IDUBE NATIONAL REPORT 4 JULY 2009

SUCCESS FOR BIREL DRIVERS

The Idube raceway located outside Pietermaritzburg hosted the 3rd round of the Engen South African National kart championships. The stunning venue provided some excellent racing.

The highlight of the day must have been the Super Rok class. This premier national class was dominated by two Birel drivers. Ian Young was in superb form winning the opening two heats and took the overall day win by finishing second in the final heat. Leeroy Poulter made it a Birel one two, by finishing second in the first two heats and taking the third heat ahead of Young. Young made significant gains in the overall standings moving up to within one point of series leader Moss. Chad Van Beurden would have made a Birel 1,2,3 had he not had an accident in heat two whilst contending for third position. He managed to salvage the weekend by finishing third in the final heat.

Tasmin Pepper (Pepson Plastics Birel) was always in the mix fighting with championship contenders Moss and Lanz. Adrian Wood took third overall in the no front brakes class.

In the junior rok category, Aston Hare (Head 2 Head Birel) claimed pole position after dominating all the practice sessions. Lady luck was not on his side in the heats. Whilst leading heat one, an accelerator bolt snapped causing his retirement. Heat two also turned out to be a disaster for him, after a first corner crash. He managed to salvage sixth with a stunning drive through the field. Heat 3 saw the young talent claim third position to consolidate his championship standing.  Nicholas Surgulatze pulled off very consistent performances finishing fourth overall.  Considering his starting positions in all heats, he produced a very level headed performance, also putting him in contention for the overall championship. Kade Tame also produced a very consistent drive despite being overweight for this class.

Unfortunately the event was marred by some competitors not sealing there Junior Rok engines. We wait for a positive ruling from MSA to resolve this issue. No Birel drivers were involved in this technical infringement.

The final round of the Engen South African National Championship is on 9 August at Vereeniging Kart Circuit. Both the Junior and Super Rok championships are up for grabs.