Photos by Deon vdl Photography and Jen Venter.
Words by Deon vdl.
Formula K, just off Snake road in Benoni hosted round 3 of the SASCS and decided to put a little twist in the proceedings as they mixed up the track layout. Instead of the usual layout all the riders are used to, they changed it up and ran the track in reverse.Which produced some interesting racing.
Sadly, due various factors like studying for exams and etc. race day did not quite have the usual numbers we are used to, but still enough entries to make for an action packed day. Most riders commented that they really liked the new layout and others found the track to be more technical with more tight twists and corners and a nice long straight towards the finish line.Â
Everybody’s favourite class, the young future stars were up first on the race programme.
PW50 & Novice.
The Novice class only had one entry #08 Carter Walker, although unchallenged he rode well and we could all see there is significant improvement in his riding and confidence and will soon be joining the PW50 class.Â
PW50.
With a great qualifying run the top three riders put in some good times which made things pretty exciting. #17 Liam Bronkhorst took pole position with #39 Ajay Venter and #4 James Nijmeijer beside him.
Heat 1: As the riders headed into turn 1 #238 Liam Smith and Liam Bronhorst went in side by side, with Bronkhorst taking the lead shortly after. James Nijmeijer made his way to 2nd place just as they came around for the second lap. Liam Smith and Ajay Venter had a go for 3rd place when something went wrong with Venters bike that saw the end of his race. #117 Jack Green and #116 Emma Green also had a very close race. #17 Bronkhorst took 1st, #4 Nijmeijer 2nd and #238 Smith 3rd.
Heat 2: #4 Nijmeijer had a good start off the line but had #17 Bronkhorst was right behind him. #238 Smith and #52 Schoeman were locked in a battle for a podium spot when, out of nowhere came #143 Tsebo Mafokate and overtook both riders. The two riders in front of the pack had a very tight race as #17 Bronhorst took the win over Nijmeijer by the slightest of margins, they were followed by #143 Mafokate who took 3rd.
 Heat 3: The last heat Nijmeijer and Bronkhorst were at it again, keeping the fans on the edge all the way to the end, again Bronkhorst managed to take a very close win with Nijmeijer right on his tail in 2nd, #143 Mafokate and #238 Smith had a tough race with Mafokate crossing the line in 3rd. class.
Overall Results.
PW50.
1st #17 Liam BronkhorstÂ
2nd #4 James Nijmeijer
3rd #143 Tsebo Mafokate
Novice. Â
1st #08 Carter Walker
SAMRA NSF100.
It was good having the academy riders back in the SASCS. This academy has given quite a few riders, including The Binder Brothers, a kickstart to racing abroad. After qualifying, the front row stood as follows. #22 Blake Robert, #110 Bohlale Mafokate and #45 Amohelang Phiri.
Heat 1: Saw Mafokate take an early lead, but that was short lived as a mistake caused him to wipe out. Robert took the gift and powered his way to the win. Phiri had no problem sticking it out in 2nd and a great come back saw Mafokate finishing 3rd with #93 Emily Wilson in 4th.
In heat 2: Phiri had a good launch off the line and things got tight in turn one and again Mafokate got his nose in front. Phiri and Robert pushed hard to stick with the front runner before a mistake from Phiri caused him to lose sight of them. Mafoke put in a solid effort but Robert took the lead and kept it for another 1st place with Mafokate on his heels in 2nd with Phiri 3rd and Wilson 4th.
Heat 3: In their last race of the day for SAMRA, Robert was on a different level and could not be caught making it 3 wins out of 3 for the day. Mafokate 2nd, Phiri 3rd and Wilson 4th.
Overall Results:
1st #22 Blake Robert
2nd #110 Bohlale MafokateÂ
3rd #45 Amohelang Phiri
Clubmans, SM2 and SM Masters.
Masters:Â
#23 Terrance Chowles was the only rider to enter this class so it was an uncontested win.
Clubmans:Â
After their 10 minute qualify time was done #12 Simphiwe Mahlobo had the best time, second fastest was the series’ oldest rider at the age of 80 years #69x Neil Heslip and then it was #208 Tjaden Tromp.
Heat 1: #12 Mahlobo had his hands full with the Masters rider Chowles but broke away clear from his Clubmans competitors and got a big win. #69x Heslip placed 2nd and #208 Tromp 3rd.
