Mechanical Heartbreak Ends Bezuidenhout’s MSA4 Title Bid at Zwartkops

Corsa dei Gemelli's Mikel Bezuidenhout concluded his debut Investchem MSA4 Championship campaign at Zwartkops Raceway this past weekend, arriving with a genuine chance of clinching the inaugural title.

After qualifying third fastest, just fractions off pole, Mikel carried strong pace into Saturday’s opening race. A solid second-place finish behind winner Adriaan Nel, but crucially in front of KC Ensor-Smith, kept his title hopes alive.

Race 2 saw another determined performance, with Mikel finishing third and banking valuable points, further closing the gap to the championship leader.

Everything, however, came down to the final race, where Mikel started from sixth on the reversed grid. Unfortunately, his title hopes were dashed when a brake issue forced him into the pits after five laps while running strongly in the top five. The setback ultimately handed the championship advantage to his rival, ending what had been a superb debut season in the country’s premier single-seater category.

Despite the heartbreak, Mikel’s maturity and composure shone through as he reflected on the weekend:

“It’s a tough way to end the season, especially when we were fighting right until the last race. But that’s motorsport, sometimes things don’t go your way. I’m proud of how far we’ve come as a team this year. We’ve shown incredible pace and consistency, and I can’t thank everyone at Corsa dei Gemelli, Huawei Mobile, and MTN CosmoNet enough for their support. This is only the beginning.”

With multiple race wins and podiums to his name in 2025, Mikel's consistency and pace firmly established him as one of South Africa’s top emerging single-seater talents. As he looks ahead to 2026, the 17-year-old Sandton racer will be focused on converting this season’s lessons into future championship success.