A cool November day saw the final race of the Suzuki South
W.P. Regional Motorcycle Champs take place at Killarney with mixed emotions,
some happy to end the season on top others not finishing on a high and even
longing for just one more race to collect a few extra points.
The whole biking fraternity wishes Casey Wolters a speedy
recovery after he went down in turn 4. He was taken to Milnerton Medi Clinic
where he is recovering from his injuries.
We would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone for
their hard work throughout the year. The riders, mechanics, pit crews,
organisers, committee, marshalls and above all sponsors and spectators
who are most important to the success of motorcycle racing in Cape Town and SA.
The Suzuki South Superbikes took to the circuit first and as
the lights went out in race 1 Ronald Slamet was off the line like a lightning
bolt, Trevor Westman had to use every horse available but still had to slot in
behind him into turn 1 with a damaged gearbox. The power of the BMW proved way
too much as he blasted passed Slamet and took the lead into turn 2. There was
no stopping Westman as he pulled a huge gap with the few working gears to take the
flag by 10 seconds.
Meanwhile behind him Malcolm Rapson had a tough battle, as
he worked his way through the pack into 3rd on lap 2 and 2nd
in lap 3, with Aran van Niekerk, Quinton Ebden and Danie Maritz, who made
another guest appearance on the big bang R1 in tow. As Rapson pulled a gap an
exciting battle for 3rd ensued all the way to flag with van Niekerk
riding very well to pip Danie van Killarney to the post. This kept the
championship wide open for race 2 as Westman needed Rapson to place anything under
2nd and to take a win with the gearbox still holding out under the
damage.
Just behind this the 600cc of Ronald Slamet took line
honours way ahead to wrap up the championship ahead of Nick van der Walt and
Gerrit Visser.
Roland Wingeier took a few laps to settle into his rhythm
and by lap 4 blazed out front with an easy ride for the win in class B, Richard
Slamet and Shane Nell put on a good show for a 2nd and 3rd.
Class C had great spectator value as Sean le Grange, Kashief
Mohammed and Denis Mitchell chopped and changed positions lap by lap. Le Grange
eventually opened a gap and left the spoils to Mohammed, while Wayne Arendse
struggled with a rare mistake in tyre choice leaving him down the pack.
Race 2 was a similar affair for the BMW, although van
Niekerk took the holeshot with Rapson tucked in behind, Westman blasted past
them down the back straight and led all the way to the flag with a fastest lap
of 1m12.712s. The action continued and on lap 3 with the riders pushing hard
Rapson snuck past van Niekerk, only part of a lap later Maritz with no brakes
went down in the dirt in turn 2 after a tank slapper, this sealed the deal for
Rapson if he could hold off van Niekerk. The toughest end to a race for him saw
him take the Overall WP Championship. Slamet rode hard again to take 600cc
honours.
A fantastic battle in class B with the ever so smooth
Wingeier and an improving Richard Slamet went to the last lap as Wingeier took
the flag by a mere 0.35s. Shrek Smith kept Shane Nell at bay to take a well deserved
3rd.
Sean le Grange had it a bit harder in race 2 but pushed hard
for the last race to hold off a charging Kashief Mohamed by 0.235s, Kurt
Fortune managed to take 3rd by 0.03 of a sec over Denis Mitchell.
The Supersport race which integrates the Biketique Botts
class saw major action all over the track. Carl Liebenberg got off to a flyer
and pulled a gap of almost 2 seconds a lap. As Jonas worked his way up from the
usual slower start with a small bike he had to pick off the bigger bikes while
dragging Brandon Storey and Hilton Redelinghuys along for the ride. With the
positions jostling and so much action the inevitable happened, first Johan de
Goede went down on lap 5 and then Brandon Storey followed him into turn 5 on
the very next lap. He lay there very still and a red flag was brought out. The
3 lap restart left Jonas way down the field with no answer as Frans Maritz and
Chris Leatt took advantage behind Liebenberg who ran out of fuel but still
managed a win on average. Tony Sparg put the big 1100 down just before turn 3
and Casey Wolters put his Suzuki down n turn 4 where he sustained his injuries.
The 2nd race started with the two Botts of
Liebenberg and Leatt shooting out front and as Liebenberg pulled his gap again
Leatt dropped back into the clutches of Maritz, Redelinghuys and the battered
Honda of Storey. Jacques Brits had a late charge and picked off the front
runners one by one to come in just ahead of Maritz but still way down on an
impressive Liebenberg.
Fran Engelbrecht had an easier ride with no real challenge
in class D, while David Carr pushed for all he was worth trying to catch him on
the older bike. A wonderful outcome of vintage bikes put a different spin on
things as back markers kept everyone on their toes. Tony Jones put his Cagiva
onto the podium for both races while Guy Moat and Kevin Spratley shared a 2nd
and 3rd each.
A fantastic finish to the year and we look forward to next
year with the All bike Race Day to kick off the year.
