The 2018 Rok Cup South African National Championship final round heads to Port Elizabeth, promising loads of tyre-screeching action to determine who will be the crowned the champion.
Organised by the Algoa Kart Club and set to be contested at the Celso Scribante Kart Track on Victoria Drive, the event will include the Rok SA Championship, the Algoa Kart Club Championships, Mini Rok, DD2 EP and Border Championships.
Competing in the DVS Super Rok class, Cape Town racer Dino Stermin will be hoping he can wrap up the championship with a win on Saturday.
“This is not an easy track and will eat away at the tyres, so I think whoever manages to conserve their tyres the best will come out on top,” Stermin said at the track on Thursday.
Stermin, who leads the championship, will face stiff competition from local racer Chassen Bright and Durban’s Blaine Rademeyer, who will no doubt push him all the way.
“The track can be very tricky, and the tarmac doesn’t make it easy on the tyres. I had one session today, and my tyres are now completely gone, so on race day things could get very interesting,” he said.
“Chassen will definitely have the upper hand as this will be his home race, but I know what I need to do in order to get the job done, so it will be all about execution on the day and damage limitation,” he said.
In his home race, Bright will be looking to spoil Stermin’s party, but admits it will be tough.
“Having missed the first two rounds, it is almost impossible that I can compete for the championship – that fight is between Blaine and Dino.
“However, that does give me a lot more licence to go for it,” Bright said.
“Yeah, the goal is to get a win or two. There is still a lot of tough competition, so it should be a fun day out.
“This was our first run out for the day, still working through a few things, so we will still make a few changes to the kart,” he said.
Action at the track gets under way on Friday with qualifying sessions for most of the morning, with racing set to start the next day.
On Saturday, action gets under way with the warm-ups starting from 7.30am.
Qualifying will commence from 9.30am, with the first race under way just after 11am.