Photos and race report by Deon vdl Photography.
Friday practice was a beautiful sunny day, Raceday not so much. Saturday was a dark and cloudy day with light rain falling throughout the day. Three cars were sent out on track to try and dry the surface, it worked well enough. Raceday was a go. Two heats completed before lunch, then…. during lunch it rained again, the decision was made that the race will continue for those who are willing to go out in the wet conditions.
Heat 1.
After the qualifier it was the Oosthuizen siblings who stood on the front row, #100 Tanner took pole on his 65cc and #135 Jessica next to her brother on her 85cc.
The young riders took on the somewhat slippery track. #550 Marnitz Otten took an early lead, two laps later it was #26 Ethan de Freitas who took up the front. Otten crashed a few laps later, he still managed to finish the race. De Freitas won the race, Tanner Oosthuizen came through in 2nd place with #27 Kiros Taliotes in 3rd.
Heat 2.
From the start of the race De Freitas was out in front with Taliotes trying to catch him. Otten, Oosthuizen and #14 Quandre Potgieter was fighting for third place, a few laps in, Potgieter lost the front and went down, he got up and continued the race. De Freitas crossed in 1st place, Taliotes finished 2nd and Otten claimed 3rd with Oosthuizen in a close 4th.
Heat 3.
In the last heat most riders on slicks had a difficult run in the wet conditions. De Freitas with his wet tyres took full advantage and stormed the line to secure 1st overall, Oosthuizen also on wets took 2nd. Otten and Taliotes had a close race with Otten claiming 3rd place.
85cc.
#135 Jessica Oosthuizen was the only rider to compete in the 85cc as two of the riders that entered did not make it to the grid.
Overall Results.
SM Junior 65cc.
1st #26 Ethan de Freitas
2nd #100 Tanner Oosthuizen
3rd #27 Kiros Taliotes
SM Junior 85cc.
1st #135 Jessica Oosthuizen.
Heat 1.
#238 Liam Smith took pole with local boy #332 Tate van der Nest standing beside him.
Smith exited turn one in the lead, Tate started lap two as the leader. The young KZN rider Tate van der Nest took 1st place followed by Smith in 2nd and #34 Erik Ferreira in 3rd.
Heat 2.
Smith had a good start and got chased by Tate van der Nest. It took Tate a few laps to pass Smith, then something went wrong and Tate was seen pulling off to the side of the track. Smith pushed on and finished in 1st place, Ferreira got 2nd and #333 Chase van der Nest took 3rd.
Heat 3.
After the rain fall during lunch, the choice was made to call it a day.
Overall Results.
1st #238 Liam Smith
2nd #332 Tate van der Nest
3rd #34 Erik Ferreira
150 cc Junior Cup & 150cc Senior Cup.
(Combined Report.)
Heat 1.
The race was started with #98 Arno Erasmus on pole position and #22 Caden Robert in the second spot.
Erasmus got the holeshot but it was short lived as #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk took the inside line entering the chicane and took the lead. Van Nieuwkerk kept his head down and powered his way over the line for the win, Cayden Robert took 2nd and his younger brother #22 Blake Robert followed in 3rd place.
Heat 2.
The flag dropped and the roar of the 150cc motors echoed through the koppies as the riders stormed the first turn. It was Van Nieuwkerk that led the pack and slowly started pulling away. Erasmus and Blake Robert were in a heated battle for third. Van Nieuwkerk took 1st place, Cayden Robert finished in 2nd and Blake Robert just managed to clinch 3rd.
Heat 3.
At first the 150’s decided not to race the last heat, then right at the end some of them went out to do the last race of the day. Van Nieuwkerk, Tristan Swart and Florian Kroeber stayed in the pits. Cayden Robert dominated the race and took an easy win, Erasmus followed in 2nd and Blake Robert took 3rd place.
Overall Results.
150cc Junior Cup.
1st #22 Blake Robert
2nd #83 Florian Kroeber
3rd #711 Tristan Swart
150cc Senior Cup.
1st #22 Blake Robert
2nd #83 Florian Kroeber
3rd #711 Tristan Swart
Clubmans 2, SM2 & SM Grand Masters.
(Combined Report.)
Heat 1.
The qualifying round was very close 0.088sec between the two fastest riders, #41 Wian Erasmus took pole and next to him was local rider #331 Kyle Robertson.
