Cape Town - Successful motorcycle racers are, if you will pardon the play on words, driven by the need to prove themselves to themselves, to translate raw talent into physical accomplishment at a level only their peers can fully understand.
It’s no coincidence that Cape Town-born international star David ‘McFlash’ McFadden is a qualified personal trainer.
Winning motorcycle races - even at Regional level - takes mountains of cash, inevitable physical injury and dedication bordering on the anal (ask any of their girlfriends) and all for a little plastic trophy and a line in a record book that only anoraks will ever read.
But there would not be races for them to win without the amateur midfielders, up-and-coming teenagers who still believe that all it takes is talent (and a faster bike!) banging elbows and fairings with older riders who know they will never again be as fast as they were five years ago but who still put their heart and soul - as well as every penny they can afford - into a sport that can be as capricious as it is addictive.
For some it’s a genuine need for speed; there is deep satisfaction in riding a motorcycle as fast as it can be ridden. For others it is the camaraderie inherent among those who compete in a dangerous sport - and the approval of their peers. But no matter why they race, they provide us, the spectators, with spectacle, real drama and, quite often, a sense of being part of something special.
MULTIPLE MAYHEM
So, while defending Regional title-holder Ronald Slamet (Mike Hopkins ZX-10R) and Trevor Westman (Mad Mac’s ZX-10R) battle it out at the sharp end of this Saturday’s Mike Hopkins Regional confrontation with the privateer Kawasaki ZX-10Rs of Malcolm Rapson and Gerrit Visser, and while Hayden Jonas (ASAP World ZX-6R) and Andre Calvert (KC Transport) debate the leadership of the 600 Challenge (as well as fifth overall, in all likelihood) don’t forget to check out the multiple mayhem at the top of Class B.
Born-again racer John Oliver (Glass It R6), Emile van der Merwe (Bigfella ZX-10R) and Wessel Kruger will take up where they left off last time, with possible interference from Shakir ‘Shrek’ Smith (Honda CB1000RR), back from a long layoff caused by a huge crash.
During the enforced reconstruction of his now nine-year-old Honda, affectionately known as ‘The Donkey’, Smith discovered that it had been running with a cracked cylinder for some time. After a complete engine rebuild it’s running more strongly than ever and Smith is confident that he’ll be able to give a good account of himself on his return to the track this weekend.
And in Class C, keep an eye on Karl Schultz (ASAP World ZX-6R) who beat seven Class B rider to take 13th overall in Race 1, last time out, with Nick van Zyl (Kawasaki ZX-10R) and class stalwart Wayne Arendse (Honda CB600RR) to keep him honest.
CLASSICS/POWERSPORT
With formerly dominant Warren Guantario (Calberg ER6) battling to find form this season the Powersport riders to watch are JP Friederich (Calberg SV650), Chris Williams (DEA ER6) and Mike van Rensburg (Pragma ER6) – but don’t write off Guantario yet. The Starfish has nearly a decade of short-circuit racecraft behind him and is never as dangerous as when he has nothing to lose.
These days multiple former Regional title-holder ‘Danie van Killarney’ Maritz makes his living tuning other people’s race bikes and doesn’t always have time to prepare his 1986 Suzuki GSX-R750 to take part in the Classic Class.
If he does, expect him to give the Powersport riders a master class in racecraft; if not, the man to watch is Wesley Jones on Tony Jones’ GSX-R750 - the only Classic rider other than Maritz to finish on the same lap as the Powersport riders in both races last time out.