The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Junior Academy (GR Junior Academy) delivered a standout performance at Zwartkops Kart Raceway this past weekend as the South African Rotax MAX Challenge contested its third national round alongside the prestigious Rotax Africa Open.
With the national round decided over three heats, drivers had to combine outright speed with consistency before the overall national results set the grid for the Africa Open. From there, the pressure intensified, with the winners of the Africa Open earning coveted tickets to the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals in Portugal later this year.
For GR Junior Academy, the weekend produced two major international rewards as Brodi Dowling and Luhan de Wet both rose to the occasion in their respective finals. Dowling claimed victory in Junior MAX to secure his second consecutive Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals appearance, while De Wet produced a superb Mini MAX final performance to book his own second Grand Finals appearance.
DD2
In DD2, Charl Visser was one of the academy’s standout performers across the national round. Visser set the benchmark in qualifying, securing pole position, before converting that pace into a perfect sweep of the three national heats. He won Heat 1, Heat 2 and Heat 3 to take the overall national round victory with a maximum points haul.
Jonno Wilson added further strength to GR Junior Academy’s DD2 effort. After qualifying sixth, Wilson raced strongly across the three heats, finishing fourth in Heat 1 before taking third in both Heat 2 and Heat 3. His consistency secured third overall in the national classification.
The DD2 overall result placed Visser on pole for the Africa Open Final, with Wilson starting from third. In the final, Visser narrowly missed out on the Africa Open title, finishing second after setting the fastest lap of the race, while Wilson completed a strong weekend with fourth place.
SENIOR MAX
Senior MAX produced one of the most competitive fields of the weekend, with GR Junior Academy represented by Emma Dowling, Georgia Lenaerts and Tshepang Shisinwana. Dowling immediately showed her pace by qualifying third, while Shisinwana qualified 14th and Lenaerts 15th.
Lenaerts delivered the most consistent national run among the academy’s Senior MAX drivers, finishing seventh in Heat 1, seventh again in Heat 2 and ninth in Heat 3. Those results secured sixth overall, underlining her ability to stay composed and gather points in a demanding field.
Dowling’s weekend carried both frustration and pace. A difficult opening heat, which included a nose-cone penalty and only one completed lap, left her on the back foot, but she responded with 14th in Heat 2 before producing an excellent second-place finish in Heat 3. She also set the best lap in Heat 2, Heat 3, the Pre-Final and the Africa Open Final, showing that her outright speed was among the very best in the class.
Shisinwana endured a more challenging national round. After qualifying 14th, he finished 18th in Heat 1 following a nose-cone penalty, 26th in Heat 2 and was classified a DNF in Heat 3. He regrouped for the later stages of the African Open Final, finishing 14th in the Pre-Final before taking 18th in the Africa Open Final.
In the Senior MAX Africa Open Final, Dowling finished 15th after a nose-cone penalty, Lenaerts crossed the line 16th, and Shisinwana came home 18th. While the final result did not fully reflect the pace shown by the academy’s Senior MAX drivers, the weekend offered valuable lessons in qualifying execution, race management and recovering from adversity.
JUNIOR MAX
Junior MAX became one of the biggest success stories of the weekend for GR Junior Academy. Logan Billau qualified an impressive fifth, while Brodi Dowling started from 13th after an exceptionally close qualifying session.
Billau opened the national round with seventh in Heat 1 and followed that with fifth in Heat 2 before finishing third in Heat 3. His strong points haul placed him fourth overall in the national classification.
Dowling built his weekend with trademark racecraft. He finished eighth in Heat 1, charged to third in Heat 2 and then added a strong second-place finish in Heat 3. That run placed him third overall in the national round, positioning him perfectly for the Africa Open Final.
When the Junior MAX final arrived, Dowling delivered under pressure. In a fierce fight at the front, he took control in the second half of the race and crossed the line as the Junior MAX Africa Open Champion. The victory secured his second consecutive appearance at the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals, having competed in Bahrain last year.
Billau also completed a strong Africa Open Final, finishing sixth and confirming the depth of GR Junior Academy’s Junior MAX programme on one of the biggest weekends of the South African karting season.
MINI MAX
Mini MAX produced another major highlight for the academy, with brothers Luke and Callum du Toit, Namibian twins Nande and Mandume Kaiyamo and Luhan de Wet all competing in a tightly contested field.
De Wet led the GR Junior Academy charge in qualifying, setting the third-fastest time, with Luke du Toit seventh, Callum du Toit eighth, Nande Kaiyamo 15th and Mandume Kaiyamo 16th.
Luke du Toit then produced a superb national round. He won Heat 1, finished fourth in Heat 2 and returned to the top step in Heat 3, taking the overall national round victory. It was a commanding performance and another clear sign of his development within the academy structure.
De Wet’s weekend required resilience. He finished second in Heat 1, but a penalty in Heat 2 dropped him to 15th. He recovered with ninth in Heat 3, leaving him ninth overall in the national classification. That result meant he would have work to do from the fifth row of the grid in the Africa Open Final.
Nande Kaiyamo delivered a consistent run through the national heats, finishing eighth, sixth and eighth to secure seventh overall. Callum du Toit finished 18th, 14th and 12th to end 14th overall, while Mandume Kaiyamo finished 11th in Heat 1, retired after four laps in Heat 2 and recovered to 16th in Heat 3, placing 19th overall.
The Mini MAX Africa Open Final produced one of the drives of the weekend. Starting from ninth, De Wet worked his way into contention and timed his charge perfectly, taking the lead before losing it on the final lap, only to retake it on the final corner before crossing the line as the Mini MAX Africa Open Champion. The win secured his second Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals appearance and continued his impressive rise through the Rotax ranks.
Luke du Toit completed a brilliant GR Junior Academy one-two in the Mini MAX final, finishing just behind De Wet in second place. Callum du Toit also moved forward to finish eighth, while Nande Kaiyamo took 10th and Mandume Kaiyamo finished 12th.
MICRO MAX
In Micro MAX, Rofhiwa Ndwambi represented the academy with a mature and consistent performance. Ndwambi qualified fifth and carried that front-running pace into the national heats, finishing fourth in Heat 1, 10th in Heat 2 after a nose-cone penalty, and fifth in Heat 3. Those results placed him fifth overall in the national round.
Ndwambi then matched that result in the Africa Open Final, finishing fifth after another competitive run in the lead group. It was a valuable weekend for the young driver, who continued to gain experience in close-racing situations while showing the consistency needed at the national level.
TEAM PRINCIPAL REFLECTS
Reflecting on the weekend, GR Junior Academy Team Principal Leeroy Poulter praised the academy’s drivers for their performances under pressure.
“This was a massive weekend for the academy, and I am incredibly proud of the way our drivers handled it,” said Poulter. “The national round already demanded consistency across qualifying and three heats, but the Africa Open Final added another level of pressure because everything came down to one race.
Brodi and Luhan were outstanding when it mattered most, and for both to secure a second consecutive Grand Finals appearance is a very special achievement. Charl was exceptional in DD2 with a perfect national round, Luke showed tremendous strength in Mini MAX, and across every class, we saw our drivers learning, adapting and developing.
That is what the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Junior Academy is about. Results are important, but the bigger picture is building complete drivers who can manage pressure, race intelligently and keep improving. This weekend was a strong reflection of that.”
With two Africa Open titles, two Grand Finals tickets, a DD2 national clean sweep, a Mini MAX national victory and strong performances across every class, GR Junior Academy left Zwartkops with one of its most successful weekends of the season.
