South Africa Short Circuit Series | SASCS

Words by Sean Hendley

Photo credit: Eugene Botes and SASCS

There is a little town in the Kalahari called Hotazel, (hot as ‘ell), where the average temp is around 41 degrees centigrade… in the shade- That would have been a much welcomed relief from the blistering temperatures the riders, support crew and spectators had to deal with at VKC during the last round of the of the SASCS for 2023.The sun was out in full force, the racers were raring to go right from the word go, with some serious action right from practice and qualifying.

Championship contender Ryan van Nieuwkerk pushed hard in practice and took a huge tumble. Blake Robert had a spectacular off in the first heat. Thankfully both riders walked away from both crashes. Racing was thick and fast for the whole day; this is a super slick event with excellent control and planning. The senior marshal for the day at VKC was a very strict Oomie who took no nonsense from anyone, his marshals were on point, the medic was on his toes and everybody toed the line. As the last rider of each race exited the track the next class was lined up almost instantaneously and were underway within minutes. It has to be this way with so many classes and heats to get through for the day.

As a first timer, I was a little bit confused by the Brolly Dollies on the grid. My colleagues at the office keep telling me they are really a very pretty bunch of “Lookers” …???? All I saw were a bunch of hairy legged, moderately portly blokes in Christmas pyjamas…. WTF?? The guys in the office do have some strange fetishes.

Otherwise, albeit it a bit quieter than the usual numbers and fanfare it was a lekker day out for the whole family, with families supporting from the side lines and wearing championship winners T-shirts for their favourite riders. Lots of smiling faces everywhere, mostly keeping to the shade where they could. Next year should be fantastic if this is what they consider to be a quiet racing weekend.