Uitenhage superstar sets track alight with trio

[caption id="attachment_39561" align="alignright" width="300"] BRIGHT FUTURE: Chassen Bright celebrates his trio of wins at the iDube circuit in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Bright is flanked by Keegan Masters, left,and Jason Hill[/caption]

BRILLIANT racing and several drivers sharing the three wins in various classes through the day at the third round of the South African National Karting Championships at the challenging and undulating iDube circuit in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, left most class championships balanced on a knife's edge with just one round to go in each title race.

And it was Uitenhage superstar Chassen Bright who set the track alight with a trio of spectacular wins.

Bright continued his domination of the South African Super Rok Championship.

He put his Roos Kart Team Protec/Schaeffler/Xtreme Projects Zanardi on pole position during qualifying for the start of Race 1 from Keegan Masters (Gauteng) and led from start to finish.

Race 2 saw Bright start from pole position but Keegan Masters swapped the lead.

In Race 3, Bright had to start from second position after Masters had posted a slightly faster time than him in Race 2. But Bright was determined to make it three out of three as he had done in Cape Town in Round 2 and the two drivers swapped position throughout the race with Bright taking the chequered flag – giving him another clean sweep for the day and seven wins out of the nine races held so far this year.

Bright now leads the championship by 33 points from Masters going into the final round to be held in Vereeniging at the end of September.

Bright's teammate Bryn High, driving the S&K Diesels Zanardi, finished fourth in Natal and is third overall in the championship after making the swap from motocross to karting.

In the Mini Rok Class, Port Elizabeth's Joshua Coertze, driving the Protec Zanardi, finished in a formidable ninth place overall.

The hugely entertaining DD2 Gearbox Class not only delivered three winners out of three races as seasoned veterans battled it out with young guns, but it also left the top two on the day on even points going into the crucial Rotax Max final in Zwartkops early in October.

Seasoned veteran Arnold Neveling (RKT Kosmic) took a second, a third and a win to edge young Race 1 winner Bradley Liebenberg (Smart Call Birel) into second for the day with Race 2 winner Benjamin Habig (Kart King TonyKart) a short edge adrift.

Luca Canderle (CRG) was fourth from Mitchell Licen (Cupboard Value Birel) and Masters winner Cristiano Morgado (TonyKart) as Neveling and Liebenberg moved into a shared championship lead after erstwhile leaders Ryan Frost and Eugene Britz failed to score significantly. - Bobby Cheetham