Photos and race report by Deon vdl Photography.
Round 2 of the South African Short Circuit Series was nothing but action throug the whole day! Formula K had three different track layouts for the racers.
The 150cc, Clubmans, Girls Development Cup and the SuperMotard riders had a challenging 2.1km layout that produced speeds like never before…
Raceday started with the youngsters of the PW50 Class.
Heat 1.
After completing their qualifying run, the front row had a time difference of less than a second.
#14 Zian Andalaft stood on pole position, #39 Ajay Venter was on spot number two and next to him was #238 Liam Smith.
The little engines roared as they got underway. The battle for 1st place changed hands a few times and in the end, Smith crossed the line for the win. Venter took 2nd with Andalaft finishing in 3rd place.
In Heat 2, Smith had a great start and took an early lead. Venter and Andalaft had to fight for 2nd.
#143 Tsebo Mafokate and #218 Tyler Purificati duked it out for the 4th spot. Smith claimed 1st place, Andalaft clinched 2nd with Venter in a very close 3rd.
Mafokate just managed to take 4th followed shortly by Purificati.
Heat 3.
It was another great race by the kids as they stormed through the track.
Three bikes came around the last corner as they made their way to the chequered flag, Smith took his third win and was quickly followed by Andalaft in 2nd and Venter in 3rd place.
Overall Results.
1st #238 Liam Smith
2nd #14 Zian Andalaft
3rd #39 Ajay Venter
SM Junior 65cc.
Heat 1.
As the lights went out, they were off. #26 Ethan de Freitas got the holeshot and entered turn one in the lead. He kept his composure and rode all the way to the win #550 Marnitz Otten crossed in 2nd place. #14 Quandre Potgieter and #13 Lungisile Tom had a few hiccups in the race with Potgieter taking the 3rd spot, Tom finished 4th.
In Heat 2, De Freitas started to pull away from the other riders. Otten was running unchallenged in second. Potgieter and Tom were having a go at each other before bad luck struck Tom. De Freitas took an easy 1st place with Otten crossing in 2nd. Potgieter placed 3rd with Tom in 4th.
Heat 3.
EDF Team mates Otten and De Freitas had a good old fashioned brawl as they took the fight to each other, neither letting up. Otten was in the lead when a couple of laps in, a mistake caused him to crash out of the lead. Potgieter and Tom passed Otten and had a great battle for second. De Freitas got his perfect day as he took his third win. Tom’s pace was quick enough to claim 2nd with Potgieter taking 3rd.
Overall Results.
1st #26 Ethan de Freitas
2nd #550 Marnitz Otten
3rd #14 Quandre Potgieter
150cc Juniors & 150cc Seniors.
150 Juniors.
Heat 1.
After qualifying #110 Bohlale Mafokate was the only Junior rider to make it onto the first row of the grid.
He was having a great run up front when his chain snapped sending him down and out of the race…
The race was red flagged and restarted. #40 Lorenzo de Ponte gave it his all and finished in 1st place, #22 Blake Robert took 2nd and #74 Tristan Andalaft got 3rd.
Heat 2.
With the fitment of a new chain, Mafokate was back on the grid and eager to have another go whih he did with gusto. He soon found himself in the lead and didn’t look back. He took the flag for the win, De Ponte claimed 2nd with Robert placing 3rd.
Heat 3 saw Mafokate in the lead again, but this time De Ponte was closing the gap with every lap. When the flag came out, Mafokate crossed in 1st with De Ponte following in 2nd place. Robert came through with another 3rd.
150cc Seniors.
Heat 1.
#22 Cayden Robert ran a good time in qualifiers to secure pole position.
The buzz echoed through the air as the 150cc bikes started their race, 14 bikes made their way into the first corner cleanly. Robert up in front, had the whole pack trying to chase him down. He kept a clean race line as he grabbed the win.
#99 Adam Naidoo finished in 2nd with #26 Oratilwe Phiri taking 3rd place.
In Heat 2, Naidoo had an incredible start as he took an early lead. Robert was hot on his tail as the two front runners kept things very close.
Naidoo kept his cool as he went on the defensive. Coming down the final straight was neck and neck as Naidoo clinched 1st place.
Robert was right there next to him in 2nd with Phiri placing 3rd.
In Heat 3, Robert, out to prove his worth made sure to make his way to the front early on, this time with Naidoo giving chase. As the laps fell away, Robert was just too quick to be caught. He claimed 1st overall. Naidoo did well to cross in 2nd with Phiri in 3rd.
Overall Results.
150cc Juniors.
1st #40 Lorenzo de Ponte
2nd #22 Blake Robert
3rd #110 Bohlale Mafokate
150cc Seniors.
1st #22 Cayden Robert
2nd #99 Adam Naidoo
3rd #26 Oratilwe Phiri
Girls Development Cup.
Heat 1.
#35 Macayla Smit was all smiles as she stood proud on pole position. #93 Emily Wilson didn’t have the best of starts as the pack left without her, but it didn’t take long for her to get going and catch up.
A few laps into the race, Wilson came from behind and took the lead. The yellow flag came out as Wilson lost the front and crashed out of the race. Smit then rode her way to take the win.
#135 Jessica Oosthuizen grabbed 2nd and #43 Naledi Ntwari finished in 3rd place.
In Heat 2, everything started off well and the race was soon in full swing, but towards the end of the race, Smit and Wilson collided and both went down hard.
