Formula K: Short Circuit Series Round 5 Report

Battling It Out At Formula K

Words and Photos by Deon vdl Photography.

Raceday didn’t see the best number of entries, but the action certainly did not disappoint.

The lower numbers are due to MSA starting their own short circuit series which has, sadly divided the riders as to which series to compete in.

The Supermotard class received a big shake-up, with riders starting all three heats with a good old-fashioned Le Mans start, making for some epic racing. We even had the EMX Africa Team out putting on wheelie and freestyle demonstrations. All in all, it was a fun day.

PW50.

Heat 1.

Three youngsters lined up on the grid: #34 Erik Ferreira, new rider #5 Dennis Nijmeijer and young lady #28 Elaine Opperman. They ran their bikes off the line and were away. Ferreira got the early lead and held it all the way to the finish to take the win, with Nijmeijer grabbing 2nd and Opperman 3rd.

Heat 2.

Not far into the race, Nijmeijer crashed, bringing out the red flag which resulted in a restart. Ferreira came off the line and was once again the race leader, crossing the finish line in 1st place. Nijmeijer took 2nd, with Opperman in 3rd.

Heat 3.

There was no stopping Ferreira as he flew through the laps and completed a perfect day by winning all three races. Nijmeijer claimed 2nd, followed by Opperman in 3rd.

Overall Results.

1st #34 Erik Ferreira

2nd #5 Dennis Nijmeijer

3rd #28 Elaine Opperman

150cc Junior & 150cc Senior.

150cc Junior.

Only one Junior made it to the grid (splitting the series makes no sense). #74 Tristan Andalft didn’t let this faze him at all, he went out and gave some of the Senior riders a tough time. Andalaft took 1st overall.

150cc Senior.

Heat 1.

With all the bikes on their spots, the riders waited for the lights and roared into action.

#13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk wasted no time getting into the lead and quickly began pulling away. Behind Van Nieuwkerk, a group of five riders were duking it out: #22 Cayden Robert, #41 Jason van Breda, #31 Thabang Keswa, #27 Tristan Potgieter and Junior rider Andalaft kept things interesting. Van Nieuwkerk took 1st place, while Keswa finished 2nd after a hard battle with Van Breda in 3rd.

Heat 2.

Once again, Van Nieuwkerk shot off the line and left the other riders to battle amongst themselves. And what a battle it was, with elbows being scraped all the way to the finish. Van Nieuwkerk took the win, Van Breda claimed 2nd and Potgieter finished 3rd.

Heat 3.

Van Nieuwkerk was on fire, breaking his own lap record by a second with a lap time of 1:16.369. Needless to say, he went on to take all three wins on the day. Van Breda and Keswa battled throughout the race, with Van Breda making his way over the line in 2nd and Keswa crossing just 0.314 seconds later in 3rd.

To Ryan and Jason, all the best of luck at the Red Bull Rookies!!!

Overall Results.

150cc Junior.

1st #74 Tristan Andalft

150cc Senior.

1st #13 Ryan van Nieuwkerk

2nd #41 Jason van Breda

3rd #31 Thabang Keswa

SM Junior 65cc & 85cc.

SM Junior 85cc.

#100 Tanner Oosthuizen made his comeback to SASCS but was faced with no 85cc competition. He went out and still gave it his all, taking 1st overall.

SM Junior 65cc.

Heat 1.

The reigning champ, #1 Ethan de Freitas, got a great start and had no trouble getting to the front. A couple of laps in, the pack had spread out around the circuit. De Freitas crossed the line in 1st place, #550 Marnitz Otten finished 2nd, with #17 Liam Bronkhorst taking 3rd.

Heat 2.

De Freitas was in top form, keeping it pinned from start to finish and crossing the line in 1st. Otten maintained his position with another 2nd-place finish, followed by Bronkhorst in 3rd.

Heat 3.

It was another good race for De Freitas as he powered his way to a perfect day, claiming 1st overall. Otten finished 2nd and Bronkhorst crossed the line in 3rd.

Overall Results.

SM Junior 85cc.

1st #100 Tanner Oosthuizen

SM Junior 65cc.

1st #1 Ethan de Freitas

2nd #550 Marnitz Otten

3rd #17 Liam Bronkhorst

Super 600cc & Clubmans.

Super 600cc.

Heat 1.

There were two riders taking on the technical Formula K circuit: #33 Aston Nesbitt and #12 Simphiwe Mahlobo. Mahlobo held the lead for a few laps before Nesbitt took control and rode to victory. Mahlobo finished 2nd.

Heat 2.

This time around, Mahlobo was not going to give Nesbitt the win. He rode his heart out, keeping Nesbitt at bay throughout the race. Mahlobo did what he set out to do and took 1st place, with Nesbitt in 2nd.

Heat 3.

Mahlobo had a great final race, pulling away to secure another victory and the top step of the podium. Nesbitt took 2nd.

Clubmans.

Heat 1.

The Clubmans shared the track with the Super 600 class.

#277 Dalmain van Rooyen quickly got to the front and kept the hammer down. Behind him, #60 Martyn Parry had to fend off #43 Augistin Nywari and #104 Wayne Morgan. Van Rooyen crossed the line in 1st place, Parry finished 2nd, followed by Ntwari in 3rd.

Heat 2.

