Round 1 – Zwartkops 26.02.2011
A Super start to 2011 Saturday 26 February saw the 250 Superkart Series head to the tight confines of the Zwartkops Raceway for the first round of the 2011 season. The series has been boosted by the addition of not one, but two series sponsors for the 2011 season! AVL Africa and Logisticor have come onboard to provide some well deserved support to the loyal drivers of this adrenaline pumping series. The series will now be known as the AVL Africa / Logisticor 250 Superkart Championship.
A fair size field made it to Zwartkops for the first race of the year with a number of additional karts expected to join the field by the second race of the season. Qualifying: Veron Pappas (PVP Superkart) set the pace during qualifying and grabbed pole position ahead of Sean Moore (Logisticor PVP Superkart). Rookie driver Eerik Horn (OTTR PVP Rotax) surprised all when he grabbed third position ahead of Tyron Davis (AVL Africa PVP Superkart). Andrew Greenslade (AVL Africa Rotax Superkart) would line up on the third row behind his team mate with Greg Farah (Abner Electrical ADE Superkart) lining up alongside him. Gary Gribben (PVP Superkart) would start from the fourth row with Craig Marais (Rotax Superkart) starting from eighth position. Vincenzo Cassilo (V-Tek Service Centre Rotax Superkart) would start from the fifth row. Race 1 Pappas and Moore got off to a dynamite start in the first race leaving the rest of the field to play catch up. The pair proceeded to fight it out at the front with Davis slotting into third position. Marais was unfortunate to drop out of the race on the second lap with electrical gremlins. The battle for the minor positions was just as fierce with Farah grabbing fourth position ahead of Horn. Gribben, Greenslade and Cassilo were left to fight it out further back in the pack. Pappas held on to take a narrow victory ahead of Moore with Davis securing his first ever podium position in third. The performance of the two front runners was even more impressive when one considers that both of them broke the lap record for the class of 1:02.480. Pappas set a time of 1:02.308 during qualifying and then went on to obliterate the record with an incredible time of 1:01.596 during the race! Second placed man Sean Moore also dipped under the magical 1 minute 2 second barrier with a 1:01.943 in the first race which would have smashed the old record as well.
Race 2 Marais’ woes continued in the second race when the water pipe on his kart burst before the race even started. The reverse grid at the start of the second heat, a new venture for the series, worked out really well as the field jostled for position through the opening laps. Once again Pappas and Moore got to the front as the race settled into a good rhythm. Farah grabbed third position ahead of Davis with the rest of the field fighting it out for the minor positions. Pappas retired from the race on the sixth lap with terminal brake failure. Moore romped home to victory ahead of Farah while Davis took another well deserved third position.
Next Race: 30 April at Phakisa Freeway in Welkom.
Report by: Greg Reilly
Source: Official 250 Superkart Association Website
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