Resultsas per timesheet
Suzuki
South Superbikes:
Class A - 1st - Trevor Westman, 2nd - Malcolm Rapson, 3rd
- Aran van Niekerk
Class B - 1st - Roland Wingeier, 2nd - Richard Slamet, 3rd
- Shane Nell
Class C - 1st - Sean le Grange, 2nd - Kashief Mohamed, 3rd
- Denis Mitchell
Class D - 1st - Fran Engelbrecht, 2nd - David Carr, 3rd
- Raiel le Roux
Vintage Superbikes- 1st - Guy Moat, 2nd - Tony Jones, 3rd
- Kevin Spratley
New Era - 1st - Frans Maritz, 2nd - John Kosterman
600cc - 1st - Ronald Slamet, 2nd - Gerrit Visser
Jnr, 3rd - Nick van der Walt
Powersport - 1st - Hayden Jonas, 2nd - Hilton
Redelinghuys, 3rd - Anthony Lane
Biketique BOTTS:
1st - Carl Liebenberg, 2nd - Chris Leatt -, 3rd
- Ian Willis
As the season draws to a close the penultimate race of
the Suzuki South WP Motorcycle Championship was held at Killarney in cool
conditions on Sat 22 Oct, 2011.
While there were some cool heads there were also some hot
heads as the riders pushed hard for an extra few points. The focus of one 13
year old Hayden Jonas was that of finishing the race in a podium position to
take the WP Powersport championship on the Bizhub 125 Honda as he had a
brilliant season as one of the Konica Minolta development riders.
Trevor Westman put the Walker Brothers/Biketique BMW on
pole in the Suzuki South Superbikes ABC race continuing his great form. With a
poor start he had to play catch up once again and by lap 3 he went out front unchallenged to take the win.
A gutsy battle ensued for 2nd as Malcolm Rapson, Aran van
Niekerk and Quinton Ebden kept the crowd on their feet. When Rapson pulled a
slight gap it was up to van Niekerk to hold off Ebden by a narrow 0.14s.
Ronald Slamet was the first of the 600cc bikes across the
line by over 6 seconds. Roland Wingeier showed his experience with a B class win
as Shrek Smith and Mike Wilhelmie could not keep his pace.
Class C victory went to the travelling Richard Slamet who
put pressure on Sean le Grange and "Mr Consistent" Wayne Arendse.
In Race 2 Westman romped home to a win with over a 10
second gap while Rapson fought off van Niekerk and Ebden. Rapson pulled a gap
again and Ebden was edged into 4th by
under 0.2s.
Class B and C results were the same for race 2 as
Wingeier obviously didn't lose any form while on a break through the season and
Slamet had no pressure to take a double.
Carl Liebenberg came out of "retirement" after
2 years, he didn't manage to turn the Biketique Botts class on it's head
because he was too far out front in both races. This left the spoils to Ray
Wilson and Chris Leatt who once again shared their points
"generously" with each other taking 2nd and 3rd in race 1 then
swapped around for race 2.
Mike van Rensburg and Dennis Mitchell had the same tactics in the Suzuki South D, Powersport,
New Era and Vintage class and shared 1st and 2nd over the two heats, while Fran
Engelbrecht pipped Johan de Goede in both races for 3rd.
It was Jonas and Brandon Storey who provided the
excitement with the New Era Maritz Suzuki ridden by Frans in the mix for Race 1
and Leatt amongst them in Race 2. The lead for this battle changed a number of
times as the two PSP riders consolidated their place at the top of the
leaderboard.
John Kosterman came in 2nd in New Era while Jacques Lerm kept Tony Jones honest.
The day ended without a single motorcycle crash.
Overall Results as per time sheets:
Suzuki South
Class A - 1st Trevor Westman , 2nd Malcolm Rapson , 3rd
Aran van Niekerk Class B - 1st Roland Wingeier , 2nd Shrek Smith , 3rd Mike
Wilhelmie Class C - 1st Richard Slamet, 2nd Sean le Grange , 3rd Wayne Arendse
Class D - 1st Mike van Rensburg , 2nd Fran Engelbrecht, 3rd Johan de Goede PSP
- 1st Hayden Jonas, 2nd Brandon Storey, 3rd Anthony Lane New Era - 1st Frans
Maritz, 2nd John Kosterman Vintage - 1st
Tony Jones , 2nd Casey Wolters, 3rd Kevin Spratley 600cc - 1st Ronald Slamet ,
2nd Gerrit Visser Jnr , 3rd Warren Guantario
Biketique Botts 1st Carl Liebenberg , 2nd Ray Wilson, 3rd
Chris Leatt
The final round should be an absolute cracker as we wind
up the season and the championships.
A chilly
morning turned into the first actual day of Spring and in turn some spectacular
racing in Round 7 of the Suzuki South WP regional motorcycle champs. The
day was run very well with great discipline especially when the red flag came
out and those who experienced mechanical problems pulled off the circuit very
quickly. Dave Bolding, John Kosterman and Jacques Lerm all set personal bests
and I’m sure there will be a few more riders as the track conditions improve.
We
welcomed some new riders including the guys that made a huge effort to come
from Namibia and the 150cc short circuit bikes to join in the thrills and
spills. In every lap from the start of the race the top 4 in race 1 changed
places under breaks and cornering, even from 1st to 4th courtesy of Tony
Sterianos, Tyron Berry, Ayden van Rooijen and J-P Friederich. Sterianos took
race 2 while van Rooijen kept the battle going up front all the way to the
flag. Hopefully we see more of them.
The big
guns came out blazing, maybe a little too much fire power as Jacques Brits
started from pit lane on a BMW 1000RR and promptly crashing out in turn
1.