Van Rooyen had to keep his cool with Parry right behind him. Ntwari and Morgan were duking it out for third. Van Rooyen grabbed the win, with Parry not far behind in 2nd and Ntwari finishing 3rd.

Heat 3.

Van Rooyen did it again, grabbing the lead and holding it to claim a clean sweep for the day. He finished 1st, while Parry’s consistency earned him 2nd and Ntwari another 3rd.

Overall Results.

Super 600.

1st #12 Simphiwe Mahlobo

2nd #33 Aston Nesbitt

Clubmans.

1st #277 Dalmain van Rooyen

2nd #60 Martyn Parry

3rd #43 Augistin Nywari

SM Junior 50cc.

Heat 1.

In the SM Junior 50cc class, #52 Declan Schoeman only needed a couple of points to walk away with the Championship Title, but #34 Erik Ferreira had no intention of letting that happen in Round 5. #28 Elaine Opperman took the holeshot with Ferreira hot on her heels. Schoeman found himself at the back and had to play catch-up. When the flag came out, Ferreira took the win, Schoeman finished 2nd and Opperman 3rd.

Heat 2.

Things became quite intense between Ferreira and Schoeman, with Schoeman snatching the win by just 0.215 seconds ahead of Ferreira in 2nd and Opperman in 3rd.

Heat 3.

Ferreira had no intention of letting Schoeman leave Formula K with the 2026 Title. Schoeman also didn’t have his best race. Ferreira took another win, with Opperman in 2nd and #14 Kaleb Momberg in 3rd.

Overall Results.

1st #34 Erik Ferreira

2nd #52 Declan Schoeman

3rd #28 Elaine Opperman

Rookies 150cc & Girls Development Cup.

Rookies 150cc.

Heat 1.

From the start, #550 Marnitz Otten led the pack, with #17 Liam Bronkhorst and #26 Ethan de Freitas in tow. Otten didn’t look back as he rode to 1st place, Bronkhorst crossed in 2nd, followed by De Freitas in 3rd.

Heat 2.

This race was insane. Otten and Bronkhorst went toe to toe in one of the best races of the day. Otten was in the lead with Bronkhorst right behind him. Things were looking good for Otten until the very last corner. With a backmarker looming ahead, Otten passed the rider, but Bronkhorst was now even closer. Otten opened the throttle wide coming out of the final corner, but the rear slid out right in front of the finish line. To make matters worse, he simply could not get the bike back up.

Bronkhorst was gifted the win, followed by De Freitas in 2nd and #39 Ajay Venter in 3rd.

Heat 3.

Otten took another blow after unseen damage from his Heat 2 crash caused problems. He started his sighting lap and, halfway through, pulled the front brake, only to watch as the brake lever broke and fell to the floor, ending his raceday there and then.

This left Bronkhorst gunning for the win, and he did just that, securing 1st overall. De Freitas took 2nd and Venter 3rd.

Girls Development Cup.

Heat 1.

The Girls class saw a new rider on the grid, #40 Sheree Tredoux, who took part in her first race ever. The reigning champ, #1 Jessica Oosthuizen, wasted no time getting to the front. On lap 5, Tredoux took a tumble. She was okay, but the bike was not so fortunate, bringing an end to her first heat. Oosthuizen won the race, with #43 Naledi Mtwari in 2nd place.

Heat 2.

Firstly, I need to say well done to Savannah Taylor. She was part of Tredoux’s pit crew and, after Tredoux’s crash, Savannah rushed off to get spare parts so they could repair the bike and get it ready. She managed to get it back on track in time for the next race.

Oosthuizen’s pace was simply too fast for the other riders as she stormed to 1st place. Ntwari finished 2nd and Tredoux took 3rd.

Heat 3.

Oosthuizen led the entire race, not only against the girls but the boys as well. She didn’t put a foot wrong as she rode to victory. Ntwari finished 2nd and Tredoux took 3rd.

Overall Results.

Rookies 150cc.

1st #17 Liam Bronkhorst

2nd #26 Ethan de Freitas

3rd #39 Ajay Venter

Girls Development Cup.

1st #1 Jessica Oosthuizen

2nd #43 Naledi Mtwari

3rd #40 Sheree Tredoux

SuperMotards.

SM1, SM1S, SM2 & SM Masters.

Heat 1.

The organisers of the SASCS decided to take the already exciting SM class and make it a little more interesting. All three heats would start with a good old-fashioned Le Mans start, and this shook things up nicely.

#1 Aston Nesbitt was fastest in qualifying and got the best starting spot. He capitalised and took the lead, while behind him several great battles were unfolding. Nesbitt took the chequered flag in 1st, #88 Frank Engelbrecht had a good race to finish 2nd, with another new rider, #34 William Friend, in 3rd.

Heat 2.

The entertainment continued as the riders battled throughout the race, with positions constantly swapping as the laps ticked by. Nesbitt and #707 Treavin Linder had a good go at one another. In the end, Nesbitt crossed the line first, Linder finished 2nd and Engelbrecht took 3rd.

Heat 3.

The final race of the day brought another big shake-up. Nesbitt had to fight his way through the pack to reach the front, and it was not easy, especially with Linder refusing to give up the lead. The battles continued from start to finish.

Nesbitt did manage to get past everyone and took the chequered flag for another win. Linder claimed 2nd and Friend 3rd.

We love the whole Le Mans start idea, as it produced some seriously epic racing.