Jesse Adams made a gritty comeback from disaster to take the CAR Magazine Rookie of the Race award in Round Three of the series at the East London Grand Prix Circuit on April 27.
Having “totalled” his Class E CitiGolf in Round Two at Cape Town’s Killarney track, the young Gauteng racer was forced to spend long hours – and a considerable amount of cash – on a rebuild, transferring the mechanicals from the crashed car to a new bodyshell. So the R2 500 that went with his Rookie award was welcome indeed.
Practice for the East London race brought another setback when the new car’s right front strut pushed its way through the strut tower, leaving Adams trailing the field. Starting the first heat near the back of the grid, he worked his way through the pack, finally latching on to the back of the train of cars fighting for the lead. He was eventually sixth in Class E behind veteran Darren Murphy (VW CitiGolf), Dave Compton (Toyota Tazz), Sheehan Grant (Opel Kadett), Nico de Waal (Opel Corsa), Hans Moore (VW CitGolf) and Jody Powell (Opel Corsa). Heat Two saw a repeat performance, with Adams again slotting into sixth and Murphy taking overall honours.
The CAR Rookie programme aims to help young drivers establish themselves in national track racing. Open only to participants in Class E of the Midas series who are in their first or second season of national racing, this year’s competition offers contenders the chance to earn extra cash to fund their efforts, with a prize of R2 500 up for grabs at each of the 10 rounds for the CAR Magazine Rookie of the Race, who will be named at the end of each meeting. At the end of the season, the overall winner will receive a grand prize of R25 000.
Winners of the CAR Magazine Rookie of the Race awards, as well as the CAR Magazine Rookie of the Year, are chosen by an experienced judging panel. In their evaluations, our judges take into account the competitor’s situation and the type of car used, in addition to aspects such as racecraft and skill at the wheel. So the Rookie award does not necessarily go to the class winner.
Prospective Rookies are required to register with Motorsport South Africa. The requisite entry forms can be obtained from CAR’s Craig Nicholson, who may be contacted at (011) 783-7030.