KARTING | Tough Red Star Debut for Cornofsky Despite Good Pace
Mini ROK rookie Kayde Cornofsky endured a challenging regional meeting at the weekend. Despite his pace, the results were not forthcoming, and Kayde suffered two non-finishing heats to finish well outside the top ten.
Round 3 of the Northern Regions ROK Kart Championships headed to Red Star Raceway, near Delmas, Mpumalanga, where a newly constructed short circuit is set to be the home of ROK karting. It connects with the main circuit and features fast sweeping bends before entering a slower, more technical section.
Even the challenge of a new circuit could not deter Kayde from setting a blistering lap time during Saturday morning's qualifying, where the Johannesburg youngster claimed a front-row start alongside the pole-sitter. Losing an early position, the Xtreme Racing Team driver remained in the battle for the podium, running in third for nine of the ten laps before running off the circuit, where he was left stranded.
In heat 2, Kayde started in fifth place but lost a few positions initially. Despite being eager to regain as many places as possible, he was caught up in the battle for the midpack and finished in sixth position. Unfortunately, Kayde's frustration grew after he made a small mistake, slid off the circuit, and was again stranded to be classified as a non-finisher after only one lap.
"After this morning's qualifying, we were confident that we could achieve some strong results. Unfortunately, motorsport can be cruel. Despite looking certain to podium in Heat 1, things didn't go as planned. In the final heat, I may have pushed too hard too early which saw me lose the kart. I was just a passenger at that stage and could no nothing. despite trying to rejoin the race, the lart wouldn't start. Days like these are extremely frustrating. Hopefully we can turn it all around aat the upcoming national. Thanks again to everyone for the support," said Kayde.
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.
