, the Capetonians maintained their advantage established, following the first round at Killarney last month.

Cape Town DD2 driver Jason Coetzee delivered a triple victory over compatriot Sebastian Boyd to lead a dominant Western Province 1-2-3-4 ahead of Matthew Wadeley and Anwill April in the premier Rotax gearbox class. Best of the rest, Dusan Radojevic was the top local driver from Durbanite Shrien Naidoo, Bradley Liebenberg and another Cape lad, Ethan Stier.

An epic day of Rotax DD2 Masters racing delivered three different winners in three races. Former KZN driver and recent Cape settler Jonathan Pieterse won the opening bout to edge final race winner, local lad Jimmy Auby and Pieterse’s former compatriot and multiple Rotax Max world champion and race 2 winner Cristiano Morgado for the day win. Mozambican Cristian Bouché and Justin Rogers were next up.

Local lass Gianna Pascoal, Cape visitor Charl Visser and Kent Swartz similarly shared out the three Rotax Senior Max heat wins. But it was Pascoal who emerged on top to take one back for the locals as she topped the podium over Visser and Swart. A previously unknown quantity, Tayla Scrimjeour made it two for the girls in fourth ahead of Ethan Bostander, Jordon Wadeley Roshaan Goodman and Jonno Wilson.

Local lad Matao Mason emerged victorious in a most competitive high school Rotax Junior Max tussle. Matao secured the winner’s trophy with a two to one win over Eastern Cape lad Caleb Moss. Sebastian Bezuidenhout ended third from Tshepang Shisinwana, Reagile Mailula, Sebastiano Human, Jack Moore and Emma Dowling on a day where several top drivers were excluded from the opening heat results.

Double race winner and another local, Brody Dowling gained revenge on Cape rival and opening race winner Max Boshoff in a huge 23-kart under-13 Rotax Mini Max battle in Vereeniging. Declan Jurgens ended up third from Renaldo Koen, Yuvan Maritz, Rafael de Souza, newcomer Michael Arde and Kiaan Reddi.

Another Cape lad Michael O’Mahoney however took a couple of wins and a third to wrap up the under 11 Rotax Micro Max. He took one back over upcountry lad and opening Cape round winner Luhan de Wet, who bounced back from a tough start to win the final Vaal heat and wind up fourth behind compatriots Adriaan Steyn and Luke du Toit. Another Cape lad, Radhi Harris was fifth for the day from Ronald Venter, Riley van Staden and Yaqeen Gamieldien.

Gauteng kid Alonzo de Oliveira went unbeaten despite compatriot Sebastien Shuttleworth’s best efforts in the baby Bambinos. Cape visitor Divaaj Govender was third for the day from Sean Arde, Zonkizizwe Holomisa, Yerhu Malaba, Yinhiwa Makabele and Yalani Malabi.

“2025 is proving a vintage Rotax Max National karting season,” Rotax SA CEO Ed Murray concluded. “Vereeniging once again saw record entries in several classes and epic, spectacular racing as the Cape drivers put in a great away effort to take the bulk of the silverware back home. Can their Gauteng rivals fight back? Let’s see what happens next on neutral ground at iDube over the weekend of 15 June!” 

Two Rotax Max Regionals happen before iDube however, at Zwartkops in Gauteng, and at Killarney in the Cape on Saturday 24 May. The 2025 South African Rotax champions will be crowned at the fourth and final Max Nationals in September. They will form the basis of the South African team alongside the winners of the 5 July Rotax African Open. The team will travel to the annual Rotax Max Grand Finals ‘Olympics of Karting’ in Bahrain in December.