All eyes were on Robertson as this was his last ever race before his retirement from racing. It was quite exciting watching Erasmus and Robertson going through the first corner side by side. Erasmus took the lead and stayed there for a few laps before being passed by Robertson. Robertson rode his way to the win followed shortly by Erasmus in 2nd place, #9 Kaine Longley the young KZN riders took 3rd.
Heat 2.
From the get go Robertson was out in full force as he started to widen the gap. There were a few good battles throughout the pack. Robertson flew through the laps and crossed the line in 1st place, Erasmus took 2nd and Longley with another 3rd.
Heat 3.
It was clear that Robertson wanted nothing more than to finish his last raceday on a high note. He shot off the line and kept his focus. Erasmus was not going to make it easy for him and went on the attack. The chequered flag came out and Robertson took his third win of the day with Erasmus right behind him in 2nd, #166 Felix Kroeber finished in 3rd place.
Overall Results.
Clubmans 2.
1st #32 Raube Ferreira
2nd #81 Mark Vermeulen
SM2.
1st #41 Wian Erasmus
2nd #9 Kaine Longley
3rd #166 Felix Kroeber
SM Grand Masters.
1st #331 Kyle Robertson
SM Junior 50cc.
Heat 1.
Taking pole position was #4 James Nijmeijer and in the second spot was #17 Liam Bronkhorst.
This class seems to never disappoint when it comes to exciting racing. From the start all the way to the end was full of action. #27 Kiros Taliotes made his way to 1st place, Bronkhorst had a great run and finished in 2nd, #550 Marnitz Otten on a loan bike after his engine seized in the previous round collected 3rd.
Heat 2.
The two riders fighting for the championship Taliotes and Otten were at it again giving no quarter. In the end it was Taliotes that snatched the win with Otten in 2nd followed by Bronkhorst in 3rd.
Heat 3.
The rain threw another spanner in the works as Taliotes and Otten came to a mutual agreement to sit out the last race due to the wet circuit and keep fighting for the championship in the next round. Only Bronkhorst and Nijmeijer went out having a race on their own. They were neck in neck before Bronkhorst took a spill. Nijmeijer won the race and Bronkhorst finished in 2nd place.
Overall Results.
1st #17 Liam Bronkhorst
2nd #4 James Nijmeijer
3rd #27 Kiros Taliotes
Girls Development Cup.
Heat 1.
The girls lined up and were ready to get their raceday started. #135 Jessica Oosthuizen got the lead and kept it all the way to the end to take the win, #35 Macayla Smit got 2nd place.
Heat 2.
The next race had the exact same results with Oosthuizen taking 1st place and Smit finishing 2nd.
Heat 3.
Heat 3 was also canceled due to the rain.
Overall Results.
1st #135 Jessica Oosthuizen
2nd #35 Macayla Smit
SM1 & SM1S.
(Combined Report.)
Heat 1.
The two riders taking up the front two spots was #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk and #52 Troy Tonking.
The top tier class is always kept for last as it produces the best racing of the day. Van Nieuwkerk got the holeshot and started to leave his competitors behind. The rest of the pack had some proper elbow scraping racing. Van Nieuwkerk flew over the line in 1st place, #1 Aston Nesbitt (bike #331 for the day, a loaner as his bike is in hospital after a crash in Polokwane) grabbed 2nd with #33 Mitch Mortimer taking 3rd.
Heat 2.
The flag dropped and the race was on, Van Nieuwkerk was on a pace that just could not be matched as he powered his way through the laps. The flag came out and Van Nieuwkerk took a comfortable win, Nesbitt claimed 2nd and Tonking finished in 3rd place.
Heat 3.
There were three riders that stayed out of the last heat, Van Nieuwkerk, #18 Hunter Dreyer and #69 Tyler Morgan. The rest of the riders made their way to the wet grid. Tonking took the early lead and sped away from the pack, he kept it pinned all the way to the finish line crossing on his back wheel taking 1st place, Nesbitt got his third 2nd on the day and Mortimer took 3rd.
Overall Results.
SM1.
1st #1 Aston Nesbitt
2nd #52 Troy Tonking
3rd #33 Mitch Mortimer
SM1S.
1st #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk
2nd #18 Hunter Dreyer
3rd #69 Tyler Morgan
With only three more rounds to go and still a lot more action to come, don’t miss out on Round 6 at Vereeniging Kart Circuit on the 30th of August.
