Rookie Haskins Returns Stronger to Killarney

Chase Haskins returns to the Killarney International Raceway this weekend for the penultimate round of the Investchem MSA4 Championship, carrying considerably more experience and confidence than when he made his main-circuit racing debut at the Cape Town venue in March.

Killarney marked the beginning of Haskins’ first season in South Africa’s premier single-seater championship. After qualifying 13th at the opening round, the Kokoro Racing Academy driver delivered two composed drives to finish ninth in both races.

Since then, the 14-year-old rookie has continued to develop his understanding of the MSA4 car while gaining valuable experience at circuits across the country. His progress was evident at the previous national round at Aldo Scribante Raceway, where he produced his strongest qualifying performance of the season to secure a front-row start.

Although a first-lap incident ended his opening race, Haskins returned for Race 2 after the team worked against the clock to repair his car. Further contact bent a wishbone and made the car difficult to steer, but he persevered to finish fifth and underline the determination that has characterised his rookie campaign.

Returning to familiar territory provides Haskins with an opportunity to measure how far he has progressed since March. Killarney’s fast and flowing layout rewards confidence, precision and commitment, while its limited number of corners leaves little room for error. Maintaining momentum and extracting the most from every session will therefore be essential.

With his recent qualifying pace demonstrating his growing potential, the objective for the weekend will be to convert that speed into two complete races and another strong result.

“Killarney is where my MSA4 journey started, so I am excited to go back and see how much I have improved since the beginning of the season,” said Haskins. “I have much more confidence in the car now, and Aldo showed that we have the pace to compete further up the grid. The next step is to put together a clean and consistent weekend. A big thank you to the Kokoro Racing Academy, CloudCTO, Sparco, Reach For A Dream and everyone who continues to support me.”

The National Extreme Festival gets underway on Friday. Chase will be on circuit for three practice sessions before qualifying on Saturday morning. Once the grid has been set, two races will determine the weekend’s winner.