The first round of the 2019 Northern Regions Rok Cup, which took place at Laserfiche Raceway this past weekend, proved to be both successful and highly eventful for Praga South Africa.
Kid Rok
Luke Hill led the Kid Rok charge, qualifying on the front row of the grid. He maintained his good form to claim 2nd place in each of the three heats and to take home the second place trophy.
Goran Gruben had a fantastic qualifying session, positioning himself 4th on the grid. He had a tough first race, dropping down to 7th. He took another 7th position in race two, but unfortunately didn’t finish the final race of the day.
Grayson van Zummeren had a difficult weekend, with some teething problems creeping in. He set the 6th fastest qualifying lap and finished 8th and 9th in the first two races respectively.
Keagen Beaumont didn’t have the best qualifying session, only managing 7th on the grid. He achieved some solid race results though, finishing 5th in the first two heats and 6th in the final race, giving him 5th overall for the day.
Tyler Repsold spent most of his race time, battling it out with Keagen. He qualified 8th and took two 6th and a 5th place finish. He claimed 6th overall for the day.
Angelo Brachini used the seat time productively with his best result being 7th in the final heat of the day. It won’t be long before he grows in confidence and moves through the Kid Rok ranks.
Mini Rok
Mini Rok provided the most action packed racing of the day. The hero of the day was KC Ensor-Smith who showed he is a real threat for the championship title. After qualifying 2nd (0.030 off pole), KC drove a very strategic race and outwitted the competition to claim a brilliant race win. Race two was the race of the day and KC repeated his success, claiming another victory. He finished 2nd in the final race, but his achievements were enough to give him the first place trophy for the day.
Luke Hill qualified 13th and finished all three heats in that position. He ended the day 10th overall, but won the U10 division.
Dean Berner had a solid first two races, but unfortunately a massive race three crash not only put an end to his day, but also left the young driver injured. His parents have confirmed that he is home and recovering well.
Ashton Repsold had a tough weekend, but the youngster gained invaluable experience in the highly competitive class. There is no doubt that he will grow and adapt to his new kart in no time.
Kyle Beukes drove to a very respectful 12th overall for the day, after finishing 17th, 12th and 11th in each of the heat respectively. He is definitely a driver to watch as he gets faster and more confident with every outing.
OKJ
Jarrod Waberski was the man to beat in OKJ. He qualified on pole position and was leading the first race before being pushed unceremoniously off the track. The shunt was hard enough to cause damaged to Jarrod’s kart and put an end to his race. He did his best with an ailing kart to finish 7th in each remaining race.
Alessio Angelucci qualified 11th, just 8 tenths of a second behind Jarrod. He finished in a commendable 6th place in race one and finished in the top ten in the remaining heats. A great set of results to kick off his 2019 campaign.
Aiden Hall wasn’t far behind in the qualifying results. After starting 12th, he took the race one flag in 13th position. He improved with every race, finishing 12th in race two and 11th in race three.