But it
was Westman also on a BMW who ran out front in both races to take
the win with a 1min12.7 in race 2 which will give the national boys something
to think about. After a few laps the field spaced out with a stiff Malcolm
Rapson, from a crash in practice, struggling but getting in front of Quinton
Ebden in race 1. Rapson battled with no 3rd gear in race 2 but still managed to
hold off Ebden to take a well deserved 2nd. Aran van Niekerk made a welcome
return on the ex Westman "washing machine". For the first time out on
the ZX10 he had a great day with a 4th overall.
Further
down the field Ronald "The Red Baron" Slamet and Sharl "waar
gaan ek val" Wasserfall were rubbing elbows until lap 5 in turn 5 when
Wasserfall went down giving Slamet an easier run to the finish.
Race 2
saw more spills as Wasserfall clipped Nick van der Walt when he passed him from
a good start off the line. When the Honda’s brake lever broke off van der Walt
could do nothing much but slide the bike into the tyre wall in turn 1. Luckily
for Ebden the red flag came out and a restart saved him from a jumpstart
penalty. Van der walt sustained a knee injury, was taken off the circuit by our
trusty medics and should recover well.
Denis
Mitchel, Shrek Smith and Terry Smith were in tight battles in both races. Shrek
went from a 3rd in race 1 leap frogging both riders to a great win in race 2,
even after a crash on the Jonas 400cc loan bike in the powersport race.
A right
royal battle ensued in class C between Wayne Arendse, Richard Rens, Kashief
Mohamed and the visiting Richard Slamet.
Sean
Le Grange joined in the excitement in Race 2 after a pit lane start in race 1
but not finishing. One wonders how to contain one’s self with at least 5 superb
battles taking place at one time all over the track.
It
is almost the equivalent of a Moto 2 race but each group is racing for points
and line honours in an equally important classes.
Ray
Wilson once again pushed out front in Race 1 of the Biketique BOTTS
class and Suzuki South Supersport, Superbikes D, new era and vintage,
leaving Vossie Vosloo and Chris Leatt to battle it out for 2nd.
Wilson was not challenged with a 5 second gap while Vosloo managed to edge out
Leatt on the line with a picture perfect photo finish.
Mike van Rensburg,
Pierre Grobler and Seth Geldenhuys had a good scrap until Hayden Jonas and
Brandon Storey joined the party, leaving David Carr and Geldenhuys to fight to
the line for a 3rd in class a few seconds adrift.
John
Kosterman and Tony Sparg put in some good times to take class wins in New era
and Vintage class respectively but not before Kosterman (die konstabel) had to keep Frans Maritz (the salad dodger)
at bay pushing him all the way to the flag.
In
Race 2 the action started before the lights even went out when Tony Sparg
crashed on the warm up lap after his throttle stuck wide open coming into turn
4. The second time in his illustrious career of racing and in the same place as
the first crash.
It
was Ray Wilson who took the holeshot, after a quick track clean up, with Leatt
and Vosloo hot on his rear tyre. Hayden Jonas had a much better race as he and
Grobler swapped positions streaking their way around the bigger engine bikes,
pulling Storey along.
John
Kosterman revelled in the changes to his setup as he set his fastest time ever,
giving the guys up front a wakeup call and pushing Carr and Geldenhuys. As he
tired so the younger riders pushed harder and forced their way up to the front,
one being Fran Engelbrecht making up places quicker than Rossi in his Yamaha
heyday. His first race was cut short after the chain snapped but with little
help from a friend he managed to get a back of the grid start and loads of
overtaking practice.
Drama
struck up front on lap 6, as Wilson went in to turn 1 his gearbox locked,
leaving him out and the door wide open for Leatt to take the lead. While
Vossie, a short way back, Jonas and Engelbrecht pushed hard to catch up. Jonas
took his chance in turn 2 blitzing passed Vosloo but was not able to catch
Leatt before the flag.
Vossie
held onto 3rd while a great ride from Fran saw him crossing the line
a mere 0.4seconds in 4th overall and 2nd in class. A
super exciting race with Alan Westman clapping all the way to the flag and
bringing up the rear on his home built single.
The
next race may see a championship wrapped up or some lap records if some new
rubber is laid down after the rains, who knows, just be prepared for another
exciting round.
Bring
on the summer!
Overall
Results:
Suzuki South Superbikes:
Class A - 1st - Trevor Westman, 2nd - Malcolm Rapson, 3rd
- Quintin Ebden
Class B - 1st - Denis Mitchell, 2nd -Terry Smith, 3rd
- Shrek Smith
Class C - 1st - Wayne Arendse, 2nd - Richard Rens, 3rd
- Kashief Mohamed
Class D - 1st - Vossie Vosloo, 2nd - Mike van Rensburg, 3rd
- David Carr
Vintage Superbikes- 1st - Casey Wolters, 2nd –Kevin
Spratley, 3rd - Alan Westman
New Era - 1st -John Kosterman, 2nd - Frans Maritz
600cc - 1st - Ronald Slamet, 2nd – Gerrit Visser
Jnr, 3rd – Warren Guantario
Powersport - 1st - Hayden Jonas, 2nd - Brandon Storey, 3rd
- Anthony Lane
Biketique BOTTS:
1st -Chris Leatt, 2nd - Nick van Zyl, 3rd -
Ray Wilson
Another sunny day in
Cape Town brought joy to the petrol heads who ventured out to enjoy round 6 of
the Western Cape's regional motor racing at Killarney. Once again the weekend
saw exciting racing with its fair share of problems and a few accidents which almost
goes without saying.
