Youngsters shine at African Karting Cup

The African Karting Cup that was held at Zwartkops Kart Circuit outside Pretoria last weekend saw impressive performances from two local Algoa Kart Club drivers. Sebastien Blignaut finished the competitive weekend off in third place overall and Aashay Nagura securing ninth overall in the Mini-Rok class amidst a strong line-up of 27 of the continents top drivers. The African Karting Cup is a prestigious new event run by the Federation Internationale de l Áutomobile (FIA) and aims to boost participation and give increased opportunities to young drivers wanting to compete on the international stage. Sixty one drivers from Angola, Botswana, Nigeria, Madagascar, Kenya, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and South Africa took part at this the inaugural event across three different classes of karts.

Apex action! Sebastien Blignaut (25), leads Aaron Mason (64) in the mini-rok class.
Photo by Raymond Cornwell

Blignaut from Jeffreys Bay was in scintillating form and managed to qualify in fourth place for the start of race one where the top fourteen karts were all within a second of each other which he then converted into third position in race one behind Max Boshoff and Maddox Mason with Aashay Nagura rounding out the top ten finishers. Race two saw Blignaut slip down to eighth place after contact with another competitor but with grit and determination managed to fight back  to a fifth place finish with Nagura improving to ninth. Due to Blignauts impressive lap-times he started race three on the front row of the grid and managed to clinch second place with Nagura finishing just out of the top ten in eleventh position. A third place finish in race number four was enough to secure Blignaut a very impressive  podium finish in  the overall standings with Nagura finishing in ninth place overall. Max Boshoff was the overall winner of the Mini-Rok class that caters for drivers from 13 years old and he was followed by Declan Jurgens in second and Blignaut third. Blignaut’s performance earned him a ticket to compete in the Rok Super Finals that will be held in Italy later this year.

The next round of the regional karting championship is set to take place on the 9th March at the Celso Scribante Kart Circuit along Victoria Drive.   

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