Namibia’s top Bambino racer Russell Josephat faced a challenging weekend at the South Africa Rotax Max Challenge, failing to make the top three cut in Cape Town.

The event was held at the Killarney Racetrack, where Josephat finished 14th in Saturday’s race, his lowest placement in his last 10 races.

His coach and father, JP Josephat, attributed Saturday’s underwhelming result to unfamiliarity with the track and difficult weather conditions, as it was their first time racing at Killarney.

“We had practice on Thursday, but didn’t go well. We made a lot of mistakes with a new kart and an unfamiliar track. On Friday, instead of improving, we were hit with expected rain, and it was disastrous as Russell had never driven in the rain before. He came alive on race day, but the local drivers had the advantage of knowing the track better,” he said.

Despite the setback, Josephat said they are taking it as a learning curve, and remain optimistic about future improvements. “Finishing 14th out of 16 wasn’t ideal, but I’m proud of how hard he fought. By the end of the race, he was keeping up with the leading pack. There are a lot of areas to work on, but I’m hopeful we’ll improve with time,” he noted.

Josephat was recently awarded the outstanding racer of 2024 accolade, in the Bambino category at the recent Namibia Motorsport Federation (NMF) awards. 

-mkambukwe@nepc.com.na