KARTING | Impressive OKN Performance Sees Van Der Walt Claim Maiden Win

WORR Motorsport's Brandon van der Walt recorded his maiden OKN victory and two runner-up finishes at Round 3 of the Northern Regions ROK Kart Championships yesterday, increasing his regional points tally and hopes for a first karting title.

The new circuit just outside Delmas in Mpumalanga was constructed in recent weeks. It connects with the main circuit and features fast sweeping bends before entering a slower, more technical section. This circuit is set to become the home of ROK Cup South Africa.

Van Der Walt narrowly missed out on pole position to his internationally-experienced team-mate by just 0.005 seconds. He successfully defended his position throughout the race to finish as runner-up while setting the race's quickest lap. With a pole position start and not content to play second fiddle to his team-mate, the Pretoria teenager recorded his maiden win and drew even in the day's result with a heat remaining. Van der Walt would, however, have to settle for second behind his team-mate to cap off an impressive weekend.

"I'm very happy with the results today and it shows that hard work pays off," said Van der Walt. "The team have been phenomenal, and I must thank them. Well done to Wian on the overall win today. It's certainly beneficial to race against someone like Wian and I was able to learn a lot. We continue to improve and I'm looking forward to the national in a few weeks time."

Round 4 of the regional competition will resume on September 7th following the final round of the National ROK Cup South Africa Championships, which will take place on August 23-24 at Red Star Raceway.