Luhan De Wet extended his lead in the championship following a hard-fought victory at the second national round of the MSA South African Rotax MAX Challenge (SARMC) held at Formula-K Kart Circuit on 29 April.
De Wet converted two solid days of practice into a front-row start for Round 2 of the national Rotax championship round hosted at the Benoni circuit. Narrowly missing out on the pole position by 0.042 seconds, the Grade 1 pupil from Louis Leipodlt Primary claimed the opening heat victory. It would be the first of three battles with Adriaan Steyn and Luke Du Toit, with all three drivers in contention throughout the day.
Heat 2 would see De Wet take the race’s lead on Lap 2 after starting second on the grid. He led the race for nine of the 11 laps before losing out on the final lap to finish behind Steyn and Du Toit to round out the podium. Needing to win the final heat to take the overall spoils, the De Wet Automotive Performance Service & Repairs backed driver put in his best performance of the day to win the race from third on the grid. Despite a shortened race and numerous post-race penalties, De Wet triumphed by a single point to take the overall win and extend his lead in the championship.
“It was a very challenging day,” said De Wet. “Adriaan (Steyn), Luke (Du Toit), and I jostled for position throughout the three heats. There was no time to relax as the pace was frantic. The most demanding part was safely getting through the back markers around such a short circuit. But I managed to pull it off, take the win and the Motorsport Fanatix™ Driver of the Day Award. Thank you to De Wet Automotive Performance Service & Repairs, Duratec Batteries Centurion and Alunite Pretoria. A special thanks to NBR Racing.”
De Wet returns to the circuit on 13 May for Round 2 of the Rand Kart Club Championship at Zwartkops Kart Raceway.
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix
Picture Caption: Luhan De Wet
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