Summarize

South Africa’s seven 25th Rotax Max ‘Olympics of Karting’ Grand Finalists may have found the going tough in the Bahraini desert on Saturday, but the team can be proud of their results after a hard year of karting. DD2 men Sebastian Boyd and Jason Coetzee and Masters man Jonathan Pieterse all found several positions in their races, as did Rotax Mini Max lad Ronaldo Koen. Mini compatriot Brodi Dowling had a more difficult afternoon and Micro Max kid Luhan de Wet lost a top ten finish to track limits penalties while Muhammad Wally retired from the Senior Max final.

Benoni under-13 Rotax Mini Max fighter Ronaldo Koen started his final 27th and lost two places as he picked his way through the first lap melee in his Final. From there however, he made up a place or three a lap to be sixteenth and in a huge spat with two laps to run. He lost a couple of positions but climbed back to finish 17th on the road to be classified 16th in the final results. Also from Benoni in Gauteng, Brodi Dowling qualified 16th, but he was caught up in that first lap fracas and dropped to the back before showing nuggety resolve to fight back to be classified 27th.

DD2 drivers, Capetonians Sebastian Boyd and Jason Coetzee endured a brutal DD2 final. Boyd started 26th with Coetzee 32nd as both became embroiled in the mad mid-pack with positions between the over 15-kart mid-pack fluctuating wildly and accidents throughout. Both South Africans made the best of it, however. Boyd made up six places to end up 19th while Coetzee caught five positions to end 27th. Another Cape Driver, Jonathan Pieterse started the DD2 Masters final in 26th and spent a little time inside the top 20 before coming home a most respectable 24th.

Team SA’s youngest member, under-11 Micro Max lad Luhan de Wet from Centurion drove his heart out to climb from 18th on his Final grid through a wild fight that saw him twice sent off track to cross the line in eleventh. Those off-track excursions however earned him ten seconds worth of penalties to drop Luhan to 28th following a troubled weekend that failed to deter the young man’s pace or resolve.

Johannesburg Rotax Senior Max driver Muhammad Wally fought his way into the Senior Max Final with a down on power engine on Friday, only to be taken out in an accident early in his Final. Four more South Africans, Cape Senior Max lad Charl Michael Visser, Eastern Cape high school Junior Max duo Caleb Odendaal and Caleb Moss, as well as African DD2 duo, Mozambican Cristian Bouche and Namibian driver Kian Fussel, did not progress to their Grand Finals. All will however return home far richer for the experience.

“South Africa can be proud of our National Karting team,” Rotax SA karting boss Ed Murray wrapped it up. “We may not have had any wins or podiums at Bahrain this year, but for seven of our ten South African team members to make the cut and qualify for the respective Grand Finals, is kudos indeed. Well done one and all. We can keep our heads high after a great and most successful weekend of racing at the Rotax Max Grand Finals.

It all starts all over again early in the new year back in South Africa when the Rotax Max National and Regional championships commence to crown a new crop of champions and Team South Africa for the 2026 Rotax Max Grand Finals. Learn all about Rotax Max karting in South Africa at  www.kart.co.za