In the first race of the Suzuki South superbikes class ABC it was pole setter
Trevor Westman on the BMW 1000 RR who showed that he is the man to beat by
leading the pack from start to finish. He was the only rider in the race to lap
in the 1m13's as Malcolm Rapson could only manage a 1m14s. Sharl Wasserfall
went down for the 2nd time of the weekend on lap 3 in Wesbank corner cementing
his nickname "waar gaan ek val". Ronald "The Red Baron"
Slamet took advantage and caught right up to Rapson but was not close enough to
pass him before the chequered flag. Further down the field Chris Williams had a
lonely race in class B to take the flag over 20 seconds ahead of 2nd place B
rider Jacques Brits. The last lap again saw disaster with a near miss for two
riders when Jannie Stander came out of turn 4 almost alongside Brits and Danie
Maritz. Stander missed a gear at high revs, the front popped up and he crashed
with a radical parking manoeuvre on the subway fence. His bike was badly damaged
as he scooted off the track luckily only breaking collar bone. Terry Smith put
in some break out times to take 1st in class C with Sean le Grange and also
showing some good for so early in his racing career.
Race 2 was fantastic as everyone rode hard and pushed for valuable points
before the next race due to all the break out times. A jump start from Slamet
and Quinton Ebden saw them out front in turn 1 as the lights stayed on for a
long time causing havoc on the start. It took Rapson 2 laps to get into 2nd
after the chaos and another 2 laps to sneak up the inside of Ebden in turn 3.
After the penalties and a win for Rapson, Wasserfall who repaired one of his
bikes in time for the race took 2nd place. Westman fought hard to take 3rd
after pit crew mistakenly put the BMW in rain mode, leaving him way down on
power and position off the start. Chris Williams, now running A class times,
found himself battling with Gerrit Visser Jnr and Nicholas van der Walt, who
also managed to repair the bike after a crash in qualifying. Williams rode well
to beat the youngsters take 4th in the race and 1st in class B for one last
time. Danie Maritz took an impressive 2nd place on the pre sling Suzuki. Terry
Smith again had a great race mixing it with class B and breaking out to take
class C honours with Wayne Arendse a little way back.
Tony Sparg shocked the front row of the Vintage superbikes, class D,
Powersport, new era and Biketique BOTTS by putting his vintage Suzuki into 2nd
place on lap 1. Sparg dominated up front for sometime only seconds adrift of
Richard Rens, out on the ex Rob Cragg Kawasaki ZX10 for the first time. A great
battle ensued until Hayden Jonas lost the front end under breaking. Fran
Engelbrecht took advantage of this and cemented a good 2nd place. Another new
rider, Brandon Storey showed signs of what’s to come beating Ray Wilson for a
podium with 3 seconds to spare. Ray only just took 4th with a good show from
David Carr.
Keep your heart medication close by because the up and coming youngsters are giving
the older guys more than a run for their money. Is it possible that the racing
gets more exciting every time out?
Rens, Storey and Engelbrecht were so close in turn 1 it was difficult to say
who took the hole shot. In lap 2 Rens pulled out a gap over the field.
Meanwhile Jonas had fixed the bike, started from the back of the grid and was
pulling off some insane overtaking manoeuvres. Inside, outside makes no
difference to this young lad. Jonas took the lead in turn 3 on lap 4 lost it
through turn 4 and took it back on turn 5 and lost it again down the front
straight. This really shows the power of a 1000cc vs. a 125cc’s corner speed
and breaking differences! The perfect lap for Jonas followed when he closed on
Rens into turn 1, passed on turn 2 and pulled a gap into turn 3 that left Rens
too far adrift to risk a fall by breaking later. Jonas punched the air
victoriously over the line, reminding us of Jordan Weaving’s spectacular racing
last year. Vossie Vosloo in the meantime pushed hard after bike problems,
tussling with Ray Wilson and to try catch Brandon Storey who was just too good.
Once again a nice mix of bikes down the field in different classes all tussling
for line honours.
It's not all up front in such tight racing but my word do we all want to be
there!
Results:
Biketique BOTTS
1st - Ray Wilson, 2nd - Ian Willis, 3rd - Nick van Zyl
Suzuki South Superbikes
Class A - 1st - Malcolm Rapson, 2nd - Trevor Westman, 3rd - Gerrit Visser Jnr
Class B - 1st - Chris Williams, 2nd - Danie Maritz, 3rd - Jacques Brits
Class C - 1st - Terry Smith, 2nd - Wayne Arendse, 3rd - Sean le Grange
Class D - 1st - Fran Engelbrecht, 2nd - Vossie Vosloo, 3rd - David Carr
Vintage Superbikes- 1st - Tony Sparg, 2nd - Casey Wolters , 3rd - Alan Westman
New Era - 1st -John Kosterman, 2 nd -John Kosterman, 3rd -John Kosterman
Powersport - 1st - Brandon Storey , 2nd - Antony Lane, 3rd - Andrew Liebenberg
It was a beautiful winters day for a spot of racing on
Saturday 23rd July for Round 5 of the WP Regional championships which ended in
tragedy after a huge accident in the 2nd race of the Suzuki South ABC
superbikes left a rider in hospital with severe injuries.