This caused a red flag that brought an end to the race. The results are being protested and unfortunately we are unable to give any results at this time.
Heat 3. With only Oosthuizen and Ntwari out on the grid, the two riders had a good dice with Oosthuizen taking the win and Ntwari taking 2nd place.
Overall Results.
(As at the end of the day the results are as follows, results may change once the protest has been resolved.)
1st #135 Jessica Oosthuizen
2nd #43 Naledi Ntwari
3rd #35 Macayla Smit
Clubmans.
C1.
An unfortunate early retirement for #29 Eric Cook due to technical difficulties left #21 Arno Erasmus as the only C1 rider for the day.
C2.
Heat 1.
#17 Jarrod Geypen found himself taking up pole position and from the moment the race started he pulled off and left the other riders to play catch-up.
Geypen rode his Kawasaki 400 Ninja like a pro and took an easy win. #32 Raube Ferreira came through in 2nd place wi8th #104 Wayne Morgan finishing in 3rd.
In Heat 2, Geypen had no intention of giving his competitors any reprieve as he came flying off the line for the holeshot. He took the flag for his second win.
#43 Augustin Ntwari took the fight to Morgan for second place, there were a couple of close calls but it was Morgan who just managed to take 2nd with Ntwari close behind in 3rd Place.
Heat 3.
Geypen was on a roll again as he just took up the front, C1 rider Erasmus gave him a good run for his money though.
Still, Geypen glided over the line and got his perfect day. Morgan and Ntwari were at it again pushing each other harder than before. They entered the last turn almost side by side with Ntwari taking 2nd place and Morgan having to settle with 3rd.
Overall Results.
C1.
1st #21 Arno Erasmus
C2.
1st #17 Jarrod Geypen
2nd #104 Wayne Morgan
3rd #43 Augustin Ntwari
SM Junior 50cc.
Heat 1.
After qualifying, the front row was occupied by #550 Marnitz Otten on pole, #100 Tanner Oosthuizen and #27 Kiros Taliotes.
All the riders exited turn one cleanly and their race was on the go…
Until – a few laps into the race Oosthuizen high sided and crashed. He lost valuable time, but still got back on the bike and continued racing.
Two laps after Oosthuizen’s crash on the very same corner #52 Declan Schoeman went down, he got up quickly and carried on. Otten finished the race in 1st place, Taliotes took 2nd and #17 Liam Bronkhorst collected 3rd.
Heat 2.
It was clear that Otten was on another level on race day . He rode the wheels off his Husqvarna. Oosthuizen came from the back of the pack and soon found himself in the fight for third, when bad luck struck again and another big crash had him out of the race.
Otten claimed the win with Taliotes crossing in 2nd and Bronkhorst taking 3rd place.
Heat 3.
Otten again took an early lead, but we think he took things a little too easy. Taliotes passed him and stole the win. Otten took 2nd and #4 James Nijmeijer followed in 3rd place.
Overall Results.
1st #550 Marnitz Otten
2nd #27 Kiros Taliotes
3rd #17 Liam Bronkhorst
SM1, SM1S, SM2, SM Masters & SM Grand Masters.
(Combined Results)
Heat 1.
With 16 riders taking their place on the grid, the front row was as follows:
#13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk (who entered both the SM1 and SM1S Classes with a standard bike.) on pole. #1 Aston Nesbitt. #52 Troy Tonking.
It was quite something seeing so many bikes entering the very fast turn one with no incident. There were a couple of great battles throughout the field that made for some great entertainment. A couple of laps in Tonking crashed and we had a red flag, the race was restarted.
Van Nieuwkerk took the lead again and made his way to the finish line claiming 1st place.
Tonking took 2nd with #171 Taigh Janse van Rensburg filling the 3rd step.
Heat 2.
As the race was getting on the way, Nesbitt and Van Nieuwkerk entered a turn side by side and touched. Van Nieuwkerk went down, but as quickly as he went down he was back up and on his way. Shoulder to shoulder the riders continued to race until the chequered flag came out and waved Janse van Rensburg in as the winner.
Tonking placed 2nd and Van Nieuwkerk took 3rd place.
Nesbitt had a good run but was penalised 15 seconds for a jump start placing him in 8th.
Heat 3.
The final race made for the best entertainment of the day. Riders pushing incredible speeds, sliding their bikes into corners and overtakes that made the heart skip a beat.
The riders completed more that 80% of the race when Tonking’s brakes overheated and he slammed into Van Nieuwkerk sending them both flying! Tonking’s bike actually flipped over the fence!
Amazingly, both riders walked away with no serious injuries. This saw the red flag make yet another appearance. Because the race was more than 80% completed the results were taken from the last completed lap.
Janse Van Rensburg got 1st place, Van Nieuwkerk took 2nd and Tonking placed 3rd.
Overall Results.
SM1.
1st #171 Taigh Janse van Rensburg
2nd #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk
3rd #52 Troy Tonking
SM1S.
1st #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk
2nd #63 Thabang Keswa
3rd #18 Hunter Dreyer
SM2.
1st #707 Treavin Linder
2nd #213 Steffan Grandmaison
3rd #88 Frank Engelbrecht
SM Masters.
1st #183 Werner Linder
SM Grand Masters.
1st #121 Shaun Pietersen
This raceday was most definitely one that will not be forgotten! Now, we get to look forward to Round 3 as we head back to Vereeniging on the 31st of May.
See you there!
