The Bridgestone Adrenalin Raceway in Vereeniging plays host to the grand finale of the ultra-competitive 2008 Engen Supa Kart Championships on 30 August.

With titles to be decided in four national championship categories it promises to be a day of thrills.

Powered by water-cooled 125cc Vortex/Rok engines, the Junior Rok class is well supported and not only is it difficult to predict a winner, but it is also a class full of incidents and action.

After three rounds Port Elizabeth’s Justin Allan leads the title race, but not by much. Driving for the Engen Xtreme TonyKart team he has three wins from nine starts to his name and leads two time winner Sam Tingle (Monster Motors Sodi) by a mere 8-points.

Kwa-Zulu/Natal ace Mitchell Licen (Sign Studio TonyKart) is in third with three wins to his name, but two non-finishes have kept him off the top. Port Elizabeth’s Loukea van Steijn (Birel) has been a surprise to many this year and she’s currently fourth, but 18-points behind the leader.

Completing the top six are Birel drivers Adrian Wood and Sean Frost (Strocam Projects), who had a superb outing in the Czech Republic round of the Euro Junior Max championship. Olivier Calkoen (Birel), Aston Hare (Birel), Chad McIver (PCR) and Jordan Pepper (Birel) are other fast drivers to keep an eye on. A wildcard entry is Mini Max front-runner Roman de Beer (TonyKart) who is making his first appearance in the class and he is bound to be competitive.

With all drivers having to drop their two lowest scores, the standings could be very different after the final three races of the year.

Super Rok uses a much more powerful version of the Junior Rok engine and once again the Engen Xtreme TonyKart team is on top as reigning champion Michael Stephen leads by a commanding 31 points with four wins and five second places behind his name.

Durban’s Shaun la Reservee (Alpine Motors TonyKart) has been a threat all year and is second, but only one point clear of Simon Moss (Engen Xtreme TonyKart) who won’t be racing as his focus is on winning the Formula BMW Pacific Rookie championship which he’s currently leading.

Birel driver Rory Atkinson lies fourth but could end the day as champion should any of the top three falter. Just behind him is hard working lady racer Fabienne Lanz driving for the Jacques Lemmens PCR team with Chassen Bright (Jacques Lemmens/Go lube PCR) just one point behind.

Adding spice to the championship battle is the fact that Tasmin Pepper steps into the Engen Xtreme team to take Moss’ place and Sodi driver Trent Williams. Both drivers are capable of winning and delivering results that will have a bearing in the outcome of the championship battle.

Fastest class of the day should be KF2. This is a new class this season and is a fully fledged CIK approved category featuring engines from a number of manufacturers.

Current leader is Caleb Williams (CRG) who has been a model of consistency in only his first season in the top class, but a change of chassis and team could make life a bit difficult. The other Williams, Trent (no relation) is lying second and also moved up from the junior ranks this season, but will find it difficult to make up 21-points. Stranger things have happened in motorsport – Niki Lauda won a world championship by half a point in 1984!

Lying third, and also in with a shout for the title is recently crowned Rotax Max European DD2 champion Leeroy Poulter aboard the Ferodo Birel. Having missed the opening round because it clashed with the opening Rotax Euro round, he has already dropped his lowest scores so every point he scores will count. Unlike the other classes KF2 has four races on the day and at the end of the year the four lowest scores are discarded.

SodiKart mounted Devin Robertson is another driver who has been smooth and consistent, but he missed the last round in KZN so has already dropped his points. That plays into the hands of Vicki Kemp (Birel) who has always finished well and as a result the Port Elizabeth schoolgirl has some high scores to drop.

Rory Atkinson rounds off the first six, but might decide to give the KF2 race a miss so as to concentrate on his Super Rok title challenge. Marc Murray (CRG) has proved he’s got the pace to win as has Duke Ridgway (Birel) who won a heat at Idube. They could play an important role in the outcome of the championship.

GP Junior could be called ‘Battle of the Bulls’ as Pretoria racers are lying first and second. Powered by 60cm Comer engines, this class is the breeding ground of motorsport and always produces big fields that provide non-stop action.

Michael Taylor (Rigidek) holds a narrow four-point lead over Nathan Parkins (Patch Tech) who is only just ahead of an intriguing battle for the next positions. Capetonian Marco Busi (Automan) shares third place with Sheldon van der Linde (Autoquip), both having scored 217 points.

Castrol Toyota Development team’s Morgan McColl is next. A past winner at Vereeniging, the Klerksdorp kid is determined to end the year on a high note.

Shayur Harpal has come a long way this season. Without fuss he just gets on with the job of racing and he was super consistent at Idube to go into the final round in sixth place.

Bradley Taylor (Rigidek) is another past winner who could upset everyone else’s plans while consistency has been Jonathan Wing’s strong point.

Steve Wicks

Points

Junior Rok
1. Justin Allan – 217 points
2. Sam Tingle - 211
3. Mitchell Licen - 204
4. Loukea van Steijn - 199
5. Adrian Wood - 194
6. Sean Frost - 191

Super Rok
1. Michael Stephen - 236 points
2. Shaun La Reservee - 205
3. Simon Moss - 204
4. Rory Atkinson - 201
5. Fabienne Lanz - 193
6. Chassen Bright - 192

KF2
1. Caleb Williams - 274 points
2. Trent Williams - 253
3. Leeroy Poulter - 248
4. Devin Robertson - 234
5. Vicki Kemp - 225
6. Rory Atkinson - 216

60 cc GP Junior
1. Michael Taylor - 222 points
2. Nathan Parkins - 218
3. Marco Busi - 217
4. Sheldon van der Linde - 217
5. Morgan McColl - 215
6. Shayur Harpal - 172