12 Feb RACE REPORT BY HAYLEY – Round 1 of Regional Karting kickstarts at Killarney – 08 February 2025
Round 1 of Regional Karting for 2025 kickstarted the season on Saturday 8 February at Killarney’s Karting Circuit, one of the busiest regionals ever experienced with more than 113 entries.
As usual, free practice started the day off with a few spins and qualifying followed shortly, before the day’s races began.
Race 1 of the Bambino Category was smooth sailing as all six karts crossed the finish-line successfully. Divaaj Govender won the race with a best lap of 58.327 seconds with Aleena Doutie (58.645 seconds) second and Ashlyn Beaumont (58.490 seconds) third.
The Senior Max category saw Reece Ward’s kart recovered in the middle of the circuit after the first race due to a DNF incident. Kent Swartz took the win with a best lap of 41.212 seconds, with Luca Wehrli (41.200 seconds) second and Gianna Pascoal (41.111 seconds) in third.
Starting her first race, Clubman driver Courtney Milleskie lost power, dropping her from third to last before pushing her way past Vian Burger going into the 180s. However, Milleskie couldn’t keep her position and, unfortunately, dropped to last again and stayed there for the remainder of the race.
Sean le Riche won Race 1 of the Clubmans with a best lap of 44.022 seconds, with Luke Rens (44.230 seconds) second and Christopher Flack (44.005 seconds) third.
Compared to Race 1, where Ruan Lewis DNF’ed and Onwabile Mcinga and Zuan Breytenbach spun out on the 180s, Race 2 of the OKJ/OKN category ran smoothly. The top finishers in Race 1 were Ethan Lennon, first with a time of 40.439 seconds, Emile van der Wateren (41.288 seconds) second and Zimvo Majova (41.294 seconds) third, while Race 2’s podium were Lennon (40.580 seconds, Van der Wateren (41.274 seconds) and Lewis (41.554 seconds).
Nicholas Lennox had an unfortunate start to Junior Max Race 2, dropping from sixth to 11th on lap one, while Tshepang Shisinwana came to a sudden stop on the main straight just before Turn 1 at the start of lap 12 and could not finish. Moments later, Aiden Beaumont stopped, exiting the 180s on the final lap. The leaders for Race 2 were: Sebastiano Human first with a best lap of 41.330 seconds, Emma Dowling (41.169 seconds) second and Caleb Odendaal (41.259 seconds) third.
The DD2/M category had a smooth finish to their second race of the day with Sebastian Boyd first with a best lap of 40.479 seconds, Jason Coetzee (40.621 seconds) second and Matthew Wadely (40.602 seconds) third.
Lap 1 of Micro Max’s third race had a noteworthy start when Yaqeen Gamieldien spun entering Golf Club before re-entering the pack – but the remainder of the race delivered little drama as Luhan de Wet took the win with a best lap of 45.673 seconds, followed by Slater Smith (45.238 seconds) and Jake Steyn (45.295 seconds).
Race 3 of the Mini Rok category saw Max Boshoff lead across the finish line with a best lap +45.644 seconds, ahead of Radhi Harris (45.642 seconds) and Max’s brother Zac Boshoff (46.106 seconds) third.
On lap one of the third Mini Max race, Qaanit Doutie, who started 16th, spun inside the 180s, causing a pile-up and knotting everyone together for a split second before they were able to continue. Doutie dropped to 20th due to the collision – check the picture! – while Liam Wharton took the win with a best lap of (43.978 seconds) from Max Boshoff (44.107 seconds), with Ruhan Victor (44.126 seconds) third.
Be sure not to miss the next round on Saturday 1 March – see you there!
Text and Image by Hayley Zaayman