At the time of writing, Luca Agostinelli was still in
intensive care with a broken pelvis and severe head injuries. He was awake and
improving by the hour. We wish you a full and speedy recovery and our thoughts
are with Roberto and family.
The bikes were pushed to the front of the queue,
qualifying first and getting the day underway with fantastic battles all the
way through the classes.
Sharl Wasserfall had a blistering start in Race 1 of
Suzuki South Class ABC to take the lead through turn 1 ahead of Malcolm Rapson,
Luca Agostinelli and Ronald Slamet. Lap 2 saw the 1000cc bike take the lead and
although a late charge by Wasserfall, it was Rapson to the flag. Meanwhile
Agostinelli and Slamet were engaged in a ding dong battle as were Nicholas van der
Walt, Warren Guantario and Gerrit Visser.
Trevor Westman, who started from pit
lane on the new BMW S1000RR, battled under braking but still managed to pass
these three and finished fifth behind Slamet.
Chris Williams took 1st in Class B as he battled with the
Class A riders with Jacques Brits coming through in 2nd.
Jannie Stander was out front in Class C leading the way
ahead of Terry Smith, closely followed by Robyn de Goede.
Race 2 was a similar affair but this time Westman was up
to 2nd place by lap 2. He and Rapson were almost a second faster and the gap
widened as similar battles ensued behind. Williams maintained his lead over the
rest of Class B and Jannie Stander took Terry Smith for the lead in Class C on
lap 3.
It was on Lap 6 when drama struck. The power of the BMW put Westman in
the lead on lap 6, and they blitzed past Mike van Rensburg’s spluttering Suzuki
out of turn 1 with Wasserfall, Agostinelli and Slamet 6 seconds back.
As they
came past through the kink between turns two and three, Wasserfall clipped van
Rensburg who went down hard in a cloud of dust. The bike came to rest in the
middle of the track and double waved yellow flags were brought out. It was a
lap later when the 3 youngsters in a tight contest did not have enough warning
to avoid the danger.
Agostinelli slammed into the Suzuki, as Mike looked on
from trackside, sending Luca flying. The impact broke the front-end right off
Agostinelli’s bike and spewed fuel from van Rensburg’s bike which burst into
flames. Agostinelli had a huge impact with the tarmac when he came down.
The
race was finally red flagged and the results stood, as enough of the race had
been completed.
Agostinelli had to be taken to Milnerton Medi-Clinic
where he is recovering from injuries which could have been avoided.
This begs the question.......why did the red flag not
come out sooner?
Ray Wilson took the holeshot streaking away from the line
in Race 1 of the Suzuki South Class D, Powersport, Vintage and New Era classes,
but not for long, as Johan de Goede, Vossie Vosloo and Danie Maritz, who
started from pit lane, moved past upping the pace. After an average start Sean
le Grange powered through and into the lead as he put in some quick laps on the
new Honda 600cc.
Danie Maritz was chasing down le Grange, who slowed on
the last lap as a class X rider, took the flag almost 10 seconds ahead Johan de
Goede, Ray Wilson and young Hayden Jonas all within 6 seconds of each other and
all in different classes. Just a pity Dave Bolding’s Katana could not make the
start as he qualified on a 1m22.6s. Further afield saw two Biketique Botts, a
New Era superbike, a couple of PSP’s and the Vintage Superbike of Tony Jones,
thrown in for good measure, cross the line within 6 seconds of each other. What
a start to the day!
Race 2 had to be the most inspiring of the year as Jonas,
getting a bad start, recovered well to keep up with Ray Wilson, Vossie Vosloo
and Johan de Goede. He found his rhythm quickly and started picking off the
front runners in spectacular style.
It was a masterclass in braking and corner
speed, coming out some four bike lengths ahead and maintaining any advantage
the bigger engines had down the straights. Vossie Vosloo, with only one gear
left, dropped down the field as Sean le Grange made his way to the front.
The last few laps saw Maritz and le Grange, although
capable of up to 4 seconds a lap faster than the small 125cc of Jonas, jostling
about behind Jonas who took the flag 0.1 seconds ahead of Maritz, and le Grange
only 0.05 down.
We hope for the best and look forward to another
hopefully much safer next round.
Overall Results:
Suzuki South Superbikes
Class A – 1st Malcolm Rapson, 2nd Trevor Westman, 3rd
Sharl Wasserfall
Class B – 1st Chris Williams, 2nd Jacques Brits, 3rd Mike
Wilhelmie
Class C – 1st Jannie Stander, 2nd Terry Smith, 3rd Robyn de Goede
As the weather continues to play havoc the regional race at
Killarney on Saturday the 2nd gave the motorcycle section a chance
to play catch up.
The Suzuki South D class, Vintage Superbikes, New Era,
Powersport and the Biketique BOTTS had a very exciting day out with some
of the most spectacular racing so far this year.
Danie “van Killarney” Maritz brought his pre-sling (Suzuki K5) to
the party and put it on poll in tough conditions that saw many a problem.
A seized engine for Vossie Vosloo put him at the back on a
borrowed 400cc to get some track time in and a crash for Ian Gallard saw him
starting from pit lane.
Anthony Lane and Hayden Jonas put in a good lap to push
Chris Leatt off the front row after his crash in practice.
When it came to Race 1 the track was better but still had
patches of standing water. A monumental battle ensued as Leatt, Maritz and
young Hayden Jonas tussled up front for honours.
