Another spirited performance by Johan Nolte at the weekend saw him narrowly miss out on the overall Micro MAX podium finishing fourth in Round 2 of the South African Rotax MAX Challenge (SARMC) National Championship hosted at the Formula-K Kart Circuit in Benoni, Gauteng.
The E-Ballistic-backed driver took to the circuit on Friday afternoon after a solid day’s practice, converting his pace into a fifth-place start after Qualifying. From there, the CRG driver would put in three impressive performances to finish fourth in all three heats.
In the opening heat, he fought off the challenge of Matthew Shuttleworth and Christian Verheul to finish fourth in a closely-contested race, a result he repeated in Heat 2. While finishing fifth on track, he benefitted from a competitor’s penalty to be promoted to fourth place. The final heat would see him battle with Ronaldo Koen before edging out the latter to claim fourth again.
“I’m delighted with the result today despite feeling disappointed not to finish on the podium. The pace was frantic, and I could not hang onto the three at the front. That then saw me fighting for the off-podium placings, where I battled Matthew (Shuttleworth), Christiaan (Verheul) and Ronaldo (Koen). There’s not much in it, but we need to find a tenth or two to be able to fight with the front-runners regularly. Thanks again to NBR Karting and E-Ballistic for the support,” stated Nolte.
Nolte returns for Round 2 of the Rand Kart Club Championship at Zwartkops Raceway on 13 May, while the third national round of 2023 is scheduled for Killarney International Raceway on 30 June to 1 July.
Published by: Motorsport Fanatix – Raymond Cornwell
Picture Caption: Johan Nolte
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