Senior MAX debutant Brandon van der Walt finished in a respectable eighth overall at the weekend, as Zwartkops Kart Raceway hosted the opening round of the MSA Northern Regions Regional Rotax Karting Championship.

Van der Walt, who stepped up from Junior MAX, where he showed exceptional talent despite his short stint in the sport, qualified his Formula-K kart in tenth. Following a solid start to the opening heat, the Pretoria resident battled for position with several other drivers to cross the finish line in hard-fought seventh position. Heat 2 would see the Ice Motorsport driver lose out on the opening lap and lose a place before bouncing back and passing two competitors to finish in eighth. He would also set his fastest lap of the day. The final heat would be a true test of his character after jostling for the seventh position, he would be involved in an incident that saw him drop down the order to finish in tenth place.

“It was a good outcome for my first race in Senior MAX. While I struggled initially to get used to the new Vega tyre, I feel we managed to get on top of it. I’m generally satisfied with the first two heat results, considering my inexperience and the quality of drivers in the field. Heat 3 was rather disappointing though as the incident I believe could have been avoided, but that’s racing and I need to put it behind me and focus on the next race. A big shout out to Delon (Thompson) and the Ice Motorsport team today.”

Van Der Walt will focus on the South African Rotax Max Challenge National opening round scheduled for 3-4 March in Camperdown, KwaZulu-Natal.