Heat 2: Mahlobo got into a groove early on in the race as he took the lead, kept it and took the win. Tromp had a better run in this race and got the 2nd spot with Heslip in 3rd.
Heat 3: It became clear as soon as Mahlobo started the last race that he would not be caught and rode his way to a comfortable victory making it three out of three. Taking 2nd was Heslip and Tromp 3rd.
SM2.Â
Taking pole in this class was #707 Treavin Linder, second was #69 Tyler Morgan and #64 Shayne Steenkamp made it an all SM2 front row on the grid.
Heat 1: This was definitely the most exciting race out of the three as Morgan and Linder gave it all they had from the start and gave no quarter until they ran almost side by side over the line, having Morgan take the win by a hair from Linder in 2nd. #64 Steenkamp, a rider who hasn’t seen a short circuit race since they removed the dirt and jumps section from the series, got 3rd.
Heat 2: Morgan made a quick break for the front and held off Linder for most of the race. Linder kept pushing until he got the pass and slipped into the lead and took 1st when the flag came out, Morgan 2nd and Steenkamp 3rd.
Heat 3: Determent to take the top step on the podium Morgan came out swinging and continued with a pace that was just too quick for Linder and Morgan won the race, Linder 2nd and Steenkamp 3rd.
                                          Overall Results.
SM Masters:
1st #23 Terrance Chowles
Clubmans:Â
1st #12 Simphiwe Mahlobo
2nd #69x Neil Heslip
3rd #208 Tjaden Tromp
SM2:
1st #69 Tyler Morgan
2nd #707 Treavin Linder
3rd #64 Shayne Steenkamp
SM Junior 65cc.
The top three riders qualified 0.940sec apart from one another. Right in front was the King Price Extreme Rider #22 Blake Robert, #11x Luca Bergover second and beside him stood #45 Amohelang Phiri.
Heat 1: Not the best of starts for the pole man as he stalled on the line and had to see all the other riders leave without him. #11x Bergover made it to turn one with the lead and #711 Tristan Swart right behind him. Bergover started creating a gap and was running at a good pace. At the back Robert was making up a lot of ground in a very short time as he joined the pack and started overtaking one by one. In no time he had his sights set on Bergover. Then a blow to Bergover as engine failure struck the youngster and Robert took the win. The four way battle for third became a battle for second. #45 Phiri left the rest behind and got 2nd and #26 Ethan de Freitas 3rd.
  Heat 2: fighting the ticking time Berover and his team worked hard and fast to get the bike fixed. The rest of the riders all gathered on the grid with no Bergover in sight, sadly, the race started without him. Phiri and Robert were leading the pack with de Freitas and #40 Lorenzo de Ponte not far behind. Bergover got his bike sorted and joined the race late to try to get some valuable championship points. De Freitas and de Ponte moved into second and third as Phiri fell back. Robert took the win while de Freitas and de Ponte had one last dash for the finish line and de Ponte took 2nd place by a whisker and de Freitas 3rd.
Heat 3: On a hot streak #22 Robert rode like a champ as he started off with de Ponte ahead of him but didn’t stay there for long before he moved to the front and stayed there. De Ponte with an even better race was looking good to take second but Bergover had other plans and passed de Ponte and from there on the two riders duked it out and Begrover managed to stay in 2nd with de Ponte in a very close 3rd.
Overall Results:
1st #22 Blake Robert
2nd #40 Lorenzo de Ponte
3rd #26 Ethan de Freitas
150 Cup & 150 Seniors.
Seniors:Â
Keeping both the King Price Extreme Team’s name and the Robert surname flying high #22 Cayden Robert qualified in pole position, he was joined on the front row by #26 Oratilwe Phiri and #52 Troy Tonking.
Heat 1: #26 Phiri came into turn one on lap 2 in the lead, a lap or two later he tucked the front and crashed out of the lead. Robert just kept his head down and made a b-line for the finish line taking a comfortable win. This left a great race for second place, #21 Arno Erasmus clinched 2nd and in the blink of an eye #52 Troy Tonking crossed in 3rd.
Heat 2: Cayden Robert once again running the wheels off his bike. He opened a gap and never looked back taking another win. #26 Phiri made it to the 2nd spot and Erasmus 3rd.
Heat 3: From the start Robert came out swinging for the fences, he struck it big and it paid off. Oratilwe Phiri had a much smoother run and took 2nd and Erasmus with another 3rd.
150 Cup:Â
It was business as usual in qualifying with #41 Jason van Breda being right on top with #69 Tyler Morgan and he was followed by #110 Bohlale Mafokate.
Heat 1: The racing was intense with a train of 150cc Honda’s all in line throughout, for most of the day. As hard as van Breda tried he could not get rid of Morgan who was right on him. Morgan was not letting van Breda have it easy, van Breda won the race with Morgan behind him in 2nd and #77 Mueez Jassat 3rd.
Heat 2: Again van Breda had Morgan pushing him hard all the way, but still managed to bring his #41 bike across the line in 1st as Morgan rode in at 2nd and #77 Jassat in 3rd.
Heat 3: With such close racing in the first two heats, no one expected the final heat to be even closer….. but it did! Four riders kept together and stayed together throughout the whole race, at times chopping and changing positions but all chasing van Breda. Getting his full points Jason van Breda won, #99 Adam Naidoo in 2nd, #69 Morgan in 3rd and #77 Jassat in 4th. Four bikes crossed the line with just over half a second between them as the chequered flag came out.
                                          Overall Results:
150 Senior:
1st #22 Cayden Robert
2nd #21 Arno Erasmus
3rd #52 Troy Tonking
150 Cup:Â Â Â Â Â Â
1st #41 Jason van Breda
2nd #69 Tyler Morgan
3rd #99 Adam Naidoo
SM Junior 50cc.
The EDF Racing Team rider #26 Ethan de Freitas put in an excellent qualifying to take pole position from #550 Marnitz Otten in second and #11 Zander du Toit in third.
Heat 1: #26 Ethan de Freitas showed why he is the 2024 Championship points leader and powered his bike over the line for the win, #550 Otten placed 2nd and #27 Kiros Taliotes 3rd.
Heat 2: Keeping up his pace from heat 1 de Freitas was again grabbed another 1st, Otten (de Freitas team member) took the flag in 2nd and Taliotes 3rd.
Heat 3: de Freitas made it three in a row for the day with Otten taking a tumble and losing crucial time and position. Taliotes took 2nd and #17 Liam Bronkhorst taking 3rd.
Overall Results:
1st #26 Ethan de Freitas
2nd #27 Kiros Taliotes
3rd #550 Marnitz Otten
SM1 & SM1S.
SM1:Â
Looking in top form #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk qualified on pole, the two and three spots were taken by #1 Aston Nesbitt and #52 Troy Tonking.
Heat 1: A magnificent start by van Nieuwkerk had him take the lead. He seemed to be lightning quick in the first two laps before a tumble in lap three, this left the door open for the reigning champ Nesbitt that took full advantage riding his way to 1st, Tonking 2nd and #21 Arno Erasmus 3rd.
Heat 2: The crash in heat 1 broke van Nieuwkerk’s bike too much and he was unable to join in on the racing in heat 2. Nesbitt held the line for almost the entire race when unexpectedly Troy Tonking passed him to take a very close win, Nesbitt 2nd and #4 Thabang Keswa 3rd.
Heat 3: #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk took to the track for the last race of the day on a bike on loan from Tyler Morgan.racing was hot and close as van Nieuwkerk and Nesbitt turned up the action, but another mistake by van Nieuwkerk saw him giving too much power out the corner and lost the rear and took tumble no.2. Nesbitt took 25 more points, Tonking 2nd and another 3rd for Erasmus.
SM1S:Â
The Weterman twins were quickest after their qualifier with #33 Mitch Mortimer slightly off their pace.
Heat 1: When it came down to business it was Mortimer who took full control and kept the twins behind him when the line was crossed. #31 Luan Weterman 2nd and #30 Ruben Weterman 3rd.
Heat 2: As the guys started to exit turn one they were too close to one another and a collision occurred, Mortimer went down and Luan Weterman was sent flying through the air and falling on his wrist, the race got red flagged and that saw the end of his race day. The race restarted with only two SM1S riders left on track. Mortimer won again and Ruben 2nd.
Heat 3: Ruben Weterman had a good run and got 1st place and Mortimer 2nd.
                                         Overall Results:
SM1:
1st #1 Aston Nesbitt
2nd #52 Troy Tonking
3rd #21 Arno Erasmus
SM1S:
1st #33 Mitch Mortimer
2nd #30 Ruben Weterman
3rd #31 Luan Weterman
Now that was some epic racing. A series that is truly worthy of its presence on the race calendar. See you guys at Round 4, which we are still waiting for confirmation of dates and venues as we publish.
