It was a cold start to the Rok Round 3 regionals at Redstar Raceway with the academy drivers nerves at an all time high as they wait for the first ever academy category race. Oatlehile and Zehnya joined the group of 5 as the drivers with experience needing that little bit extra to get their seasons back on track. Lulama proved to have that X factor coach Wes looks for in a driver while Siya, climbed out of his shell to go ahead of the ever-improving Fish and Phineas. Karen came down specially for this new challenge and worked weeklong to get herself into the mix. A tall order for all the drivers proved not only that the Worr Academy is on the right track, but it is producing future champions.

1^st warm-up was cancelled to allow for a separate driver briefing for the academy drivers and a track walk. Coach Wes took the lead as he reiterated what Coach Mox had been preaching for the entire program – stay on the rubber and have fun. The drivers were quizzed on the flags by the COC and joined the main driver briefing to learn more in this unique experience. The fortunes of the academy drivers was the presence Oatlehile who had raced Redstar before and was the most experienced driver of the bunch. The nerves and misfortune got the best of our academy as 3 drivers failed to complete the session.

On the opening lap Fish had an axle issue, Siya’s breaks popped, and Zehnya spun out of the session. Karen kept to her teachings making sure that she represents the Worr Academy well by avoiding incidents while improving her time. Lulama showed amazing pace sending a message to coach Wes that he’s ready to compete by setting a time of 56.022, behind the more experienced Oatlehile. Phineas stuck to his guns as he set a pace of 58.902 for the session.

The next session for our young stars was qualifiers. A better session with all the drivers on track completing the 10-minute session with no issues. An encouraging session for Siya and Fish as the first complete session in front of the observant crowd. Zehnya came out strong setting the pace behind Oatlehile in front. Ahead with the qualifactor was Lulama setting the pace with a blistering 55.067. Qualifier standings were as follows: P1. Lulama, P2. Zehnya, P3. Oatlehile, P4. Siya, P5. Fish, P6. Phineas, P7. Karen.

As expected, the academy drivers experienced problems out the tramlines with the rolling start. Lulama’s inexperience with setting the pace showed as Karen was left far back in the first attempt of the rolling start and it had to be re-run with Zehnya in P2. The second attempt saw Zehnya retire with engine problems – a crushing blow to our quick import. Lap 2 came off without a hitch with Lulama being chased by Oatlehile flexing the strength of the Rok engine. Lap 3 saw an incident between close drivers Phineas and Fish as a clash gave Phineas P4 so he can chase after and hopefully surprise P4 qualifier Siya. In a twist, Siya slid off during lap 5 to give Phineas the advantage. Fish stayed close to Phineas as the race leader Lulama maintained his dominance in P1. A wide exit for Fish at turn 3 turned a close competition for P4 into a sure thing for Phineas. Karen staying out of the bustle finished with a much-improved time in P5.

Lulama maintained P1 ahead of Oatlehile for Heat 2. Our academy was on a roll now as Worr kept showing its academy pedigree. Starting strong in P3, Zehnya was looking to avoid incident and run a clean race but as fate would have it, lap 2 was her downfall. Zehnya spun out at the 6^th corner as she chased after the focussed driving of Oatlehile, milliseconds behind Lulama’s lead. Siya ran rampant with constant improvements from the second to the 6^th lap before the misfortunes of Oatlehile landed him in second. Milliseconds behind Siya was Fish. With breathing room behind him, Fish attacked Siya from Lap 8 to try gain P2 clocking a time worthy of his P4 start. Lulama, ultimately proved too strong for our competitors walking away with a monster lead.

Focus was on Zehnya as the team looked towards a clean run from her. Karen was left in the pits as she had achieved more than what she was aiming for – good experience in racing. Siya started in P2 as Lulama was looking to make it 3 out of 3. A thunderbolt start, for Lulama left the battles raging for P2, P3 and P4 between Zehnya, Siya, Fish and Phineas in P5. Oatlehile found himself in P4 with horrible engine issues during lap 2 that left him out the chase for the entire heat. Ahead of the pack, Siya took the opportunity granted to him with both hands edging ahead of the chasing Fish. More problems took another academy dynamite out as Phineas also struggled with engine issues from Lap 5 but did enough to hold on to P4 ahead of Oatlehile.

A good day out for the entire Academy class. The Worr Team enjoyed a sensational show where the academy could experience proper race setting with familiar competitors to acclimatise to motorsport before they enter their different classes. Coach Mox was very impressed with his students as they fought for each millisecond and the continued improvement from warm-ups to the last heat left coach Wes amazed. “They push and race so hard. They have that special something when it counts and we need to see more of this. Our academy keeps growing and now we have a way to make sure the ones leaving the academy have great race experience going forward.” Coach Wes said, finally, after watching the last heat.

The success of the race has ensured that Rok include the category permanently onto the calendar. The Worr academy will be in action again on the 23rd of August for Rok Round 4 and joining rounds 5 and 6 for the year. As the Worr Academy grows it has never been a better time to join the Best team in Africa. Find out more about the Worr Academy by filling in the form below and we hope to see you at the next round.