Share

SA team found Rok a hard place

VENI, VIDI, VICI
We Came, We Saw, We Conquered... er, Got Conquered…

LONATO, Italy - What a tough weekend, tonnes of grip, rough racing bordering on cage fighting, the Rok South African finalists were beaten left, right and centre during the World Rok Championship in Italy.

Energy Corse Southern Africa MD Christine Moss said: "Finishing top 10 is nothing to be sneezed at. Keagan Masters a year too young for his class, produced a sterling drive in the pre-final to make it through to the final, bringing home 7th place. Julian Van der Watt was close on Keagans tail making up 13 places to finish 8th."

NATION CUP WINNERS

Moss says the Super Rok Nations Cup selection, saved the day, with Masters and Van der Watt being the drivers to represent and accumulate points, as a team with their placing’s. South Africa won the Nations Cup.

Nathan Parkins in the Shifter class had the weekend in the bag, fastest all weekend, after starting in pole he dropped down to second with a superb fight for first until his sprocket carrier gave way, this saw him retire early. Trent Varejes carried on flying the South Africa flag to bring home 13th place.  

Junior Rok saw Kelvin Steinhobel grab Ladies Luck hand and make it into the final with a driver above him receiving a penalty. Kashen Naicker was the hopeful setting and being on pace all week. The Junior Rok class saw some rumbles on track, the first South African home was Stuart White in 18th, followed by Kelvin Steinhobel in 30th and Kashen Naicker in 31st.

The Mini Rok field was the largest of the weekend with 105 competitors, this lead to an A Final; B Final and a handful going home.

Moss said: "The Mini Rok races were a cage fight and anyone’s game. The B Final saw first-timers abroad Char Visser finish 15th, Altan Bouw 22nd, Cameron O’Connor 23rd and Jordan North 16th. The South Africans were running top 10, however the cage fight got a hold of them, but none the less they fought back to finish in their respective positions."

The A Final was home to Blaine Rademeyer and first-timers abroad JP Hamman and Saood Variewa, all three of them put up a impressive fight, however altercations came into play with Rademeyer's race coming to an abrupt end seven laps from the end. Variewa was the first South African home in 22nd, followed by JP Hamman 24th.

"The rest of Team SA are licking their wounds to fight another day. They'll fly back home with some lessons learnt and some real battle scars.

"As for 2015… We start with the culling process early in March to select our warriors from the Rok series for next year’s battle," Moss added.


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE