Words and photos by Deon vdl Photography.
Extra photos by Jen Venter.
We went along to Polokwane for Round 7 of the SA Short Circuit Series, where 54 riders did battle in the scorching heat. And the racing action was even hotter than usual…
SM Juniors 65cc.
Heat 1.
This was was on fire with the top four riders qualifying just 0.286 seconds apart. Taking pole position was the King Price Extreme Rider #22 Blake Robert and the other riders hot on his heels were #26 Ethan de Freitas, #11x Luca Bergover and #711 Tristan Swart.
As expected the race was full of elbow scraping racing from the top four contenders. It was Bergover who took the chequered flag with Swart in 2nd place and Robert in 3rd with all three riders crossing within a second of each other.
In Heat 2,
Swart bulleted off the line for the hole-shot with the other three hot on his tail but he still managed to open the gap. Swart crossed the line in 1st place with the battle for second still going strong. When the chequered flag came out again it was Robert who took 2nd with Bergover in a close 3rd and #40 Lorenzo de Ponte followed shortly in 4th.
Heat 3.
With the state of the Championship standings, Robert could still win the Championship if he placed in the top three, so this heat was going to go down to the wire. Swart didn’t take this this lying down. He pushed harder than ever and crossed the line for his second win of the day. Robert took 2nd place to secure the 2024 SM Junior 65cc Title. Bergover and De Ponte came down the final straight neck to neck with Bergover just clinching 3rd place.
Overall Results.
1st #711 Tristan Swart
2nd #11x Luca Bergover
3rd #22 Blake Robert (2024 SM Junior 65cc Champion)
PW50.
Heat 1.
Taking pole position was #17 Liam Bronkhorst, next to him was #4 James Nijmeijer and #143 Tsebo Mafokate.
The racing was close and in the end #238 Liam Smith took the win with Nijmeijer in a very close 2nd and Bronkhorst in 3rd.
Heat 2.
A great start had Smith take the holeshot with the rest close behind. In lap two Nijmeijer took second from Bronkhorst and was right behind Smith throughout the entire race. Smith locked down 1st place with Nijmeijer right on his tail in 2nd and Bronkhorst 3rd.
Heat 3.
The closest race in this class, it was a mad dash for the finish line with much position jostling and Smith taking his third win. He was followed by Nijmeijer in 2nd and Bronkhorst in 3rd place.
Overall Results.
1st #238 Liam Smith
2nd #4 James Nijmeijer
3rd #17 Liam Bronkhorst
150 Cup & 150 Seniors.
150 Cup.
Heat 1.
(Only 3 riders in this class)
With both classes out for qualifying, the top six riders qualified within less than a second of each other.
#41 Jason van Breda was the fastest which got him the number three spot on the mixed classes grid.
He was leading his class when he tucked the front in on lap one and crashed out of the race. #99 Adam Naidoo took the lead and rode his way to the win, #110 Bohlale Mafokate placed 2nd.
Heat 2.
Van Breda had to start the race on the back of the grid but had no trouble getting to the front in the first lap, Naidoo tried to sneak up the inside line of Van Breda and they touched, sending him sliding, Van Breda kept his bike upright but had to continue with a broken gear lever. while all this was going on, Mafokate took the opportunity to grab the win, Van Breda crossed in 2nd with Naidoo in 3rd place.
Heat 3.
A good start had Van Breda taking an early lead on his battle scarred bike. Mafokate pushed Van Breda hard the entire race, but Van Breda was too quick, taking the win to become the 2024 150 Cup Champion.
Mafokate took 2nd place with Naidoo in 3rd.
150 Seniors.
Heat 1.
King Price Extreme Rider #22 Cayden Robert took pole with #57 Diego de Ponte in second.
Robert took the hole-shot and De Ponte gave Robert no breathing room as the fight for first place got heated. Robert kept the lead and took the win, De Ponte crossed in a close 2nd and #21 Arno Erasmus took 3rd.
Heat 2.
De Ponte took charge from the start only to lose out to Robert in the third lap. De Ponte retaliated in short order taking back the lead. During the last lap Robert passed De Ponte to lock down the win, De Ponte took 2nd place and Erasmus placed 3rd.
Heat 3.
This is a very important heat for Robert with the championship on the line.
De Ponte pipped everybody of the mark, De Ponte’s lead was lost in the fourth lap as Robert passed him and kept his head down riding to victory and was crowned the 2024 150 Senior Champion. De Ponte secured 2nd place and #26 Oratilwe Phiri finished 3rd.
Overall Results.
150 Cup.
1st #110 Bohale Mafokate
2nd #99 Adam Naidoo
3rd #41 Jason van Breda (2024 150 Cup Champion)
150 Seniors.
Clubmans & Girls Development Cup.
Clubmans.
Heat 1.
The Front row of the Clubmans grid was made up of #17 Jarrod Geypen, #35 Macayla Smit and #168 Steffan Grandmaison.
Geypen made an early break as he opened a gap between himself and the rest of the pack to secure the win, Grandmaison placed 2nd with #69 Neil Heslip in 3rd.
Heat 2.
Geypen took 1st place again, Grandmaison crossed in 2nd followed by Heslip in 3rd.
Heat 3.
Geypen took a third win for perfect day. Grandmaison claimed 2nd and Heslip took 3rd place.
Girls Development Cup.
Heat 1
(Only 2 girls in this class – c’mon ladies – get out there and race)
Macayla Smit took an early lead in her class and took the win, #135 Jessica Oosthuizen had a great battle with Clubmans Rider Neil Heslip and crossed in 2nd place.
Heat 2.
Saw Smit match her pace from heat one for another 1st place. Oosthuizen placed 2nd.
Heat 3.
Smit crossed the line for the win with Oosthuizen taking 2nd place after a properly good dice with veteranHeslip in the Clubmans class.
Overall Results.
Clubmans.
Girls Development Cup.
SM Junior 50cc.
Heat 1.
Ethan de Freitas changed his usual number 26 for shiny golden #1 as he had already secured the 2024 SM Junior Championship in Round 6. De Freitas started from pole position and was joined on the front line by #27 Kiros Taliotes and #550 Marnitz Otten.
Taliotes took the holeshot with Otten and De Freitas close behind. De Freitas took the lead in the fourth lap with Taliotes and Otten battling for second. In the sixth lap Taliotes lost the front and slid out, but with lightning speed he was back on the bike and kept on racing now finding himself in a duel for third with #100 Tanner Oosthuizen. De Freitas finished in 1st , Otten took 2nd and Taliotes clinched 3rd by just 0.321 sec over Oosthuizen in 4th.
Heat 2.
Otten took the lead off the line and made sure to keep his team mate behind him all the way to the end. De Freitas followed in 2nd with Taliotes in 3rd place.
Heat 3.
Otten got the holeshot and pushed to keep De Freitas behind him again, until the second last lap when De Freitas took the lead and took the win, Otten followed shortly in 2nd place with Taliotes in 3rd.
Overall Results.
1st #1 Ethan de Freitas
2nd #550 Marnitz Otten
3rd #27 Kiros Taliotes
SM1, SM1S, SM2 & SM Masters.
(With 17 riders in four classes, race reports are combined.)
Heat 1.
The qualifying times were close. The fastest three were #1 Aston Nesbitt, #171 Taigh Janse van Rensburg and #52 Troy Tonking. (#1 Aston Nesbitt won the 2024 SM1 Championship in Round 6 and #30 Ruben Weterman won the 2024 SM1S Championship also in Round 6.)
As the flag dropped the riders roared off the line. It took a while for the riders to divide into groups with each group having their own battles. Up in front J.V Rensburg was leading with Nesbitt in hot pursuit. In the fourth lap Nesbitt took control of the race and stormed the line J.V Rensburg took 2nd place with Tonking in 3rd.
Heat 2.
Nesbitt had a great launch putting him into the lead, J.V Rensburg had a few good goes at Nesbitt but was denied, Nesbitt showed the other riders exactly why he is a two time champion as he took 1st place. J.V Rensburg collected another 2nd with Tonking following in 3rd. Just behind them a battle took place for fourth position it was a close one with #30 Ruben Weterman clinching 4th and #34 Diego de Ponte in a close 5th.
Heat 3.
There were a few times that Nesbitt and J.V Rensburg changed positions with Nesbitt taking the lead back on the fifth lap before slowly pulling away. A bad start from Tonking saw him dropping a few spots. He got tangled up in a three way battle for third with #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk and Ruben Weterman. De Ponte joined the fight not long after when a mistake from Van Nieuwkerk took him out of the battle.
Nesbitt crossed the line for his third win of the day, J.V Rensburg placed 2nd and Tonking won the battle for 3rd place.
Overall Results.
SM1.
1st #1 Aston Nesbitt (2024 SM1 Champion)
2nd #52 Troy Tonking
3rd #34 Diego de Ponte
SM1S.
1st #171 Taigh Janse van Rensburg
2nd #30 Ruben Weterman (2024 SM1S Champion)
3rd #31 Luan Weterman
SM2.
1st #69 Tyler Morgan
2nd #21 Conrad Nieuwoudt
3rd #213 Steffan Grandmaison
SM Masters.
1st #43 Quinton Van wyk
2nd #41 Wian erasmus
3rd #121 Shaun Pietersen
After so much epic racing in the penultimate round, we can’t wait to see what the final round has in store. Don’t miss the last round for the year. Round 8 will be held at one of the series’ favourite tracks, Vereeniging Kart Circuit on the 30th of November. See you all then.