Positions changed till the flag and Leatt took Race 1 by 0,8
of a second, even though Maritz’s fastest laps were quicker he made a spectacle
of it, edging out Jonas who was 1.2 seconds further back.
Brandon Storey and Andrew Liebenberg also had a hard fought
race and were within half a second of each other to take 2nd and 3rd
in Powersport.
2nd and 3rd in Botts was Jacques Lerm
and Ian Gallard respectively both only managing 7 laps.
John Kosterman was the 2nd across the line in the
new era class, followed by the only D class rider, Johan Joubert a second down
the field and the lone Vintage superbike of Tony Jones 11 seconds further
adrift.
Race 2 was as difficult with the rain back but letting up,
although not long enough for the cars to help create a dry line. Leatt took the
holeshot but lost ground as the race went on.
Maritz and Ant Lane swapped positions lap after lap and
eventually left Leatt for dust as Chris Williams had a fantastic 2nd
race and 1st time out on the 400cc Kawasaki.
Williams was catching Leatt but ran out of laps as Lane
fought helplessly against a substantially faster machine. Danie Maritz took the
flag some 11 seconds ahead of the field.
Biketique Botts saw Chris Leatt take 1st overall
followed by Ian Gallard and Jacques Lerm who missed race 2 due to wet
conditions.
Johan Joubert and Tony Jones were the only riders in class D and
Vintage Superbikes respectively for race 2 again. John Kosterman took 2nd place for the New Era
bikes behind Danie Maritz.
A fantastic day out and a well deserved 1st
overall for Ant Lane, 2nd Hayden Jonas and Brandon Storey in 3rd
place for Powersport.
Round
4 of the WP Regional Motorcycle Championship on June 4th was a
disappointing affair for the riders. An oil slick down the back straight caused
havoc for racers and marshals alike.
The early morning predictions of rain sent riders into a frenzy
to make the right tyre choice for qualifying.
When the rain did start it was a light drizzle getting
progressively worse one could see the track would be too wet for slicks or cut
slicks. As many of them ran up and down asking for advice or changing tyres in
hope, it was left up to the circuit officials to make a difficult decision to
cancel qualifying.
The racing got underway with some cars out on track only to
be brought to a halt with red flags a plenty after an oil spill down the back
straight caused a spectacular “ice skating” show by cars and marshals. With the
track being so wet there was nothing to be done to clean up the spill and after
a long morning the track was deemed unsafe for motorcycles and all events were
cancelled by race control.
While the Suzuki South superbikes ABC class sit out the next
meeting we turn our attention to David McFadden who has had an awesome season
thus far in the Wesbank National Supersport Series. In 8 starts so far he has
taken 5 wins, 2 podium spots and a 5th place. The competition is
tough, riders with international experience push the limits but McFadden’s
talent is shining through. It is great to see a rider come a long way in a
short space of time and we all watch excitedly as a Cape rider leads the way.
We all wish David good luck as he takes on the rest of the
year and here is holding thumbs for a victory filled year ahead. The points table can be downloaded from here.
Good luck to the Biketique BOTTS, Suzuki South
Class D, Vintage Superbikes and Powersport classes who compete on July 2nd.
The gap also gave the Cape riders an opportunity to travel to East London for
an all bike race day which is always enjoyed.
As summer draws to a close and the winter weather forces temperatures down we were fortunate to be blessed with another fantastic day of sunshine and action packed racing for the 3rd round of the WP regionals at Killarney.
The motorcycle section had a new challenge, for some, with the omission of the chicane(bus stop) which has been laid to rest. “Bring on the faster main straight and hard breaking for turn 1”.
This is exactly what happened as the times dropped between 1 and 2 seconds a lap. Even with a bumpy inside section through the sweep, some followed the nationals line while others took a wider but smoother outside line.
Class A as expected with the change in track was battled out by the 1000cc bikes of Trevor Westman and Malcolm Rapson. In race 1 it was open season for Trevor who, other than a missed gear around lap 4 had a perfect race taking the flag with a 3 second lead over Malcolm.
Race 2 was a similar affair, when Westman took the lead there was no stopping him as he took the flag some 5 seconds ahead of Rapson. Luca Agostinelli had a great show mixing it in the front for the 1st lap before power superseded youth and he dropped back lap by lap. A tight battle ensued down the field with Gerrit Visser and Ronald Slamet pushing Agostinelli in race 2. Agostinelli stayed in front to take 3rd overall and 1st in the 600cc class. Visser and Slamet took 2nd and 3rd respectively.
Young Nicholas van der Walt and "old" Mike Wilhelmie had outstanding rides in class B and Class C respectively showing the rest of the field the way with wins in both races and overall honours.
Mark van den Berg returned after a crash in the 1st round but could not catch a flying van der Walt taking 2nd overall. 3rd in class B was a hard task for Chris Williams with a gearbox problem and only 5th gear, circling at a great pace he caught and passed both Shrek Smith and Lee Erasmus, producing some great racing for the spectators with positions changing often. Williams’s determination in the face of aversion paid off as he pushed hard in race 2 lapping only split seconds off his normal lap times to take the position and valuable points.
Jannie Stander got to grips with the new bike and had a lonely ride in 2nd for both races in Class C. Another fantastic battle ensued for 3rd in B between Robyn de Goede and Terry Smith, it was wheel on wheel in both races eventually the newbie to class c, de Goede, took 3rd by only 0.4 of a second to push Smith off the podium.
