The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Junior Academy (TGRSA Junior Academy) heads to Zwartkops Kart Raceway this weekend for the final round of the 2026 South African Rotax MAX Challenge, with national titles on the line and a place in South Africa’s contingent for the Rotax MAX Challenge Grand Finals (RMCGF) in Portimão, Portugal, later this year among the rewards on offer.

Four heats remain to decide the 2026 champions, with only each driver’s best 10 of 13 results counting towards the final standings — meaning Saturday’s finale can still add crucial points or replace a weaker result from earlier in the season. TGRSA Junior Academy arrives at Zwartkops with championship leaders in DD2, Junior MAX and Mini MAX, while several other drivers remain within reach of national honours.

DD2

Charl Michael Visser enters the finale in the strongest championship position of any TGRSA Junior Academy driver, leading DD2 on 318 points — 48 clear of his nearest rival — after eight wins from nine national heats, including a clean sweep at Zwartkops. His sole dip outside victory in a national heat has still been a podium, and his only real setback all season came in the Africa Open Final, where he narrowly missed the winner-takes-all prize to finish second.

Jonno Wilson sits eighth on 186 points despite missing the opening round — a gap in his campaign offset by race-winning DD2 pace, including a heat victory at Formula-K and a podium overall at Zwartkops.

SENIOR MAX

Senior MAX has been one of the Academy’s toughest classes in 2026, with Georgia Lenaerts, Tshepang Shisinwana and Emma Rose Dowling up against one of the deepest fields in national karting. Georgia is the best placed of the trio in 10th on 164 points after a consistent Zwartkops round, while Tshepang — 14th on 127 points — will look to bounce back from a difficult national round that included penalties and a retirement.

Emma Rose, who missed the season opener through international commitments, sits 19th on 92 points, but her outright pace has often outstripped her results — she charged from the back of a 28-kart grid at Formula-K and backed it up with a strong runner-up finish in Heat 3 at Zwartkops.

JUNIOR MAX

Brodi Cooper Dowling leads the Junior MAX standings on 280 points, 28 clear of second place, after stepping up from last year’s Mini MAX title and immediately finding front-running pace — capped by a pressure-cooker win in the Africa Open Final that booked his second consecutive RMCGF appearance.

Logan Billau, who joined the campaign after missing the opening round, has been one of its most improved drivers — climbing to fourth overall in the national round at Zwartkops and finishing sixth in the Africa Open Final. He sits 14th in the championship on 169 points.

MINI MAX

Mini MAX carries TGRSA Junior Academy’s outright championship leader in Luke du Toit, who tops the standings on 283 points after winning two of the three national heats at Zwartkops and finishing runner-up to teammate Luhan de Wet in a memorable Academy one-two in the Africa Open Final.

De Wet, fifth on 228 points, produced the drive of the weekend at Zwartkops — recovering from ninth on the grid to reclaim the lead on the final corner of the Africa Open Final and secure his second consecutive RMCGF appearance.

Namibian twins Nande and Mandume Kaiyamo (ninth and 14th) and Callum du Toit (11th) round out the Academy’s Mini MAX effort, each having shown clear progress through the season even as their title hopes have faded.

For Team Principal Leeroy Poulter, the finale is both a title opportunity and a chance to reflect on a season that has again underlined TGRSA Junior Academy’s development pathway — one that has already produced multiple national champions and RMCGF representatives, with several graduates progressing into TOYOTA GAZOO Racing’s wider driver programmes.

“Going into a national finale with three of our drivers leading their championships is something the whole Academy can be proud of, but the job is not finished,” said Poulter. “Charl, Brodi and Luke have put themselves into very strong positions through the work they have done throughout the year. What I am most proud of is the development we have seen across the group. Some of these drivers are fighting for championships, some are already going back to the Grand Finals, and others are still learning to race consistently at this level. Of course, we want to leave Zwartkops with more trophies, but we also want every driver to leave the season better prepared for whatever comes next.”

Official action begins Thursday, with practice and qualifying running through Friday ahead of Saturday’s three heats, which will crown South Africa’s 2026 Rotax MAX national champions. Entry is free, and the action can also be followed live on the South African Rotax MAX Challenge YouTube channel from Friday afternoon: https://www.youtube.com/@sarotaxmaxchallenge3045/streams