It was another exciting weekend ahead for Worr Drivers attending the Formula K regionals this past weekend. Worriors, Yaseen came out to play in the Bambino’s category with the legendary Gianna showing her astounding determination in OKN. A chilly start to the day had Coach Mox concerned about the tire temperature and overall grip for all the drivers.

Yaseen came down to FK from Cape Town to join the regional race and add some experience in race conditions. The young man found the pace a bit hard to carry in the straights but managed his kart well into each corner. Starting towards the rear of the field against more experienced drivers, he was over a second behind the pace due to the extent of straights FK has which proved to be his Achilles heel. He qualified P10 in a stacked field and finished P12 in Race 1, which unfortunately became a trend he couldn’t break in each round.

Zuan showed off what the Worr Academy can produce this Saturday. Still acclimatizing to the circuit, he claimed a P9 in qualifying. With the correct starting strategy, he climbed a position in the first lap of Race 1 and gave the watching audience a show with a brilliant inside manoeuvre in lap 8 to climb to P7. In race 2 he went 1 up on the driver that hindered his advancement to P6 and ended a good day of racing with a P5 in race 3. “He’s fast that guy. He just needs to work on the small mistakes.” Said Coach Mox.

Radhi was a man on fire this Saturday, setting the time to beat in qualifying. After the warm-up lap, Radhi started with a slow reaction to lose 4 positions in 2 of the 3 races. He cruised to the front pack with great ease but the Double Team of brothers ahead hindered his progress to the front despite his superior pace. The hinderance continued throughout the rounds to leave the coaches and Radhi a little frustrated but optimistic about the performance, his setup and his engine as he continued to set fast lap times throughout each round.

Qualifying lower in the order, Lwashu had to take the hard way to the top. Unphased by the challenge, He grabbed a P7 finish in race 1 from a P12 start. He found the going tough in Race 2 to claim a P10 finish. Race 3 had a promising start with Lwashu in his groove heading to the first corner of FK with bullish pace, a slow start from competitors he claimed 3 positions and disaster struck. Clipped from the rear, Lwashu found himself upside down on the side of the track in the blink of an eye. Footage showed him airborne in corner 2 which is blind for supporters. Fellow competitors involved in the crash assisted Lwashu out of the wreckage and marshals struggled to hold him from going back into the race. When asked about the incident Lwashu was undeterred and looks forward to perfecting his craft.

This became a common occurrence among Worr Drivers as the next drivers had a dramatic round but continued to dust themselves off and get back in the race.

The Worrior spirit was at full display again in the Senior Max class. Gianna Pascoal qualified P2 ahead of teammate Geo with Jorden not participating. Coming from the rear, Jorden made huge strides in race 1 to claim P7 ahead of Geo who struggled with a carburettor issue. Gianna battled from a constant drop in the first few laps to finish in P4.

Race 2 started in horror. After a false start drivers raced to the first corner with Gianna on the inside. Squeezed off the track seconds after the lights turned green, she found herself in a pile-up involving 5 karts with teammate Jorden growing wings as he flew out the kart and avoided masterfully by the trailing Geo. Covered in dust, both Worriors went into fix mode, dragged their karts and tried starting them up again. Gianna pulled away but unfortunately Jorden couldn’t get his back on the road. A second start from the red flag gave Gianna another opportunity to chase for the win. Ahead at the corner in Lap 8 she found herself gravel ridden again with un-sportsman like conduct, but she again re-entered the race to get maximum points. Geo still struggling with air to his engine paced her forward.

Starting p4, 9 and 11, Gianna and Jorden climbed a single place from the first lap. Geo had slightly better pace with his kart now giving better performance but he was still seconds off the pace. Gianna topped at P2 and finished in P3. Jorden, with his temporarily fixed kart, couldn’t make more gains and ended in P10 behind teammate Geo.