It was perfect weather for racing with the low temperatures and expectations were high for an exciting show for all in attendance during the halfway point of the 2024 Kart Sports Club and ROK Cup Zimbabwe Championships at the National Sports Stadium on Sunday.
With qualifying and heat races for each of the four classes during the day, there was no shortage of exciting racing to watch.
The first karts on track for the weekend would come from the Kid ROK class and it would be Rayyan Savania clocking the top time in qualifying, beating Elroy Shamu by only 0.131 seconds.
However, in the races, it was Zack Staples who put in a master class of racing taking the overall win after a fine performance.
An unfortunate incident in race 1 saw Savania go off track and although he was okay, he sat out the rest of the day racing.
This would allow Staples to enjoy a relatively unchallenged day with Elroy Shamu putting in a very solid performance and making a welcome return to the podium in second place.
They were followed by Manuel Mukori and Shenuesu Shambare who sadly experienced kart trouble in one of the races. Newcomer Jake Edwards had an exciting first race event in this entry class for children from 6 to 9 years old.
The Mini ROK class, which always proves a rollercoaster of emotions for parents, would see an astounding qualifying session with Eli Pilossof and Seth Rukato posting lap times separated by only 0.025 seconds.
However, in the races, Rukato had a perfect weekend sweeping to victory across the board with a very focused and determined drive.
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Eli Pilossof and Yaseen Savania raced wheel to wheel and juggled positions all day with the latter finishing on the second step in the club races and the former on the second step in the ROK Cup series. Devin Van De Linde, 2023 Kid ROK champion is slowly finding his feet in the more powerful and faster class as is young Ehsaan Savania.
These young guns are showing their resilience, skill, and sportsmanship in a highly competitive class that will stand them in good stead for their future motorsport careers.
The Rotax 125 class received a timely boost with several new drivers joining the class which bodes well for the future.
In qualifying, Yeftach Sivan had to work hard to take pole position by 0.2 seconds but it was Tawana Shambare who stunned the regulars by taking second position on his 125 debut, despite only having one practice session.
This teenage class delivered a fiery show with some close, hard, and at times aggressive driving amongst the top four drivers, and there was always going to be a balance of risk over reward.
Zaydaan Savania kept a cool head emerging as the overall winner and showing a clear indication of his growing prowess and potential in the sport. He was closely followed by an ecstatic Shambare who also kept out of trouble in 2nd with Sivan and Masiyanise 3rd & 4th after a harsh battle.
Former Prokart racer, Colin Botha, who moved up to the 125 class for this event showed his talent by lapping only 0.8 seconds off the front runners and has surely put a marker down to the other competitors.