New rider Jacques Brits on a new BMW 1000RR, still in road trim, steamed out ahead won both races and goes into class C all in his first outing as a racer. It will be a different affair for the next meeting as he mixes it with class B and C. Vossie Vosloo had, other than a poor start in race 2, a perfect day to take 1st in both races and overall for the day extending his lead in the championship. Johan de Goede kept the bike in check taking 2nd in race 1 and 3rd in race 2 landing up 2nd overall. Johan Joubert took 3rd overall as Richard Rens, although 2nd in race 2 did not complete race 1, Joubert’s 4th was enough to take the last place on the podium.
The race of the day could well have been between Hayden Jonas and Andrew Liebenberg in the powersport class. They matched each other lap for lap as Liebenberg took the lead on the faster sections and Jonas came right back under braking and tight cornering.
Jonas kept his head to take a well deserved win in both races but only by an ant hair. Liebenberg even tried to bounce himself over the line in race 2 ahead of Jonas who took it by 0.06 of a second. Anthony Lane took 3rd overall 10 seconds down the field in both races.
Chris Leatt stayed well ahead of the field to take overall honours in the BOTTS class. He takes valuable points from Ray Wilson in the championship. Ashley Aldridge and Peter Baker came in 2nd and 3rd respectively. While Leatt stayed well out front for race 2, Baker got a move on and took 2nd for race 2 and overall and Aldridge came in 3rd.
In the vintage superbikes John Kosterman managed to get his golden oldie over the line in 1st for race 1 but only completed 2 laps in race 2 leaving Tony Sparg to snatch overall victory with a 2nd place in race 1 and a win in race 2. Young Stewart Thom cruised into 2nd overall thanks to Kosterman’s misfortune.
Casey Wolters trundled through to take 4th in race 1 and 3rd in Race 2 giving him 3rd overall for the day.
Exciting times for all classes as the battles continue on 4th June for round 4, let’s hope the weather is kind to the riders and their bikes, the gloves are off and there are no “training wheels” in this section.
The championship points of 2011-04-30 were uploaded. Click here
David McFadden (aka McFlash) gets 2nd overall at WesBank Super Series - Round 3 Scribante, Port Elizabeth on 2011-04-30. Well done David.
Wesbank Super Series Highlights
David McFadden (aka McFlash) wins the second round of the WesBank SA Supersport series held at Killarney. His fastest lap was 1:12.7. Check out the results here. Well done once again David!
Unfortunately our supersonic accountant, Malcolm Rapson, on his 1000cc Honda Fireblade, lost the front end into turn one in race one. The damage to the motorcycle unfortunately stopped him from competing in race two on the day.
David Bolding won the Masters Trophy in the WesBank SA Superbike events and in the process finished seventh overall. To quote David "After thirty years of marriage, this was a walk in the park". Well done David.
R.I.P. Chicane
The best news however, came when MSA announced we will no longer be riding through the chicane at Killarney. It was a long hard battle, but 75% of local riders wanted it removed and it was further backed by a majority of national competitors feeling likewise.
The second round of the 2011 Suzuki South Superbikes saw the circus
come to town, with the national riders turning Killarney on its head as
they used the race to practice for the 1st Cape leg of the Wesbank
National Series.
To add to the show our National power supplier
had problems of their own, the power outages resulted in a scramble
for the bikers to find a source of electricity for tyre warmers.
Running cables left and right and searching for generators was the
order of the morning.
Sheridan Morais, back on a brand new
Kawasaki ZX10, and Greg Geldenhuys on a BMW S1000RR set the precedent
with a blistering pace by qualifying in the low 1min13s. Blistering
indeed, as the temperatures soared into the thirties the questions of
setup and tyres were raised by the top riders.
As the lights
went out in race 1 all was forgotten and the focus shifted to the
traffic jam in turn 1, a mass of 1000cc and 600cc bikes fought for the
perfect line but by lap 2 it was Shez and Greg who led the rest of the
race. Most of the national riders pulled into the pits after lap 7 all
riding in class X so as not to upset the regional championship.
As for the local championship, Malcolm Rapson took advantage of a front row start while David McFadden had to fight his way through the field qualifying on the 3rd row only, behind Luca Agostinelli who with a fall in race 1 and a rare puncture in race 2, could not capitalize on this.
By the end of the race amongst a flurry of national riders it was McFadden from Rapson and an immediate return to form for Trevor Westman in 3rd. Race 2 saw Rapson fighting off McFadden to take the win and sneak the overall 1st place once again. Westman took a well deserved 3rd for the day.
Further down the field in class B, Emile van der Merwe managed to hold out Brandon Haupt and a faster and very consistent Nicholas van der walt in race 1. Bike trouble cost van der Merwe the day when he stopped out on track in race 2. This left it open for Haupt to take the flag and overall honours with van der Walt hot on his back tyre.
Lee Erasmus ran out of laps as
he was catching a slowing Chris Williams who managed to stay far enough in
front to take 3rd for the race and 3rd overall for the
day. Brandon Haupt moves into class A for the next race with a full break out.
Class C produced another ding-dong battle as Terry Smith
outrode the rest of the field in race 1, Mike Wilhelmie and Mike van Rensburg
(fresh from a class D breakout) kept the battle alive to finish within half a
second of each other with the rest of the field right behind them.
