Cape Town Round – new circuits, sterling debuts and face-planting a tyre wall.
Story: Donovan Fourie
The fourth round of the Suzuki 8R Cup kicked off at the Killarney Circuit in Cape Town. The 8R Cup involves racing identical Suzuki GSX-8R parallel-twin motorcycles in mostly standard trim, with the only major upgrade being a set of aftermarket racing fairings that somehow transform a motorcycle that’s cool enough in road trim into something truly badass.
The joy of these machines is that you can purchase one, get it into race trim and on the track for less than R200,000. A set of Michelin-spec tyres lasts more than a full race meeting, including practice. The torquey nature of the motor makes it easy to ride, and it’s light enough that you don’t have to upgrade your gym plan.
The racing is fun, but hanging in the pits offers similar joys. Stuart Baker from Suzuki did his usual good job of arranging everything so that the bikes were at the correct circuit, in the correct pits and vaguely ready for the riders to indeed ride, preferably on the correct weekend. Doug Lang, the Suzuki technical guru, moved between the bikes hurriedly swinging spanners and employing his usual compulsive impulse to ensure everything is nothing short of perfect. Errol, the former technical director of Suzuki Motorcycles for more than 40 years, has embraced his retirement by taking up a role as technical consultant for the 8R Cup.
The winner of both heats was youngster Zander Taljaard, who took the Suzuki guest bike. The Cape Town local is not only bliksem fast but is one of the nicest guys you’d ever hope to meet.
Second for the day was another guest rider, Jean du Preez. Jean was joined on track by his brother Frans, who was making his racing debut. Jean had raced before, but his last chequered flag was in 1982. After a 44-year racing sabbatical, he still obviously has it and went home with the silverware.
Third was Jannie Jordaan of Bikeshop Boksburg and, more relevant to the Cape, Bikeshop Paarl fame. Like everyone from outside town, Jannie had never ridden at Killarney before this weekend and was still asking for directions as he headed out of the pits for Heat One. Nonetheless, he put in a strong performance and took the bronze trophy.
Some honourable mentions: Jaco Viviers of Suzuki Richards Bay did a guest ride in the 8R Cup at the previous round at Red Star, where he took a ceremonial victory. The bug had seemingly bitten, because he arrived at the Cape Town round with his very own Suzuki 8R Cup bike. It was also his first visit to the track, and he was lying second in Heat One before he buggered up his braking at the end of the main straight going into turn one. This horrified the marshals, who watched an 8R Cup bike run upright into their tyre wall, causing the rider to go over the bars face-first into the top of the tyres.
Luckily for Viviers, he was based in Potchefstroom before Richards Bay, where getting your face smashed is an average Thursday night. Swollen lip and all, he remounted for Heat Two and took a commendable third.
There was another debutant in the Cape round of the 8R Cup – Chantal van Heerden, the wife of 8R Cup regular Michael van Heerden. Until this point she had served as support in the pits for not only her husband but seemingly the entire field, helping with tyre warmers, drinks, food and whatever else was needed.
For Killarney she donned her own set of leathers and joined the grid with her own bike. And what a debut it was, beating not just her husband (who humbly predicted such an outcome before the round) but a few more of the boys, finishing a hugely impressive fourth place.
And that sums up the 8R Cup Killarney round. The class is growing every race, with more bikes set to take to the grid at the season finale at Red Star on 28 November. Plans are afoot to grow the size of the grid and the status of the championship for 2027.
Come through to Red Star on 28 November to see the fun for yourself.
