Just 2.516 seconds separated Major Shane Jeffries and Captain Carlo Germishuys after one hour of intense racing in 270cc EMR Karts at the Killarney International Raceway.
The second West Coast Military Inter Unit Kart Challenge took place on Wednesday 13 April.
The one-hour final started with everyone safely through the first corner but then 4 Special Forces Regiment (4SFR) lost control into the second corner, the Military Academy took evasive action only to spin out on the marbles and AFB Langebaanweg followed suite in sympathy. SAS Saldanha had actually stalled at the start and thanks to the slight delay tortoise slipped past the hare and disappeared around the next two corners on the 1 km circuit before the opposition could recover.
And so the charge was on and all four teams would impress in both pace and consistency. SAS Saldanha won the opening two-hour event by a comfortable three lap margin and though they seemed capable of repeating their surprise result in the final, their drivers simply made too many mistakes.
The host unit, Military Academy Saldanha, looked strong in the two-hour event and Brig Gen Cassie de Castro even found time to develop his own route before settling into a steady pace and he would drive the widest EMR Kart ever in an effort to keep 4SFR at bay.
4SFR and AFB Langebaanweg would, however, keep everyone present excited as Major Shane Jeffries set about hunting down Captain Carlo Germishuys. A gallant effort from Germishuys, but Jeffries simply had too much pace and slipped by almost within sight of the chequered flag. He would also be credited with the Fastest Lap Time of the day at 59.074 seconds.
For AFB Langebaanweg it would be a second consecutive overall victory, Fastest Time of the day and Driver of the day. The latter somewhat tongue in cheek as Lt Elias Koopman would himself admit to have been the most reluctant driver of the day!
The Team Spirit of the Day went to SAS Saldanha and the team members should have their voices return to normal soon. Weather conditions proved ideal and Brad Wadeley (Kartsport) prepared eight perfect EMR 270cc Karts for the occasion with two on standby as spares.
The SA Army Foundation, under chairmanship of Mr A Ramphele, and Sanlam, Helét Borchardt, supported the event and the Dean of the Faculty of Military Science, Prof MS Tshehla, was present. Studying the strategy of each of the four units competing proved fruitless as there was no stopping once the flag had dropped.
Commandant of the Military Academy Saldanha, Brig Gen Cassie de Castro, welcomed the members of each unit during an early morning briefing before handing over to Chief Instructor, Lt Col Morné Booÿjens, and the Kartsport personnel. Given the virtually zero motor sport experience present the four units conducted their racing very structured and the result is really a compliment to each and everyone involved.
And though there were trophies and awards at stake the real victory went to the sporting approach of each individual present.
Esprit de Corps is alive and well in these four West Coast Units.
