Zac Dufty off to a flier in SA

Collin Matiza Sports Editor
ZIMBABWE’S 14-year-old karting ace, Zachary Dufty, the youngest driver to represent this country at the Rok World Finals in Italy, got his 2018 South Africa racing campaign off to a fantastic start with a pole position in qualifying for Round 1 of the MSA Academy championship in Vereeniging last weekend.

Dufty set his sights on the 2018 season with vigour and a belief that he has what it takes to compete at the highest levels in South Africa’s competitive karting championships. Together with a personal trainer, he set about improving his fitness and strength to cope with the physical demands of the class.

He commented yesterday: “Although it is tough going to (the) gym after school, I am absolutely committed to performing at the sharp end of the grid this year.”

In the off-season, he spent many hours and hundreds of kilometres practising at the Donnybrook kart track in Harare and come rain or shine was a common sight at the track early morning or late evening to ensure he was at peak performance for the start of the South African championships.

For the first round of the MSA Academy championship, Dufty arrived two days early to get some much-needed practise and testing on this very fast track.

Torrential rain over several days flooded the track, resulting in the cancellation of all the planned test sessions. This placed him at a disadvantage as the South African competitors had been practicing the previous weekend.

However, Dufty set out on Friday’s first practise session with a determination to prove he is one of the top drivers in this very competitive series and finished the day third fastest.

Race day proved sunny and Dufty’s confidence was further boosted by some quick lap times that put him third fastest in the warm-up session.

Qualifying proved hectic with lap times improving all the time but he got his head down and put in some mighty laps that placed him in pole position, stunning the more fancied South African drivers. With the first six drivers covered by less than a tenth of a second it is clear how competitive the class is.