Praga teams may have got more than they bargained for this weekend (22June 2019) at the third round of the South African Rok Cup, held at Killarney in Cape Town.
The Cape of storms took no mercy on the Gauteng based team as wet, cold and miserable weather set in for the weekend. The rain played havoc with the karts and provided drivers with rather treacherous conditions, which is evident in the results.
Kid Rok:
It was a tough day for Luke Hill, who qualified on pole position, but was forced into retirement in race one. He fought back with a win in race two, but again experienced some technical difficulties in the final heat, where he finished 10th. 3rd overall for the day was some solace in the very challenging conditions.
It was a day Grayson van Zummeren will be eager to put behind him. After a solid 5th row qualifying performance, Grayson only managed to get to the end of one heat. He finished 13th in race three and 13th in the overall standings.
Goran Gruben didn’t have the best qualifying session, only setting the 12th fastest lap. He quickly made up for it though, getting himself to 6th in the first race. Goran had a good second race, crossing the line in 5th place. 9th in the final heat resulted in an 8th place in the overall results.
Troy van der Laan qualified 13th, but didn’t finish the first race. He made up a lot of ground in race two, to finish 9th. Troy took 14th in race three and finished just outside the top ten in the final results.
Jack Moore put in a sterling qualifying lap, setting the 4th fastest time. Unfortunately, the ring gear on his engine broke, putting an end to what promised to be a great day.
Mini Rok:
There was an impressive 21 kart Mini Rok field this weekend!
KC Ensor-Smith had a good day. He qualified 5th and made up a place in race one to take the chequered flag in 4th. A tough second race saw KC finish 5th, but he left the best for last, ending the final heat in 3rd place. KC ended the day on the podium.
Luke Hill didn’t have the best of outings in Mini Rok. A tough qualifying session put Luke 20th on the grid. He worked hard to gain four place in race one, ending 16th. Luke finished 18th in heat two, before retiring with technical gremlins in the final heat. Luke finished 5th overall in the under 10 division.
Although Taya van der Laan was expected to be quick in the class, things just didn’t go according to plan. After starting 21st, Taya proved her skill by making her way into 15th place. The race conditions for the rest of the day were tough and Taya finished 19th in race two and 20th in race three.
OKJ:
Given the amount of attrition, Jarrod Waberski can be happy to have finished all three heats and to have finished well. He qualified 7th and held this position to the race one flag. Jarrod made up some ground in race two, crossing the line in 5th. He went on to take 5th in the final heat and in the overall standings.
Taya van der Laan fared well in the competitive OKJ field and managed to stay out of trouble. She qualified 14th and ended race one in 11th place. Taya took 8th in race two and 9th in the final heat, securing 12th overall for the day.
It was a challenging weekend all around and one thing is for sure, water and engines are not a happy combination. The team will return stronger at the next round.
Issued by: Motorsport Marketing Services