Summarize

Pietermatritzburg karting sensation Troy Snyman came to within two corners of becoming a world Rotax Max karting champion over the weekend, but contact between the leaders saw both karts off the track and Troy limping home eleventh in the under-13 Mini Max Grand Final. It was a trying week for Snyman, who had to fight back from the cauldron of the mid pack to launch his attack following a tough few days of practice and qualifying heats.

“We came so close to pulling it off against all odds,” Troy admitted. “The weekend started well and I was in the top ten in most sessions as we tuned our brand new chassis in and I was even top three once or twice, but I struggled for whatever reason and only qualified 14th for my first heat. “Then it went from bad to worse — being so far back, there is always far more chance for drama and that’s exactly what happened — I became caught up in a major incident and lost 16 places to end up a horrible 30th!

“The second quali heat went a bit better, but I knocked my nose cone off and took a 5-place penalty to finish up 19th, which meant I started the Pre Final in a dreadful 24th. “We had a mountain to climb and I was pretty nervous about another incident, but I put everything into it and drove the race of my life to pass 19 karts to end up fifth.

So I would start the Grand Final in fifth. “We were delighted — from there we could do something from there on Saturday…

“I was pretty nervous Saturday morning and the Final started well enough, I was up to third early on but in a wild 7-kart slipstreaming lead dice and found myself at the back, so took a few laps before pushing back up to fourth for a while. “The laps were running out, so I made a move on third and then up to second at the beginning of the last lap and also managed to break away from the wild kids behind me.

“The leader was a second ahead, but I was not going to give up and pushed as hard as I could — he made a small mistake and I was on him with a few corners to go with a world championship there for the taking. “I made my move with two corners to go — it was a but cheeky, but he slammed the door closed and we collided and both of us went off. “That was it — game over — I limped home in eleventh.

“We were racing for the world title — no quarter given, no quarter taken, I took my chances and it did not pay off, but that’s racing — disappointing but we will remember the positives. “The Rotax Mini Max Grand Final was an incredible weekend and I managed to come from 24th on the Pre Final Grid to challenge for the win in the Grand Final. “Next time maybe the luck will go my way — bring it on!”

“I would like to thank my guru Wesleigh Orr — having a double world champion in my corner is a huge bonus and now we know we can do it — and also to my family and everyone else who has helped and supported my efforts — it is all greatly appreciated — thank you, one and all!"