Race 2 again
saw Smith losing ground lap by lap to finish 4th but close enough to
take overall honours for the day. A 1st in class for van Rensburg saw
him move into 2nd and another 2nd for Wilhelmie gave him
3rd overall, combined time of both races decides this. Wayne Arendse
took 3rd place in race 2.
David McFadden, Sharl Wasserfall and Gerrit Visser took
1st,2nd and 3rd respectively in the 600cc
championship.
The combined D class, powersport, Vintage superbikes and
Biketique Botts race always produces some great battles.
Chris Leatt and Ray Wilson stormed out front leaving the
field to chase and showing some great positions changes as Leatt took race 1 but
could not catch Wilson in race 2, Leatt managed to stay close enough to take
overall honours for the day as Peter Baker “cruised” into 3rd
place.
Robyn de Goede and Jannie Stander had to ride in class X(new
bikes), both breaking into class C for the next meeting, which left class D wide
open for Vossie Vosloo to take 1st overall with 1 break out, Richard
Rens rode hard to take a 2nd and Donovan Mills grabbed
3rd.
The Powersport class saw Hayden Jonas out front taking the
win in race 1, Anthony lane and Andrew Liebenberg came in 2nd and
3rd respectively. Race 2 took on the same form except for Jonas
having the battle of his life with Tony Sparg, eventually getting over the line
in front with Lane hot on his tracks.
Tony Sparg stayed out front in both races in the Vintage
superbikes and with the battle he had on his hands he was awarded rider of the
day.
An all faster Stewart Thom took 2nd in both heats and overall,
race 1 had Tony Jones in 3rd only to be ousted in race 2 by Casey
Wolters who took 3rd for the day.
Another day of exciting racing and opening the championships
up for a full season ahead. We look forward to round 3.
The championship points of 2011-03-19 were uploaded. Click here.
David McFadden (aka McFlash) wins the first round of the SA Supersport series held at Kyalami. Check out the results here. Well done David!
The championship points of 2011-02-26 were uploaded. Click here.
The first race day of 2011 saw an interesting start to the season. A perfect day for racing brought on action from lights out to chequered flag all day.
Suzuki South has continued its support in sponsoring the motorcycle section once again, with Biketique following their lead and introducing the BOTTS class again. (Almost - Battle Of The Toppies) Although losing a few, the season opener saw the return of some and a good few new faces with hopefully still more to come out of the “garages”.
The weekend came with its usual problems ie: clutch, suspension etc.causing some non starters and others landing up in the dirt in turn 1, including a 2nd crash for the weekend for Sharl Wasserfall and the first for new riders Mark van den Berg and Donovan Mills.
When the racing did get underway properly there were
runaway victories in most classes. As last year’s champ, David McFadden
struggled with setup, Malcolm Rapson took full advantage and full points
for the day with wins in both races in class A. David had to settle for
2nd as he got to grips with the new machine.
Emile van der
Merwe doubled his points for the day and looks like the man to beat in
class B with Chris Williams taking 2nd overall, Nicholas van der Walt
had a good day out on the new bike and will be looking to better his
times.
Class C had a ding dong battle of wits with Terry Smith sneaking in front of Mike Wilhelmi to take honours for the day and a single breakout to class B. The ever calm Wayne Arendse, sporting his new Arai helmet, took 3rd for the day.
Mike van Rensburg started in class D won both races and broke out into class C on debut, a solid ride for Vossie Vosloo in 2nd and the spoils to Richard Rens to take 3rd overall.
The Powersport race once again saw the talented Jordan Weaving leaving the field in a whiff of 125cc fumes as he took both wins. 2nd, 3rd and 4th were only separated by one second at the flag.
The loud and restless gents of biking took to the track in the Vintage Superbikes class with a comeback from the younger Stewart Thom, 3rd overall, being shown the way by the slightly older John Kosterman and Tony Sparg taking 1st and 2nd in both races respectively.
The BOTTS class made a welcome return to the WP regional racing with the main sponsor in Biketique’s Ray Wilson taking honours leading from start to finish in both heats. Chris Leatt forced Peter “sandbag” Baker into third as he struggles to find form early in the season.
The day showed signs of some tough battles for the year ahead. We are all looking forward to a great season.
David McFadden (aka McFlash) gets 2nd overall at WesBank Super Series - Round 3 Scribante, Port Elizabeth on 2011-04-30. Well done David.
Lee Erasmus ran out of laps as
he was catching a slowing Chris Williams who managed to stay far enough in
front to take 3rd for the race and 3rd overall for the
day. Brandon Haupt moves into class A for the next race with a full break out.
Class C produced another ding-dong battle as Terry Smith
outrode the rest of the field in race 1, Mike Wilhelmie and Mike van Rensburg
(fresh from a class D breakout) kept the battle alive to finish within half a
second of each other with the rest of the field right behind them. 
When the racing did get underway properly there were
runaway victories in most classes. As last year’s champ, David McFadden
struggled with setup, Malcolm Rapson took full advantage and full points
for the day with wins in both races in class A. David had to settle for
2nd as he got to grips with the new machine. 
Emile van der
Merwe doubled his points for the day and looks like the man to beat in
class B with Chris Williams taking 2nd overall, Nicholas van der Walt
had a good day out on the new bike and will be looking to better his
times.