Cape Town - Round four of the 2016 SuperGP national motorcycle championship at Killarney on Saturday delivered some of the most exciting racing seen on a South African circuit in years.
Mathew Scholtz on the ETR Nashua R1 took both premier-class SuperGP races, setting a new lap record in the process and increasing his lead in the championship – but he was made to work hard for the silverware in both outings.
Scholtz headed an all Yamaha front row after Friday qualifying with Clint Seller (Neolife R1) and Michael White (Consortium R1) joining him. Nicholas Grobler, in his first SuperGP outing on the Golden Mile R1, headed the second row of the grid with the Kawasakis of Greg Gildenhuys and local hero Brandon Haupt alongside him.
When the lights went out at the start of Race 1 Scholtz got the hole shot - but his lead didn’t last long, as Seller forced his way through going into the fast Malmesbury sweep and Scholtz lost a couple of places after having to sit up.
He worked his way back to second and, when Seller began experiencing problems, took the lead in Turn 5 and slowly pulled away from the chasing pack. Gildenhuys finished second, ahead of White, who fought his way back through the field after dropping back at the start, with Seller fourth on an unhappy bike.
Capetonian Lance Isaacs (LIR Motorrad S1000RR), who admitted he’d had one of his worst ever qualifying sessions, fought his way up from 10th on to fifth, a bike length ahead of Grobler, and first in the Supermasters Class.
White led the way in the early stages of Race 2, after a magic start and a gutsy move in Turn 1, with Seller and Scholtz in hot pursuit. When they caught the back markers, the order changed as Scholtz used them to his advantage to take the lead while White fared worst, dropping down to fourth behind Seller and Gildenhuys.
And that’s the way they came home after 18 thrilling, closely fought laps, with Brent Harran (MVC Marketing ZX10-R) and Grobler rounding out the top six.
Super600
Adolf Boshoff continued his run of pole positions in the Super600 class, lapping more than half a second quicker than anybody else, with two local riders, Warren Guantario on the Mad Mac’s ZX-6R, who was competing in the regional class, and Hayden Jonas, who was riding Steven Odendaal’s Petra Yamaha R6 for the weekend, making up the front row. Blaze Baker (Uncle Andy GSX-R600) headed the second row with the Kawasakis of Alex van den Berg and Jesse Boshoff alongside him.
Boshoff led the way from the start of Race 1, taking advantage of a furious battle for second to pull a slight but crucial lead, while Baker got the better of that scrap to take second ahead of Guantario, who was running under Regional rules.
Fourth on the road but third on the podium was local hero Van den Berg, while Jonas, not entirely comfortable on the Yamaha, settled for fourth. Boshoff just managed to hang on to fifth, finishing a bike length ahead of Capetonian teenager Kewyn Snyman on the Inex ZX-6R.
Neither Baker nor Boshoff would give an inch at the start of Race 2, as they banged elbows and fairings diving into the first corner. Baker got the best of it and led out of Turn 1 with Boshoff tucked in behind him. Normal service was soon resumed however, as Boshoff used the Yamaha’s top-speed advantage to pass Baker’s Suzuki. Nevertheless, he was unable to pull away and the two were never more than a couple of bike lengths apart for the entire 15 laps.
Boshoff took the win, although Baker had the satisfaction of posting the day’s fastest Super600 lap. Guantario again took the regional class win, finishing third on the road, while Jonas improved to fourth overall, claiming the third spot on the Super600 podium.
Jesse Boshoff, Snyman and Nicole van Aswegen (Women in Motorsport Daytona 675) rounded out the top six.
SuperJuniors
Tyreece Robert was the quickest of the SuperJunior brigade in qualifying, taking pole from Cape Town’s championship leader Brandon Staffen and Dominic Doyle. Aiden Liebenberg was next up, heading the second row of the grid from local boy Jared Schultz and Luca Coccioni (RAD KTM).
Killarney’s long back straight lends itself to slipstreaming and the KTM 390 riders used that to full advantage, with the lead changing on almost every lap. Race 1 developed into a four-way battle, with Staffen in front when it counted, ahead of Robert, Schultz, Liebenberg, Chase Hulcher and Coccioni.
The dice was even closer in Race 2 with the top five riders crossing the line within half a second after 12 laps of racing. Liebenberg won the charge to the line out of the final corner, from Schultz and Staffen – who later found he’d blown a head gasket. Robert was a fraction of a second further back, just ahead of Doyle, with Coccioni in sixth again.
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our Newsletter